63
enon, protest actions by young people for the
conservation of the environment have been
around for over 30 years.
Lessons in Youth Environmental
Activism from the Past
There are numerous stories from across the globe
on youth activism for the environment and sustainable development. I will present a summary
of my own experience as an environmental activist at national, regional and international levels
and extract lessons to be learned from such activities in the future.
My colleagues and I were teenagers when we
created JEMS, a community organisation to
protect the Kings Hill Forest Reserve, located in
south-east St. Vincent, in 1978. Kings Hill
Forest Reserve is one of the oldest forest
reserves in the western hemisphere and its
enactment in 1791 gave rise to the first environmental protection law. Although legally protected, the reserve had continual issues with
locals logging and hunting excessively in the
forest, which meant a decrease in the quantity
and quality of habitats left. The forest was a
means to an end rather than an area to take pride
in for most locals. JEMS implemented a series
of educational and sustainable livelihood activities in the surrounding communities to reduce
the incidence of deforestation and improve the
community view of St. Vincent’s nature. In 1985
and 1986, JEMS won the SVG National Youth
Council’s coveted “Group of the Year” Award
for its work with communities to build their
resilience, protect the environment and create
sustainable livelihoods.
In that same year, the UN designated 1985 as
International Youth Year in recognition of the
immense development challenges facing young
people across the globe and began working with
member governments and other development
partners to develop strategies to address these
challenges. In 1987, the Brundtland Report on
Sustainable Development was published which
emphasised that development must take place in
such a way to ensure the natural resource base of
countries remains intact for generations to come
(UN 1987 in UNESCO 2014).
UNEP, under the leadership of Dr. Mostafa
Tolba, Executive Director, created the Youth
Ambassadors Programme. I was recommended
by the Caribbean Conservation Association
(CCA) as one of the 12 UNEP youth ambassadors to represent Latin America and the Caribbean
region. UNEP effectively organised global meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, every 2 years for its
ambassadors; however, financial and technical
resources were not provided to assist the Regional
Youth Ambassadors to implement programmes
in their respective regions.
Working with the Community Development
Division of the Government of SVG (DfID
funded) and the OECS Natural Resources
Management Project (funded by GIZ), I used my
appointment to office to mobilise financial and
technical resources to implement a series of community education programmes, pipe-borne water
and sanitation projects in SVG and St. Lucia,
respectively. I led the implementation of the View
Forte Solid-Waste Management project in collaboration with Route which was funded by the
OECS NRMU in St. Lucia in 1988. The project
was instrumental in stimulating cooperation in
the people of View Forte City after two national
elections in 2 months left the nation severely
divided and lead to receiving the UN Global
Award in 1989 for leadership.
Through funding from GEF Small Grant
Programme, I led JEMS to implement a project
to protect the vital natural features of south-east
SVG, namely, the Kings Hill Forest Reserve,
Milligan Cay Bird Sanctuary and the turtle- laying
beaches in the community. These ridge-to-reef
community environment projects resulted in the
mobilisation of thousands of people to protect the
environment and funding through USAID and
Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) to further implement an adult literacy and sustainable
livelihoods skills training project which trained
over 3000 youths over 10 years in sustainable
livelihoods.
At the regional level, being a UNEP Youth
Ambassador increased my profile and accessibility
to high-level government officials and the heads of
Lessons in Youth Environmental Activism from the Past
enon, protest actions by young people for the
conservation of the environment have been
around for over 30 years.
Lessons in Youth Environmental
Activism from the Past
There are numerous stories from across the globe
on youth activism for the environment and sustainable development. I will present a summary
of my own experience as an environmental activist at national, regional and international levels
and extract lessons to be learned from such activities in the future.
My colleagues and I were teenagers when we
created JEMS, a community organisation to
protect the Kings Hill Forest Reserve, located in
south-east St. Vincent, in 1978. Kings Hill
Forest Reserve is one of the oldest forest
reserves in the western hemisphere and its
enactment in 1791 gave rise to the first environmental protection law. Although legally protected, the reserve had continual issues with
locals logging and hunting excessively in the
forest, which meant a decrease in the quantity
and quality of habitats left. The forest was a
means to an end rather than an area to take pride
in for most locals. JEMS implemented a series
of educational and sustainable livelihood activities in the surrounding communities to reduce
the incidence of deforestation and improve the
community view of St. Vincent’s nature. In 1985
and 1986, JEMS won the SVG National Youth
Council’s coveted “Group of the Year” Award
for its work with communities to build their
resilience, protect the environment and create
sustainable livelihoods.
In that same year, the UN designated 1985 as
International Youth Year in recognition of the
immense development challenges facing young
people across the globe and began working with
member governments and other development
partners to develop strategies to address these
challenges. In 1987, the Brundtland Report on
Sustainable Development was published which
emphasised that development must take place in
such a way to ensure the natural resource base of
countries remains intact for generations to come
(UN 1987 in UNESCO 2014).
UNEP, under the leadership of Dr. Mostafa
Tolba, Executive Director, created the Youth
Ambassadors Programme. I was recommended
by the Caribbean Conservation Association
(CCA) as one of the 12 UNEP youth ambassadors to represent Latin America and the Caribbean
region. UNEP effectively organised global meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, every 2 years for its
ambassadors; however, financial and technical
resources were not provided to assist the Regional
Youth Ambassadors to implement programmes
in their respective regions.
Working with the Community Development
Division of the Government of SVG (DfID
funded) and the OECS Natural Resources
Management Project (funded by GIZ), I used my
appointment to office to mobilise financial and
technical resources to implement a series of community education programmes, pipe-borne water
and sanitation projects in SVG and St. Lucia,
respectively. I led the implementation of the View
Forte Solid-Waste Management project in collaboration with Route which was funded by the
OECS NRMU in St. Lucia in 1988. The project
was instrumental in stimulating cooperation in
the people of View Forte City after two national
elections in 2 months left the nation severely
divided and lead to receiving the UN Global
Award in 1989 for leadership.
Through funding from GEF Small Grant
Programme, I led JEMS to implement a project
to protect the vital natural features of south-east
SVG, namely, the Kings Hill Forest Reserve,
Milligan Cay Bird Sanctuary and the turtle- laying
beaches in the community. These ridge-to-reef
community environment projects resulted in the
mobilisation of thousands of people to protect the
environment and funding through USAID and
Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC) to further implement an adult literacy and sustainable
livelihoods skills training project which trained
over 3000 youths over 10 years in sustainable
livelihoods.
At the regional level, being a UNEP Youth
Ambassador increased my profile and accessibility
to high-level government officials and the heads of
Lessons in Youth Environmental Activism from the Past