March 16th 2021

Solving A Global Issue Together

All environmentalists face the same challenging question – “which is the most important issue for us to focus on?”

Over the years there have been different answers, such as the loss of biodiversity, destruction of ecosystems, or changes to terrestrial, wetlands and marine habitats. The emergence of the Sustainable Development Goals certainly helped to set out the global challenges facing humans, yet which is the most urgent?

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us one thing, it is the need to have a global response to a global problem. Restrictions on travel and socialising, and the need to stop the virus have focussed the world’s attention onto a single subject matter, and it looks as though we are winning that battle.

But science tells us that we face an even greater threat – that of man-induced climate change. The facts are simple and indisputable: the increase in CO2 and other ‘greenhouse’ gases threatens the workings of our oceans, weather patterns, food production, our health and ultimately our survival. Unless we can reverse the trend, humans being may well have engineered their own destruction.

We can all do our bit. Collectively we can solve the problem. At the Conservation Foundation we are trying to do just that. By utilising our experience in, knowledge of and commitment to working with local communities we play our role in helping to address climate change. In the linked pages you will learn about how our projects are trying to address root causes of climate change, such as land-change or the unsustainable use of natural resources, and give support for the development of ‘win-wins’ for people and the environment. Learn how we:

– Utilise ‘bottom-up’ processes to engage and support local communities in the UK and least developed countries to design and implement their own ‘solutions’ to environmental challenges

– Support communities to shift from unsustainable subsistence agriculture to new paradigms of living that benefit people and the environment

– Focus on areas of most concern, such as loss of primary forests, mangrove forests and other ecosystems that help mitigate climate change

– Commit to long-term action, such as the creation of triple-bottom-line sustainable social enterprises, owned and managed by local people, which have net zero carbon emissions

– Put inclusivity, fairness and equality at the heart of our actions

– Ensure transparency and open access to all of our work

Learn more how you can play a role here.

 

Image source: Marek Piwnicki