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Maria has an MBA with a minor in Chemical Engineering. She is the co-founder and the strategy lead of AtoANI (produce-to-demand sustainable agriculture model) and AtoANI BioPack (biodegradable packaging from agro-industrial waste). AtoANI is currently supporting 20 farmers in Bohol (Philippines) and is planning together with World Vision Philippines to expand the initiative to Cebu via the Innovation Challenge. This project is currently being supported by the Innovation for Social Impact Partnership (ISIP) under its RISE UP initiative. ISIP is an NGO co-implemented by PhilDev and UNDP Philippines. AtoANI BioPack project is part of Makesense Academy Incubation Program supported by WWF. They are developing packages made of sugarcane bagasse and aspire to become a significant force in reducing plastic and agricultural waste. Instagram: @atoani_biopack Twitter: @wilvie_anora Facebook: @atoanibiopack
This journey for ELYX, the UN’s Digital Ambassador, begins on World Bee Day, 20 May 2021, with more stops ahead – the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May and World Environment Day on 5 June, and finally a celebration of Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June. ELYX is working with UNCCD to get the world’s private sector organizations excited and involved in both the 2021 Desertification and Drought Day and the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 to 2030. UNCCD and ELYX are inviting private sector organizations around the world to commit to supporting one or more of the 12 targets of Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land. ELYX was born in 2011 as an artistic project of renowned French artist Yacine Ait Kaci (YAK), became an Instagram influencer and in 2014 was appointed the first United Nations Digital Ambassador. UNCCD and ELYX will reach out to the private sector to bring their attention to the High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought hosted by Mr. Volkan Bozkir, the seventy-fifth President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) to bring together Heads of State and Government to map the actions for the next ten years of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, after assessing the progress made to reduce the loss of productive land during the the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification that ended in 2020. ELYX's journey begins on the World Bee Day because bees are essential to keep our land healthy. Their disappearance is a powerful signal that land is degrading. Protecting habitats of key pollinators such as bees is necessary to keep land productive and the entire ecosystem healthy – a cornerstone of sustainable post-pandemic recovery. Next, ELYX will join the international community to celebrate and launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 5 June. Together with UNCCD, he is inviting private companies to become part of the global movement of citizens backing governments to put life back into the one billion hectares of land that are no longer producing. On 17 June UNCCD will profile companies that respond to this invitation by announcing their commitments to leave Earth with better prospects for healthier and more productive future on land. For more information about the event contact Ms. Wagaki Wischnewski wwischnewski@unccd.int For information about how to get involved contact Mr. Marcos Montoiro mmontoiro@unccd.int
Our Land Hero Mulindwa Moses from Uganda is the founder of Believe Youth with a vision to create climate resilient societies and to empower the youth in Uganda. He is also the leader of the “Two trees a week" initiatives, aiming to regrow forests to combat deforestation and mudslides exacerbated by changing weather patterns. During the pandemic, he launched the COVID-19 Emergency Food Fund to provide hundreds of families with nutritious food, especially in the communities affected by floods and locusts. You can find our more here: Twitter: @mulindwa_guy Instagram: @mulindwa_guy web: believe-change.org Read more Land and youth
Protecting and restoring nature can help drive a green recovery and prevent future pandemics. Investing in nature-based solutions, specifically land restoration, will allow us to build forward better, greener, healthier, stronger, and more sustainably. COVID-19 has revealed how vulnerable our societies and economies are to global, systemic risk. Its root causes - land degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change – are interlinked. Furthermore, they are planetary crises in themselves. The pandemic, rooted as it is in exploitation of the environment, has been a devastating but timely wake-up call. It has shown that if we continue to abuse nature, waves of crises will cascade across our economies and societies. On the other hand, it has also shown that we can respond decisively when political will, collective action and sustained investment are aligned. Today, more than ever, societies are ready for change; there is broad consensus that it is not only desirable but possible to build forward better, towards sustainable development anchored in multilateralism and global solidarity. Land restoration is an essential component of any building-forward strategy. In preparation for the UN PGA High-level event on desertification, land degradation and drought, the UNCCD secretariat prepared a brief that presents land-centered solutions for green recovery post COVID-19. Read more: High-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought Role of land in COVID response
On June 20, 1996 the German government handed over Haus Carstanjen as an office building to the United Nations, a day now celebrated as the birth of Bonn as a UN city. The UNCCD Secretariat moved to Bonn in 1999. Today, Bonn is seen and appreciated worldwide as a genuine UN city with international staff of almost 1 000 and the UN campus hosting 24 different agencies. Sustainable development has become a clear trademark for the UN entities in Bonn supported by Bonn’s environment with numerous international and national governmental and non-governmental organizations, a number of important scientific and academic institutions and the city itself. All of these institutions strive to operate in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way – a unique cluster of excellence. The fact that Bonn also was the capital of Germany for almost 50 years plays an important role, especially in a city of such cozy dimensions. Here, following the Rhineland tradition, people are hospitable, cosmopolitan and knows how to welcome other cultures and lifestyles. That’s why wherever you come from, once you're in Bonn, you feel at home. Adapted from UNRIC news Read more: UNBonn 25th anniversary UNCCD history
UNCCD secretariat regrets to inform that we are postponing the third webinar on land-based jobs for youth originally scheduled for Thursday 6 May 2021. Asia is hard hit by the current wave of COVID-19 infections, he region this webinar aims to support. But keeping the focus on everyone’s health condition and situation is our priority. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will email you as soon as possible to confirm the date of the next webinar. Tentatively we are planning for either 16 July 2021 or 12 August 2021. Please take note of those dates. We will stay in touch and let you know when the next podcasts is accessible. In case you have questions that you would like to submit to the panel before the webinar, you can send it to us on a video of not more than 1 minute, on horizontal format and to be sent to press@unccd.int latest Tuesday, 15 June 2021. If you participated in the other two webinars, we would like to ask for testimonials from you if you found the webinars beneficial. For example, you can do so by sending us a text of about 400 words on: Which region/country you are from Which webinar (s) you participated in What do you find to be most beneficial What the webinars mean for people like you If you would allow us to share this testimonial with your name and age. We remain available for any inquiries you may have on the webinars and we continue to vie for job creation for the youth. Sincerely yours, UNCCD secretariat