ESRAG - Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group helps our members implement community-led solutions for climate resilience ?? #COP29
Mandela-Washington Fellow 2024| Founder & Executive Director at Green Hut Trust | ESRAG Director| Climate change scientist| GHG inventory Waste Sector Expert| MEng in Chemical and Environmental Processes Engineering|
At COP, I had the privilege of sharing the stage with the IPCC Co-Chair on Adaptation Bart van den Hurk and YOUNGO adaptation working group Boróka ürge at a side event hosted by African Youth Initiative on Climate Change Zimbabwe (AYICCZim) and the YOUNGO Adaptation Working Group. Our conversation on scaling adaptation and resilient communities highlighted a crucial element: the power of community-led solutions. Through the #UrbanFutures project, funded by Hivos we’re empowering young people to innovate across the entire food value chain, building climate-resilient urban food systems. Youth are at the core of these efforts, driving climate resilience from the ground up. In my presentation, I emphasized the importance of community consultation at every stage. Without genuine involvement, interventions risk missing the mark. I recalled visiting a rural community with a “nutritional garden” where no greens thrived because crops were eaten by local wildlife, and even children missed school to guard the fields. If the community had been involved from the start, a more fitting solution could have been developed. Community-led adaptation is more than just consultation; it’s about valuing local knowledge and collaborating with those facing climate challenges daily. #fowardwegrow #ClimateAction #CommunityResilience #Adaptation #YouthEmpowerment #COP