We at the World Future Council work to pass on a healthy planet and fair societies to our children and grandchildren. We envision a sustainable, just and peaceful future where universal rights are respected. To achieve this, we research, identify and spread the best and most sustainable policy solutions worldwide.
United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK) is a federation of organizations for persons with disabilities in Kenya. Its mandate is to advocate for the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in all spheres of life. It is committed to ensure that Persons with Disabilities share an equal platform and enjoy their rights across all sectors of development.
Protecting waterbird populations has been part of Audubon’s mission even before the official establishment of the National Audubon Society. Outrage over the slaughter of millions of waterbirds, particularly egrets and other waders, for the millinery trade led to the foundation, by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall, of the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896. By 1898, state-level Audubon Societies had been established in Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Illinois, Maine, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Minnesota, Texas, and California. In 1900, Audubon member Frank M. Chapman launched the first Christmas Bird Count – Audubon’s all-volunteer holiday census of early-winter bird populations – as an alternative to the traditional Christmas “Side Hunt,” in which hunters competed to kill as many birds (and mammals) as possible.
In 1901, state-level Audubon groups joined together in a loose national organization, which helped to establish the first National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. – Pelican Island, in Florida, in 1903 – and facilitated the hiring of wardens to protect waterbird breeding areas in several states. In 1905, the National Audubon Society was founded, with the protection of gulls, terns, egrets, herons, and other waterbirds high on its conservation priority list.
In 1918, President Wilson signed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), which remains to this day one of the strongest laws protecting wild North American birds. Shortly after the passage of the MBTA, Audubon established its first system of waterbird sanctuaries in seven states along the eastern coast of the U.S., and thus initiated the implementation of large-scale, scientifically-based bird conservation efforts.
ACT’s work is to stimulate, facilitate and challenge for mutual sharing of information and knowledge on experiences or lessons on promotion of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Africa. These efforts enable farmers, entrepreneurs, policy makers, researchers, learners and academicians and other stakeholders to access and share information and knowledge on CA, thereby contributing to better and more appropriate policies and programmes in the efforts to scale-up CA in Africa. Ultimately Conservation Agriculture (CA) as an approach to managing agro-ecosystems helps improve and sustain land productivity, increase profits and food security while preserving and enhancing the resource base and the environment.
The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 1300 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries, working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.
CAN members work to achieve this goal through information exchange and the coordinated development of NGO strategy on international, regional, and national climate issues. CAN has regional network hubs that coordinate these efforts around the world.
CAN members place a high priority on both a healthy environment and development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Commission). CAN’s vision is to protect the atmosphere while allowing for sustainable and equitable development worldwide.
Passionate about the ocean, its ecosystems and marine wildlife, Ocean Sole recycles flipflops that are found littered on beaches and in waterways of Kenya.
Every single Ocean Sole product is handcrafted to protect the oceans and teach the world about the threats of marine debris.
As a bizarre and yet very real phenomenon, thousands and thousands of flipflops are washed up onto the East African coast creating an environmental disaster. Not only spoiling the natural beauty of our beaches and oceans, the rubber soles are swallowed & suffocated on by fish & other animals, they obstruct turtle hatchlings from reaching the sea and are a man-made menace to our fragile ecosystems.
Our creative team of artisans transforms the discarded flipflops into elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, dolphins, sharks, turtles and more. These colourful masterpieces come with an important message about marine conservation whilst bringing smiles to people all over the world.
Be a part of the pollution solution and join us on a flipflop safari!
Our Councillors
The World Future Council (WFC) consists of 50 eminent global change-makers from governments, parliaments, civil society, academia, the arts and business who have already successfully created change. They identify urgent themes and determine the agenda for our work.
How we work
In close collaboration with civil society, members of parliament, governments, businesses and international organisations we research future-just legislation and advise and support decision-makers in the concrete implementation.
Where we work
The WFC Head Office is located in Hamburg with further offices in Geneva, New York, Prague, and Windhoek. Our Councillors work on all five continents. Contact us for further information.
Earth System Governance — a global research alliance, is the largest social science research network in the area of governance and global environmental change. The Earth System Governance research alliance takes up the challenge of exploring political solutions and novel, more effective governance mechanisms to cope with the current transitions in the biogeochemical systems of the planet. The normative context of this research is sustainable development; earth system governance is not only a question of institutional effectiveness but also of political legitimacy and social justice.
The Earth System Governance Project is a core project of Future Earth.
Read more about the Earth System Governance Science Plan and Research Agenda.
Background
Since prehistoric times, humans have altered their local environment. Beginning about a century ago, they are altering their planet. More and more parameters of the earth system are changing due to human influences. The scientific knowledge about the earth system and its current transformation becomes more confident every day. Humans now seem to influence all biological and physical systems of the planet. The entire earth system now operates well outside the normal state exhibited over the past 500,000 years. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop better governance mechanisms and institutions at all levels to cope with this emerging earth system transformation.
Yet it is apparent that the institutions, organizations, and governance mechanisms by which humans currently regulate their relationship with the natural environment and global biochemical systems are not only insufficient. They are also poorly understood. More fundamental and applied research on the global, national and local institutions and governance systems is therefore needed. This research must address all levels of policy-making and cut across many sectors. It must be about the people who are drivers of global environmental change and at the same time part of any solution. It must be about places in all their variety and diversity, yet seek to integrate place-based research in a global understanding of the overall challenge to steer human interaction vis-à-vis earth system transformation. Eventually, this research will need to be about our planet. It is the task of developing integrated systems of governance, from the local to the global level, that ensure the sustainable development of the coupled socio-ecological system that the Earth has become. We call this research challenge ´earth system governance´. This term signals, in our view, a paradigmatic change from governing local and national environmental problems to coping with a more fundamental transformation of the earth system.
This research need has been recognized in March 2007 by the Scientific Committee of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), which mandated a scientific planning committee to draft a science plan for a new IHDP Earth System Governance Project. A draft version of this Science Plan has been reviewed by more than 40 researchers and practitioners. At its 15th Meeting, October 2008 in New Delhi, India, the IHDP Scientific Committee approved the Earth System Governance Science and Implementation Plan and appointed the Scientific Steering Committee (ESG SSC). This approval marked the official launch of the Earth System Governance Project, as a new core project of IHDP. In 2015, the Project became a core project of Future Earth – the overarching international research platform that seeks to provide the scientific knowledge needed to accelerate transformations towards a more sustainable world.
Policy Relevance
The Earth System Governance Project, while being essentially a scientific effort, is also designed to assist policy responses to the pressing problems of earth system transformation. All analytical problems studied in the project have profound policy implications. For example, the problem of the architecture of earth system governance is a key concern of current negotiations and political processes that are often faced with ‘treaty congestion’ and complex interlinkages between different institutions, for instance between multilateral environmental agreements and the World Trade Organization. ‘Fragmented’ governance architectures are also an increasing problem for decision-makers, particularly in climate policy. A related concern is the reform of the United Nations, for example with a view to the debate on a United Nations Environment Organization. At national and local levels, architecture is a key concern for decision-makers dealing with policy integration, the comparative effectiveness of policy instruments, and the integration of decision-making from international, national and local levels. Research on agency within the project will generate novel ideas on the integration of civil society actors in earth system governance, and on the advantages and disadvantages of private and public-private governance arrangements. Research on governance of adaptation and the adaptiveness of governance arrangements will inform policy-makers who have to deal with adapting politics and policies to a changing world. The accountability and legitimacy of decision-making, from local to global levels, is equally a key problem for public policy. Finally, the research on allocation and access will help to improve governance outcomes and advance philosophical and ethical discourses on an equitable approach to earth system governance.
In 2017, the Earth System Governance Project strengthened its policy relevance through the Governance for Global Sustainability Partnership with Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future.
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.
In the basalt mountains around Lalibela, stay in local communities. See their ancient world, their churches and their way of life.
Walk through the age-old agrarian landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands following escarpments with birds of prey soaring in the thermals and Gelada baboon scrambling up and down the cliff face. Local shepherd boys keep an eye on their flocks, while their fathers plough the fields, and their sisters collect water in clay pots.
An experience you will never forget!
Please use the links on this site to find out more about these stunning sites and learn how a visit to them could be easily integrated into your holiday in Ethiopia.
See how easy it is to fit a trip to these mountains around your visit to Lalibela, perhaps stopping off en-route from Lalibela to Bahir Dar or Gondar. Let TESFA help you plan one that fits in with your preferences.
TESFA’s Mission Statement (extract)
TESFA seeks to work in partnership with local communities to enable them to generate sustainable improvements in their livelihood through the development of their own tourism related enterprises, while also contributing to the protection of their physical and cultural environments.
What We Do
For more than a century we have been saving wildlife and wild places, increasing people’s awareness and understanding of the natural world, and deepening people’s relationship with it.
We work on land and sea, from mountain tops to the seabed, from hidden valleys and coves to city streets. Wherever you are, Wildlife Trust people, places and projects are never far away, improving life for wildlife and people together, within communities of which we are a part.
We look after more than 2,300 nature reserves, covering 98,500 hectares, and operate more than 100 visitor and education centres in every part of the UK, on Alderney and the Isle of Man.
We work in partnership to have a bigger impact for wildlife. closely with schools, colleges and universities, with hundreds of farmers and landowners, fishermen and divers; with thousands of companies, big and small; with community groups and other environmental organisations; with lotteries, charitable trusts and foundations; with politicians from across the political spectrum; with local and national governments; and more.
The Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST) is a non – governmental environmental conservation organization established in 1999. ECOTRUST has developed a valued niche in ‘conservation finance’ and pursued relentlessly a clear vision of ‘a healthy environment with prosperous people’ and a mission, ’to conserve natural resources and enhance social welfare by promoting innovative and sustainable environment management in Uganda.’
ECOTRUST’s core values of ‘accountability and transparency in all our dealings,Creating value for our stakeholders, Pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement, Commitment to personal integrity, creating a culture of teamwork’, remain the jealously protected business principles of the organization, guiding all business decisions and entire management ethics.
Objectives;
• Private Land Management
• Management and control of pollution
• Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Land Use.
• Restoration, Conservation and Management
ECOTRUST works with different communities and stakeholders to conserve natural resources and biodiversity. The key strategies include financial intermediation, capacity building and direct involvement in selected conservation activities. During the year 2016, ECOTRUST commissioned a process of developing a strategic plan for the next 5 years. The goal of the strategy is; To build ECOTRUST as an efficient, socially responsible and sustainable organization in the field of conservation and climate change response.
ECOTRUST will aspire to achieve the above goal under 4 Key Results Area aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their respective outputs as shown below;
- Rural Livelihood and Resilience in high climate risk areas built.
- Private Land Trust management in fragile corridors promoted.
- Integrity and functionality of protected natural capital maintained.
- Institutional re-engineering and capitalization of ECOTRUST for long term sustainability enhanced.
Green Kenya Investment Corporation is a vibrant and growth oriented Environmental Consultancy Firm that offers sustainable development solutions. Based in Nairobi, GKIC has been involved in projects in extensive works of large, medium and small scale, with varying degrees of complexity and environmental concern.
The firm comprises of a team of experts from different fields, with the aim of being a one stop shop for different consultancy services in the field of sustainable development. We offer practical and sustainable consultancies. We provide our Clients with the full range of high quality solutions and consultancy services comprising; – A responsive service delivery capability; and a first rate approach to work.
HAPS is founded in October 29, 2001 to work through out the country to help the animals and solve the problem with the help of ANIMAL PEOPLE, USA and it is the first of its kind in Ethiopia.
HAPS came to existence having the idea of Animal Birth Control /ABC/ program through Trap Neuter Release /TNR/ method which can replace the dog shooting and poisoning as a means of population and rabies control, by its founders who were working in the Bale Mountains National Park /BMNP/, a national park with a diverse fauna and flora in which most of them are endemic to Ethiopia
Created in 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. As a membership union of government and civil society organizations, IUCN harnesses the experience of its 1,300 member organizations and around 16,000 experts. IUCN provides knowledge, tools, and a neutral forum in which governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples groups, faith-based organizations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges.
IUCN works with partners to achieve large-scale forest landscape restoration (FLR), or in other words to restore whole landscapes “forward” to meet present and future needs and to offer multiple benefits and land uses over time. IUCN collaborates with FLR partners to gather knowledge, develop and apply tools, and build capacity while supporting policy-makers, practitioners, researchers and landowners around the world. IUCN and WRI developed a proven Restoration Opportunities Methodology Assessment (ROAM) with practical steps for diverse stakeholders to restore landscapes at any scale.
At the invitation of the German Government and IUCN, the Bonn Challenge was established at a ministerial roundtable in September 2011. The Bonn Challenge is a global initiative to restore 150 million hectares of the planet’s deforested and degraded lands by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. The platform facilitates the implementation of several existing international commitments that call for restoration, including the CBD Aichi Target 15, the UNFCCC REDD+ goal and the Rio+20 land degradation target. AFR100 is a contribution to the Bonn Challenge. IUCN is the Secretariat for the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration, a global network that unites governments, organizations, academic/research institutes, communities and individuals under a common goal: to restore the world’s lost and degraded forests and their surrounding landscapes.
Focus countries within AFR100: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
Our Work
Protecting the Amazon and our climate by supporting indigenous peoples
Since 1996, Amazon Watch has protected the rainforest and advanced the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability, and the preservation of the Amazon’s ecological systems.
Our work is focused on three main priorities:
Stop Amazon Destruction | Advance Indigenous Solutions | Support Climate Justice
We are based in Kenya and support startups abd individuals to achieve their sustainable projects.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for GSTC’s role as the global Accreditation Body for Certification Programs that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it accredits those that do.
The GSTC is an independent and neutral organization, legally registered in the USA as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including UN agencies, NGO’s, national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. It is a virtual organization without a main office, with staff and volunteers working from all six populated continents. Financial support from donations, sponsorship, and membership fees allows us to provide services at low costs and to create, revise, and make available the GSTC Criteria.
Membership is open to all interested parties and does not by itself imply endorsement by the GSTC of the policies and practices of the member organization
In 2005, Richard Leakey outlined to Stony Brook his concept for an institute that could provide the permanent infrastructure to enable year-round research in this remote area of sub-Saharan Africa. The University enthusiastically endorsed the idea of TBI, committing funds for the Stony Brook end of the project. Additional fundraising began in 2006; construction of temporary facilities for a long-term field camp on the east side of Lake Turkana (TBI-Ileret) commenced in 2007; the camp was fully operational by year-end and was the site for the first Kenya-based Human Evolution Workshop in 2008. Construction of the first full field center on the west side of the lake (TBI-Turkwel) was completed in 2012. Construction of permanent facilities at TBI-Ileret commenced in 2012, and is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
Formally, Turkana Basin Institute, Ltd. is the title holder for the fixed assets in Kenya known as TBI-Nairobi, TBI-Turkwel and TBI-Ileret (together known as “TBI Kenya”) and is under an agreement with the Government of Kenya, through the National Museums of Kenya, to serve as a repository for the archaeological and paleontological heritage of the Lake Turkana region.
In 2013, Richard Leakey and Stony Brook University President, Samuel L. Stanley, established the TBI International Advisory Board. Comprised of prominent philanthropists and scientists from around the globe, this group meets twice a year to share ideas and discuss how best to ensure the success and secure the mission of the Institute. This dynamic group has assumed a lead role in TBI’s fundraising efforts through their own generous contributions.
Who we are
The Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) is an independent public policy research and advocacy Think Tank based in Uganda, working in the East and Southern Africa sub-regions on a wide range of public policy issues. Our core business is policy research and analysis, policy outreach and capacity building. Since the organisation was formed 19 years ago, ACODE has emerged as one of the leading regional public policy Think Tanks in Sub-Saharan African. ACODE has been recognised among the Top-100 Think Tanks worldwide by the University of Pennsylvania’s 2017 Global-Go-To Think Tank Index Report.
As a non-partisan and independent organisation, ACODE does not align with any political party or political organisation. However, given the direct relationship between development policy and politics, we believe that our work is political and it must stand for certain political causes of a bi-partisan nature. Such causes are legitimate issues of research interest so long as they are defined on the basis of constitutionalism, the rule of law, as well as national and regional interests as expressed in the relevant treaties, strategy documents and declarations.
Vision: Inclusive, sustainable and prosperous societies in Africa
Mission: A premier think tank striving to make public policy work for people through research, civic engagement and evidence-based advocacy.
Values: Academic and intellectual freedom, non-partisanship, integrity, non-discrimination, and excellence.
The National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) is an action organization committed to sustainable solutions to Uganda,s most challenging environmental and economic growth problems. We monitor government actions, conduct research, provide educational materials, develop science-based strategies, organize affected communities, make common cause with other civil society organisations and international organizations, and engage government officials at all levels.
It is an ambitious undertaking, but as lifelong Ugandans we cannot ignore what is happening to our precious homeland. While we stand ready to work with anyone committed to the public interest, we also will not allow powerful political or special interests to intimidate or silence us. We have done so since our founding in 1997.
We choose our actions carefully to use our skills and resources most effectively, addressing our most urgent challenges first, and expand our impact by involving like-minded organizations and individuals, and communities in need.
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.
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