Je suis originaire du Mali et avec des amis, nous avons monté une association dans le but d'amoindrir les déchetteries sauvages. Nous souhaitons (comme l'action est toujours en cours)à travers cette action touché deux grandx axes, la santé et l'environnement. A travers des actions de sensibilisations (action sur le terrain) nous attirons l'attention de la population sur les dangers d'une mauvaise gestion des déchets. Qu'il y a plusieurs impacts et qu'avec un changement de nos comportements le retse suivra.

I am very saddened when I see people pollute the environment that we live in and more so when they can do something about it. So how I assist is inform people on the need to conserve and protects our environment and also ways to ensure that we attain the same. Advocate for tree planting and clean ups and use of resources wisely.

I'm brazilian, 34yo. YES! I've volunteered in various environmental awareness and conservation projects in Pacific Islands and Asia.

I participated in climate change awareness in south pacific islands, campaign against deep sea oil drilling in New Zealand, research about endangered fijian Petrel, coral reefs surveys in Vanuatu, organic and permaculture farming in New Zealand and Thailand.
 Very soon I'll help to protect cultural and natural heritages in China including The Great Wall, Mount Sanqingshan and Qufu.

Over the last 18 months I had the chance to gather a meaningful volunteer experience and to realize that there are many people joining a silent revolution for a sustainable life in this planet.

Raquel Ribeiro de Miranda
More about my story on downshiftingforEarth.org

This is a proposal that is more likely to gain popularity with "common" people rather than Heads of States.

The social change movement is the biggest and most thriving movement on the planet. At the community and grass-roots level creative thinkers and do-ers have been developing, testing and improving multiple innovations and tools for social and economic reform. In short, we have the solutions to most of the problems humanity and our environment are facing.

Most of us understand that the majority of the problems we face are the direct result of the international economic and political priorities and practices. Evidently the political and corporate arena have merged to serve the globalizing profit interest, leaving the people and the planet as limitlessly exploitable externalities.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
Richard Buckminster Fuller

The most effective tool for our social change movement is proving to be the Internet. Our virtual world wide web is facilitating international networking, cooperation, strategizing & mobilizing for practical actions. People-powered organizations such as AVAAZ have demonstrated the potency of assembling on-line votes that influence international political issues.

I would like to propose a simple, yet potentially transformational experiment.

For all the millions of people around the world who are working in all the diverse fields of social change to UNITE on a unique online political platform of the common values and intentions we all share. By collectively raising our voice and vision for change we will demonstrate the awesome size and diversity of this planetary movement and our solidarity to work together to realise Our New Earth Vision. Our unity will attract our supporters and these supporters will draw more... and so it will snowball.

For we, the people, to effect the REAL change our common sense demands, we are now compelled to reclaim our political sovereignty and to re-design and re-structure the entire global political-economic system. This re-design revolves primarily around re-localisation: bringing governance and economies back to a locally sustainable, participatory and resilient level.

Such a profound and essential, transformation CAN be catalyzed through the Unity of the planet's participants and supporters of the global social change movement.

l'on ressent une immense joie lorsqu'on remarque que mettre ses compétences professionnelles et son expertise au profit de la protection de l’environnement et de la promotion de solutions durables permet à des milliers de gens de vivre autrement en pensant à l'avenir de leur enfants. Actuellement au Bénin, grace à nos actions, tout en protégeant le Singe à ventre rouge, les populations arrivent à conduire des activités d'écotourisme leur permettant de gagner de l'argent.

I'm an ecologist starting a world travel tour with the motto 'sustainability'. (see http://www.baiertal.net/ in German). Main focus will be to exchange knowledge about permaculture and soil improving practices as well as water retaining methods. Practices and methods have to change depending on climate zones and ecosystems - my contribution is knowledge about that and willingness to transport it into the world.

Dear all,

Curaçao is a tropical island that is part of the Dutch Kingdom. Due to the operations of the Isla-refinery - a PDVSA state company; Venezuela - the environment is polluted and public health is under pressure. In fact, human rights have been violated many times. The SMOC foundation fights against this situation. See for example, the letter below.

Kind regards,

Arjan Linthorst

***************************************************
Dear UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,

On behalf of The Foundation for a Clean Environment on Curaçao (SMOC) I like to inform you with this e-mail, nothing more, nothing less.

Curaçao is a tropical island that is part of the Dutch Kingdom. Curaçao has a lot of advantages for tourists like sun and coral reefs. Unfortunately, there is also an oil-refinery. This refinery emits tons of toxic compounds that are inhaled by the people living in the neighborhood of this refinery, including some 6.000 children and 19 schools. Due to the trade-wind, the people in this (poorest) neighborhoods inhale these toxic compounds every day and every night of the year, and have been doing this for their whole life (the refinery started operating in 1918) . Eco-RYS, a renowned Dutch research agency, conducted research to quantify the polluting activities of this refinery. For clearness’s sake, Eco-RYS did this research on request of the Curaçao government. This research elucidated that the polluting activities cause premature death to at least 18 people per year. Beside these premature deaths, thousands of people suffer several severe health complaints (an investigation by the government in 2007 showed that 85% of the people have complaints and want to visit a doctor, want to move away and are afraid). SMOC fights against the refinery and government who tolerates this pollution (no enforcement of the permits at all) and went to court many times, with success. We won many cases! The judge passed sentence on this polluting activities with reference to human rights, e.g. Convention on the Rights of the Child (Art. 24). The judge decided what we have been thinking for many years: children rights are under pressure, and violated, because the children simply do not have a clean environment in which they can live and go to school. Schools that are evacuated many times a year, leaving thousands of children without a proper place for education. A bloody shame that needs international attention.

I am looking forward to your answer.

Yours sincerely,

Arjan Linthorst (Board member and chemical advisor of SMOC)

Please visit our website: www.stichtingsmoc.org and facebook smoccuracao

It is rare to find people who care with their environment nowadays
Because they just care with themselves
I, as the young generation realize how poor my environment is
No one takes care of it
That's why I want to be a volunteer for my environment
Because I really love this earth
What can I do now are doing simple things,
First, I always throw garbage in the right place
Because people still lazy to throw garbage in trash can
So I must give them an example or remind them, i am sure that they will finally do it slowly
Second, I will not use so many tissues
Because to make one tissue, it needs more than 1 tree..
It is better if I bring handkerchief whenever I go
Third, save the electricity..

Let's save our beautiful earth!!! :)

En Paraguay, a través del Movimiento Juvenil Ambiental "MUNDO SANO", hemos trabajando desde el año 2008 en la concienciación de niños y jóvenes de distintas instituciones educativas, acerca de la importancia del cuidado del medio ambiente y uso racional de los recursos naturales para lograr un desarrollo sustentable que beneficie a esta generación y las futuras.

Estas actividades las hemos desarrollado en conjunto con la Secretaría del Ambiente de la República del Paraguay, que fue la institución que nos ha donado diversos materiales didácticos. Igualmente recibimos apoyo de la Municipalidad de Luque, ciudad en donde fue creado el Movimiento Ambiental. Asimismo, hemos trabajado con la Organización 350.org, promoviendo e informando acerca de la importancia de la reducción del CO2 de la atmósfera para evitar el calentamiento global, que en la actualidad; según los expertos; se encuentra a 390 ppm (partículas por millón..
En estos momentos nos encontramos trabajando en un cuadernillo de consejos ambientales básicos que distribuiremos a mas instituciones educativas. Nuestra filosofía como Movimiento Ambiental es la plasmada en Proverbios: "Enseña al niño lo que tiene que aprender y lo recordara hasta la vejez". Una muestra de que concienciando y educando a los niños, recordaran lo aprendido en su juventud y en su vida adulta.
Esperando que el testimonio de "Mundo Sano - Paraguay" llegue a Rio+20 y sirva para aumentar las experiencias de Latino américa en cuento al medio ambiente, se despide en representación de todo el equipo de jóvenes del Movimiento Juvenil Ambienta..,

Miguel Ángel González Agûero
Director Ejecutivo - Mundo Sano

être volontaire est une des meilleures choses à laquelle j'ai pu m'exprimer librement pour aider la communauté et défendre une cause pour le bien de la nation qui est de protéger l'environnement, de faire connaître aux enfants dès leur plus jeune age que nous sommes les acteurs de notre environnement et de ce fait nous le protégeons.