The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.5+ million members and supporters to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.b
What is YEE
Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) is a platform of many European youth organisations that study nature or are active in environmental protection. These member organisations come together from 26 countries. The aim of YEE is to encourage youth to be involved in environmental protection and to provide a platform where these organisations can work together.
YEE gives an opportunity to contact other European organisations, to exchange experiences and ideas and to work together.
All our activities are organised and carried out by young people under 30. YEE organises and encourages all activities that can increase the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of nature and the awareness of environmental problems among young people in Europe.
Our aim is to promote the commitment of youth to the principles of environmental conservation. Therefore, young people’s voluntary actions have to be stimulated for the protection and the rational use of the Earth’s resources. Since environmental problems have no borders, we act together within YEE in order to address these problems in local communities and joint activities. Within international actions, we intend to raise public awareness about environmental problems.
YEE’s mission
YEE aims to unite environmental youth non-profit organisations in Europe in order to enhance international cooperation, increase knowledge about nature, raise awareness of environmental problems and to strengthen participation of youth in environmental decision-making.
Take a look at the YEE promotional materials.
- Supporting the work of member organisations
- Promoting the widest possible exchange of information, ideas and experience among members
- European and local projects (such as training courses, youth exchanges, etc.)
- Environmental educational campaigns
- Publications
- YEE Working Groups
YEE is a member organisation of:
YEE History
Youth and Environment Europe was founded as the European regional branch of the International Youth Federation for Environmental Studies and Conservation (IYF) on the 3rd of August 1983 in Stockholm. The YEE office has been located in three locations. The first YEE office was based in Copenhagen.
IYF established YEE with the cooperation of 15 organisations. Three founding organisations are still members of YEE: Faltbiologerna (Sweden), DJN (Germany), and JNM (Belgium).
In 1986, after the work of a research group on the forest, a new organisation was born from YEE: the European Youth Forest Action (EYFA) that remains active today.
In 1990 the YEE office moved to it’s second location in Utrecht, the Netherlands to locate it more centrally to the member organisations being part of the network at that time.
In 1991, as a further subgroup from EYFA, ASEED started to work as a separate network.
For some years in the 1990’s, a member organisation from Malta hosted a second YEE office in order to deal with the Mediterranean issues closely.
In 1998, the third change of the location of the office occurred. This time the medieval stronghold Toulcuv Dvur in Prague was chosen. Toulcuv Dvur is an ecological center that unites a range of ecological, educational and cultural activities. The area consists of eight hectares of land including wetlands around a little stream. YEE’s office is still located here today.
Currently YEE unites 43 member organisations from 25 countries.
From 2003 YEE started to host volunteers who help as members of the office team in daily work of the organisation.
Today, the office team consists of the General Secretary, Projects Coordinator and 2 volunteers.
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The Renewables Academy (RENAC), based in Berlin, Germany, is a leading international provider of training and capacity building in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Since 2008, about 5,800 participants from more than 140 countries have attended RENAC programmes.
RENAC delivers customised educational solutions, as well as capacity building and market development services that target the entire market value chains; starting from the setting up of political frameworks, to financing, design and installation, through to operation and maintenance of applications. RENAC transfers know-how on solar thermal energy, photovoltaics, CSP, wind power, bioenergy, hydro power, hybrid technologies, grid integration and energy efficiency.
RENAC clients belong to companies, energy agencies, governmental bodies, NGO’s, associations and educational institutes, among others.
Who We Are
Our Vision
Knowledge for better livelihoods.
Our Mission
To strengthen the capacity and policies of African countries and institutions to harness science, technology and innovation for sustainable development.
Our Value Proposition
- To conduct high quality research, policy analysis, capacity strengthening and outreach on applications of science, technology and innovation policies to sustainable development in Africa
- To facilitate and convene evidence based policy dialogue and debate
- To inform development policy and practice
- To put critical issues of science, technology innovation on the Development Agenda
- To provide independent and objective policy advice to African governments and agencies, regional economic communities and institutions, private sector, civil society and community actors and agencies.
A Brief History
The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is a pioneering development research think tank on harnessing applications of science, technology and innovation policies for sustainable development in Africa. ACTS is an Intergovernmental organization founded in 1988 to pursue policy oriented research towards strengthening the capacity of African countries and institutions to harness science and technology for sustainable development. ACTS envisions a sustainable economic, social and environmental future for Africa, through science, technology and innovation.
Article 3 of the Charter of ACTS, empowers the Organization to undertake capacity building, conduct research, provide advisory services and disseminate information on the policy aspects of the application of science and technology to sustainable development in Africa. It also requires ACTS to:
- Promote capacity building in the developing countries in the field of policy analysis related to sustainable development.
- Monitor international trends in science and technology, undertake technology assessment and forecasting and analyze the impacts of new technologies for purposes of providing policy options to African and other developing country governments.
- Promote, enhance, inspire, study and conduct the building of the institutional framework requisite for the management, assessment, sustainable utilization and conservation of natural resources.
- Foster the exchange of information and networking between the Centre and other governmental and private institutions and individuals that have similar or related interests at the local, national, regional and international levels, with particular emphasis on policy matters.
- Promote, encourage, inspire and undertake technical cooperation activities between and within nations.
Since its founding, ACTS has been instrumental in enlarging the range of policy choices for sustainable development in Africa. Over the last quarter century, ACTS’ work has influenced patent (i.e. industrial property) legislation and policy (Kenya); environmental impact assessment standards (Eastern and Southern Africa); bio-energy and biofuels policy (Kenya, Eastern Africa, West Africa); agricultural policy, bio-diplomacy, biotechnology and biosafety (Africa-wide); climate change adaptation and mitigation (Africa-wide).
ACTS remains among the leading institutions working on sustainable development in Africa. In 2013, it was rated amongst the top Environment Think Tanks in Africa and the world. ACTS is also a past winner (1991) of the Justinian Rweyemamu Prize from CODESRIA (Africa’s Social Science Research Council) for its work in expanding the knowledge base for Africa’s development
The live animal exportation tradebreaks every animal welfare law ever written, but yet is allowed to continue, despite tipping the scale as one of the cruellest activities created by man on planet earth.
There are approximately 20 countries which export live animals for slaughter, with France, Canada and Australia exporting the most cattle. Australia has, over the past 30 years, exported over 2.5 million live sheep. New Zealand ceased live exports in 2003 after ongoing public protests, and a series of horror events ending with a ship carrying 57 000 New Zealand sheep being rejected by Saudi Arabia. Unable to port anywhere, most of the sheep died. Survivors were “gifted” to Eritrea, where they were slaughtered in primitive abattoirs. After this atrocity, New Zealand stopped exports.
The EU developed laws pertaining to travel conditions and care of live export animals, but there is no humane, or “cruelty free” way of loading, then transporting, thousands of animals in ships for weeks on end, and it is preposterous to think of the hours spent by humans writing welfare laws thinking that they could make it so. The global live animal trade is worth billions of US Dollars, but the extreme cruelty is what the public doesn’t see. Animals which could be delivered “on hook” to feed a community, end up dead en route and are tossed overboard, making them worthless to anyone.
In South Africa, 61 000 sheep were recently loaded onto a ship (the Al Shuwaikh) in East London destined for middle eastern destinations including Kuwait, where there are no animal welfare laws at all. The conditions on board were beyond comprehension and again, the South African Animal Protection Act was ignored, while the sheep suffered horrific handling and on board conditions before the ship had even left the dock. The SA Government has ignored welfare’s written reports and welfare concerns. They ignored objections and protests, and signed a contract for 600 000 animals to be exported. And so the cruelty will continue.
ARO condemns live exportation of animals from SA, and joins with other welfare movements in SA to publicise, condemn and, we hope, ban the live exportation of animals from South Africa. The only way to stop it is to confront it. We ask for your support along the way.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With over 194 member states, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. We believe that everyone can play a part in ending hunger.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
We are working to contribute towards creating an enabling environment for the effective advancement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Post 2015 Development Agenda. UNA Tanzania has been involved in MDGs Awareness for the past eight years and with the MDGs edging closer to expiration in 2015 (as well as MKUKUTA II and FYDP in Tanzania), this experience will help in contributing towards accelerating the achievement of the remaining milestones for Tanzania and taking stock of lessons in implementing the MDGs on how we can do better in the future through the expected SDGs as they are localized in our national development framework.
DEMOCRACY, GOOD GOVERNANCE & HUMAN RIGHTS
Under this area, we are working to promote positive civic and media engagement in the electoral process and advocate for the inclusion and visibility of human rights in the development process and new constitution for Tanzania. Throughout its existence, UNA Tanzania has endeavored to contribute towards strengthening democracy, good governance and human rights; and the establishment of the Tanzania Human Rights Commission, promoting press freedom, conducting national media monitoring in 2000 and 2005 elections as well as civic voter education in 2010 elections have been key program successes for the organization.
PEACE AND SECURITY
UNA Tanzania has been and continues to actively engage in the ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Regions) peace process. As such, this is a maintained program area where we aim to enhance youth and CSOs engagement in the process. Specifically, UNA Tanzania will be working towards establishment of the national Peace and Security Chapter for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region peace process; increased representation of marginalized voices – youth, women and children – in the process, and enhanced representation on and intervention against Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
The project helps to implement the Africa Policy adopted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In cooperation with business, it promotes employment in seven African countries, while also raising income and improving working conditions. Young people in particular benefit from training measures and additional employment opportunities.
We help organisations, public authorities and private businesses to optimise their organisational, managerial and production processes. And, of course, GIZ employees advise governments on how to achieve objectives and implement nationwide change processes by incorporating them into legislation and strategies.
DEVELOPMENT WORKERS
Development workers bring their professional expertise to non-governmental and state organisations in partner countries. They provide training and advisory services, and work with our partners to help design projects. Development workers are offered an extensive and attractive financial package with benefits.
The Civil Peace Service (CPS) is a global programme aimed at preventing violence and promoting peace in crisis zones and conflict regions. CPS experts support partner organisations in their commitment for dialogue human rights and peace on a long term basis http://www.giz.de/zfd.
CIM EXPERTS
Integrated expert’ is the term used for experts and managers who put their skills to good use in key positions in developing countries and emerging economies. The term ‘returning expert’ is used for those who have gained technical or managerial skills through study and work in Germany and who then go on to use their knowledge and expertise in their country of origin. The term ‘diaspora experts’ is used for well-qualified and skilled people with a migration background who wish to support their country of origin by putting their expertise to good use as volunteers.
SEI Africa is based in Nairobi, Kenya and is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. The centre collaborates with African governments, organizations and networks, acting as a hub for SEI’s engagement across the continent. The centre’s work focuses on four key areas: energy and climate; natural resources and ecosystems; sustainable urbanisation; and health and environment.
From its establishment in August 2008 until June 2013, SEI Africa was based at the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dares Salaam. As of July 2013, it is based in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre. Staff members are active across South, East and West Africa.
We are a conservation organization that prides itself as the voice of conservation in the East African region. We do this through evidence based advocacy and engaging different key stakeholders to influence change.
The Mission of the Association shall be “to be the umbrella association for all Renewable Energy promoters enabling and encouraging the sustainable development of the Nigerian economy through Renewable Energy”.
The Vision of the Association shall be “to promote strategies that will improve the contribution of renewable energy up to forty percent (40%) of the National Energy Mix by 2030”.
WildlifeDirect (previously the Africa Conservation Fund) was founded in 2004 by the prominent Kenyan conservationist and paleoanthropologist, Dr. Richard Leakey, and former World Bank Representative to Kenya, Harold Wackman. WildlifeDirect was initially conceived as an online platform to provide a voice to African conservationists to protect wildlife as an important global heritage. By publishing their blogs, the aim was to raise awareness and funds for individuals and organizations on the frontlines in otherwise ignored conservation areas.
In the early years, WildlifeDirect highlighted the plight of gorillas in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, successfully campaigned to ban the pesticide Furudan that was being used to poison lions in Kenya, and supported the Mara Conservancy following the collapse in tourism revenues as a result of the post-election violence in 2007.
In 2012, in response to the poaching crisis affecting the elephant population, WildlifeDirect redirected its focus to elephant protection. The following year, WildlifeDirect launched its flagship campaign, Hands Off Our Elephants, under the patronage of the First Lady of Kenya, Her Excellency Margaret Kenyatta. For the first time in history, a First Lady of Africa adopted a conservation campaign. Over the past few years, the campaign has been widely recognized for its singular successes in advocacy and generating unprecedented local support for wildlife conservation never before witnessed in Kenya.
The African Climate Technology Centre (ACTC) is a project hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support sub-Saharan African countries in scaling-up the deployment of low-carbon and climate resilient technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
This is delivered by:
- Enhancing networking and dissemination of knowledge, with respect to climate technology transfer and financing.
- Enabling the scaling up of technology transfer through policy, institutional and organizational reforms of the country and regional enabling environments.
- Integrating climate change technologies into investment programmes and projects.
The ACTC was established in July 2014 and is housed in the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the AfDB.
The project originated within the policy arm of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP16) Technology Mechanism, established to support adaptation and mitigation activities in developing countries. Consequently, the Global Environment Facility set aside funding to finance the set up of regional climate technology transfer and financing centres, and networks with regional multilateral development banks.
The centre focuses on the water sector for adaptation and on the energy sector for mitigation. For the Energy part, the ACTC supports the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SEforALL).
The Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) is a groundbreaking environment and climate change fund. Its purpose is to be the engine of green growth in Rwanda, while serving as a touchstone for Africa and the rest of the world. Its strategy is to provide unheralded technical and financial support to the best public and private projects that align with Rwanda’s commitment to a green economy.
Rhino Ark was established in 1988 as a charitable trust to help save Kenya’s Black Rhino population in the Aberdare ecosystem. The rhino were under severe threat from rampant poaching for their highly valued horn.
Wildlife would invade the farms bordering the park, destroying crops and occasionally killing people. The resulting fear and aversion towards wildlife worked in favour of poachers who got easy access since the local community saw no value in protecting either the wildlife or the forest habitat.
Rhino Ark’s formation was specifically to assist the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to build an electric fence along sections of the Aberdare National Park on its Eastern Salient which has the highest concentration of wildlife and borders directly onto farmland.
The scope of the initial project evolved into a much more ambitious task of protecting the entire Aberdare Conservation Area with a fence that would:
- Be powered by electricity to contain wildlife
- Be strong enough to withstand elephant pressure
- Curb illegal logging
- Curb snaring
- Curb poaching of wildlife (especially the critically endangered black rhino and bongo antelope)
The fence has brought harmony around the area and farmers now can enjoy peaceful sleep at night without fear of losing their lives, crops and homes.
Over the years, Rhino Ark’s work has evolved and expanded to include support for various community based conservation initiatives such as the Bongo Surveillance Programme designed to offer long-term solutions to the conservation of mountain forest ecosystems.
Landmark Dates
- 1989 – Aberdare Electric Fence construction started
- 28 August 2009 – Aberdare Electric Fence construction completed
- 12 March 2010 – Aberdare Electric Fence formally commissioned by H.E. Mwai Kibaki, the President of the Republic of Kenya
- 11 May 2012 – Aberdare Trust launched by the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya.
- July 2012 – Mt. Kenya Electric Fence construction started
- 6 September 2012 – Launch of the Mt. Kenya Electric Fence by Hon. Njeru Githae, Minister for Finance
- March 2013 – Eburu Electric Fence construction started
- 26 November 2014 – Eburu Electric Fence (43.3 km long) construction completed
The Trust is a public-private partnership with strong ‘Participatory Management’ by communities to ensure the objectives of the fence are met. This is intended to be a role model to be replicated in the other areas.
Solterra was born out of a need and wish to address South Africa’s energy crisis. We understand that in order to bring about the changes required in the South African energy landscape we needed a highly specialized commercial and residential product. South Africa faces a massive shortage when it comes to experienced, competent and technically sound energy consultants. Solterra aim to fill this void. We are the fastest growing renewable energy consultancy in Southern Africa, offering the public consistent, trustworthy solutions nationally.
With head office accountability, ethical standards and integrity we do not only exist to sell products – we exist because we are a group of individuals who believe in making a significant difference. We undertake comprehensive client engagement in order to understand their requirements, making the correct recommendations, ensuring that sustainable and accurate solutions are provided. We do not compromise on quality, and will only offer the best in class products, matched with industry leading design and implementation
Since 2001, ACWICT has implemented various successful workforce development programs that provide women and youth with skills to gain meaningful employment in the job market.
Our flexible curriculum model includes training modules that adapt to the ever changing labour market while targeting young people at different levels of education including primary, high-school, and post-secondary/tertiary education.
Our programs offer job placement support to ensure that once trained, these youth are placed into jobs, internships and or apprenticeships.
So far, we have trained and secured jobs for over 125,000 women and youth in over 20 across Kenya including Nairobi, Kisumu, Siaya, Machakos, Kiambu & West Pokot.
The cause for this crisis is essentially the inappropriate and unsustainable exploitation of life support system, which is apparent in the incredible rate of loss of bio-mass cover, soil erosion, irregularity and lack of precipitation, climatic change and creeping desertification.
Therefore, there is not only a strong need to reverse this situation, but also that the demand for some important attitudinal shifts among farmers, entrepreneurs, planners, decision makers, research and development think-thanks, and the public at large has never been more acute.
This needs a rational base for policy development in the fragile area of natural resources management, alongside the responsibility and accountability one should assume.
It is against this background of, on the one hand the horrifying environmental degradation that has rendered life support systems in the country untenable and, on the other, the emergence of new development paradigms on sustainability that LEM, the Environment & Development Society (Lem Ethiopia) is being launched. Thus, Lem the Environment & Development Society of Ethiopia is a citizen’s movement inspired with the concepts of sustainable development and established in March 1992. Since its establishment Lem Ethiopia has entered into a voluntary partnership with communities, schools, civil societies, national & international NGOs, government institutions at different levels, etc. working on environment/natural resources conservation and promotion of alternative technologies to translate the noble ideas of sustainable development and livelihood security into everyday action. It has legally registered by authorized government body & renewed its license every year.
More importantly, LEM Ethiopia enters into a voluntary development partnership with communities, to translate the lofty ideas of a stable environment, sustainable development and livelihood security into everyday action.
The 400km electric fence is a conservation tool put in place to help resolve multiple challenges facing the Aberdare Range ecosystem. These challenges included poaching, bush-meat hunting, snaring, illegal logging, charcoal burning and encroachment. These activities, by the 1980’s had almost decimated the population of critically endangered black rhino in the ecosystem.
At the same time, regular crop damage by wildlife, especially elephant, was a major problem for the farmers residing next to the Aberdare protected areas. Encounters between farmers and wildlife occasionally led to human fatalities, and served to heighten tensions between humans and wildlife.
Construction of the fence began in 1989 and was completed in August 2009.
Today, in spite of the dramatic decrease in black rhino number in the 1980s, the ANP still hold a small and genetically viable population of native black rhino. This is largely due to the building of the fence.
To maintain the fence in good working condition, a team of fence scouts based in “Fence Energizer Stations” patrol the fence line daily to carry out maintenance work.
The project is a partnership between Rhino Ark, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the local communities. Rhino Ark and the Kenya Government provided the funds while KWS oversaw the construction work.