Kenya Lawrence Nzuve, Un Volunteer Communications and Outreach Officer, UN Environment (UNEP)

Sumak is a member of the Cacha community, part of the Puruwa nation in Chimborazo province, Ecuador. She began serving as a UN Volunteer as part of the partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in 2017, after working for women's rights in the Ecuadorian National Assembly.

Jasurjon supports the UNDP project Developing the climate resilience of farming communities in drought-prone parts of Uzbekistan,1 funded by the Adaptation Fund of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).His assignment is centred on public relations, content development and organizing working sessions with stakeholders. “One of the most interesting parts of my work is bringing project stakeholders together to work on new challenges arising during the implementation of the project,” says Jasurjon.

I support a UNDP project on Integrated Landscape Management for Improved Livelihoods and Ecosystem Resilience in Mount Elgon. This aims to empower communities to manage their production landscapes in an integrated manner for improved livelihoods and ecosystem resilience.

The UNDP project "Conservation and sustainable management of key globally-significant ecosystems for various benefits" started in Kazakhstan in 2019. It introduces a new, conservation-centered and financially self-sufficient approach to the management of forests, climate and land integrity, particularly in the pilot biodiversity areas of Zhambyl and Turkestan.

Working with UNICEF as a UN volunteer over the past year, my assignment included building awareness among staff on climate change, its impact and how we can mitigate its effects. I also advocate for sustainable practices in the way people consume energy and resources and manage waste both at work and in their personal lives. These efforts are in line with one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 13: to improve education, awareness-raising, human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

Niger a Sahelian landlocked country of approximately 22 million people, of which almost 84% is reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods. The increase of climate-related natural disasters in recent years, such as floods, changes in rainfall patterns make people even more vulnerable and hinder the country's development. UNV has deployed Environment Specialists to serve in areas such as climate change, water and forest engineering, and gender equality in each of the 7 municipalities of Maradi in Niger.

Air pollutants (caused by two coal-fired power plants, the high intensity of road transport, and  household burning of wood and coal), along with poor waste management, abuse of the natural resources and widespread use of fertile land for construction, are seriously threatening the health of Kosovars -  children and elderly in particular. “Healthier Kosovo”, a joint project of UNDP, UNV and WHO, supported by the government of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, responds to this serious, yet often neglected problem.