World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations to encourage awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It has become a platform for raising a new consciousness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Other issues also promoted during this one-day celebration of the planet and our environment and the connectedness between our lives and nature include renewable energy, sustainable production systems, fair global trade, efficient transport systems and protection of biodiversity.
On its website, the World Economic Forum is quoted as saying “the UN says humanity is using up the world’s resources faster than they can naturally recover”. With this in mind, options for a more sustainable pathway of producing, consuming and living need to be available and affordable for all have become mission critical. We cannot ask people to change without giving them tools for such change. Key opportunities to transform lie in what we eat, how we build, how we live, how we spend our money and what we invest in.
Many of these options can only be created or enabled by larger entities such as governments, financial institutions, businesses, international organizations, and other organizations. Organizations with the power to rewrite the rules, frame our ambition and open up new horizons. At the same time, innovation by individuals, communities and the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities are also game-changing assets and opportunities we also should not miss.
As a leading and growing consultancy firm, SAEDI Consulting (Barbados) Inc creates globally-relevant socio-environmental solutions to build a more sustainable world. We have not been silent on climate issues and have pledged to engage with unserved and underserved groups on concrete ideas and actions to help them be an active and visible part of #climatejourney and beyond.
Through many consultations, training workshops and webinars, we at SAEDI Consulting have made and continue to contribute to advocacy for climate and gender justice. For us, there is no climate or environmental justice without social and gender justice. Through our various platforms, we hear first-hand how climate risks, environmental degradation and disaster risks are and have greatly affected the lives and livelihoods of women, disabled persons, indigenous people, and persons within the LGBTQIA+ community.
We take these insights and help to translate them into visuals, voices and training material for negotiators, the media, environmental authorities and more. We included some of these insights in support given to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat Gender Team, leveraging our lens on gender and environment and gender and climate on gender responsive climate budgeting. This year, we did the same to support the UN Women MCO Caribbean, this time linking gender responsive budgeting, climate adaptation and eliminating violence against women and girls. If climate projects ignore gender-based violence (GBV) and the risks of conflict, they will be doing a disservice to the people they intend to help.
This year’s campaign slogan for WED 2022 is #OnlyOneEarth. With this focus on nature, SAEDI Consulting recalls past and ongoing work on Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA). We think of the work our CEO is doing as an author of the Grenada National Ecosystem Assessment, the support the firm is providing to UNDP on Requests for Proposals that will accelerate work on sustainable land management and watershed management as well as work our CEO just started as the Chief Technical Advisory for a Global Environment Facility project in Mozambique with EbA as its core, in an urban setting. All of these and more contribute to the motto of #WED 2022 - humanity must safeguard its limited resources.
2022, is a historic milestone; for both the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the global environmental community. It marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of UNEP as an outcome of the Stockholm Conference. It also coincides with the high-level Stockholm+50 international meeting. These events serve as an opportunity for the international community, national communities, local stakeholders, and individuals to strengthen cooperation and show leadership in the transformation towards a more sustainable society and economy. A Practical Guide is now available on living sustainably in harmony with nature
As citizens of Planet Earth, it starts and ends with us. Us as citizens, global citizens. We have the potential to be pivotal advocates, and supporters of deep change. Awareness is necessary but not sufficient by itself to yield change. In raising our voices, we must emphasize what needs to be done and point out who is responsible for the challenges we see and feel. A new consciousness is needed.
Join us in supporting World Environment Day 2022 and the #OnlyOneEarth campaign. You too can help ensure this unique and beautiful planet remains a comfortable home for all humanity as well as nature.
