Separated by oceans, connected by common issues: two volunteers with the Archipelagic and Island States Forum
Talei Caucau and Linnet Reid have been both serving as national UN Youth Volunteers with the Archipelagic and Island States Forum of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia. Talei lives in Fiji, while Linnet resides in Jamaica Kingston, several time zones away – 17 hours to be exact. Despite being separated by oceans, the two UN Youth Volunteers are connected by common issues.
The Archipelagic and Island States Forum (AIS Forum) is UNDP Indonesia’s one of a kind project, serving as a platform to bring together 47 archipelagic and island states to collaborate on common challenges and opportunities faced by island nations. Talei and Linnet are the AIS Forum’s Programme Development Specialists for the Asia Pacific and Caribbean Regions respectively.
Pursuing inclusive and participatory consultations on climate actions in Nepal
Rassu Manandhar is a national UN Volunteer Specialist with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in her home country, Nepal. She is part of a UNDP team that supports the people and Government in their efforts to integrate climate change and disaster risk reduction and management into the overall development process. Rassu reflects on how volunteerism is contributing to climate consultations and action.
Nepal’s climate is strongly influenced by its topography, which varies greatly from the high altitudes of the Himalayan mountain range in the northwest to the lowlands in the southeast. The lowland regions of Nepal have a warm and humid sub‐tropical climate. Its people are largely engaged in climate sensitive and subsistence livelihoods with low adaptive capacity, thus vulnerable to climate change.