More Ranger Award Winners from Columbia, the Ivory Coast and Russia, UN’s “Act Now” with Peter Rabbit, What is “Act Now”?

2021 INTERNATIONAL RANGER AWARD PROFILES, PART 4

Continuing on the theme of 10 courageous rangers and ranger teams who beat out 103 other nominees across 43 countries to become 2021 winners of an International Ranger Award? Some really special people. Like:

Ninfa Carianil of Colombia.

Since 2012, Ninfa Carianil and her husband Rufino patrolled and protected the rainforest of Águila Harpía ProAves Reserve in the Colombian Amazon. They built strong links and relationships with the local community, earning their trust and encouraging their interest in its wildlife and conservation. Community members have helped support Ninfa through two recent personal tragedies: the death of her son, Johan Sebastian in 2019, and the loss of her husband to COVID-19 in 2020.

Since then, Ninfa has continued alone to protect the area from hunters, loggers, and illegal settlers, to conduct monitoring, to build community support, and to inspire young people.  Through her dedication and sacrifice, Ninfa has become a local leader and voice for conservation and for Indigenous women in a remote Amazon community.

And Offossou d’Andous Kissi of Cote d’Ivoire.

As Senior Ranger in charge of community outreach, the work of Offossou d’Andous Kissi focuses primarily on the people living around Comoé National Park. He has championed the creation of a children’s library, a documentation centre, an environmental education centre, and an ecotourist camp. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has worked conscientiously to help local people find economic alternatives to ecotourism.

‘Capitaine Kissi’ as he is respectfully known locally, has successfully led challenging negotiations to settle longstanding boundary disputes and to develop innovative agreements for resolving complex conflicts between livestock herders, farmers, and the national park administration. In 2008 he was part of the team instrumental in re-establishing management of the park following a period of civil unrest, resulting in eventual removal of Comoé National Park from the list of World Heritage sites in danger.

DEEPER DIVE: Virtual Awards Ceremony

2021 INTERNATIONAL RANGER AWARD PROFILES, PART 5

Continuing on the theme of 10 courageous rangers and ranger teams who beat out 103 other nominees across 43 countries to become 2021 winners of an International Ranger Award? Some really special people. Like:

Sathish Sundaram from India.

Working on the beaches and in the waters of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Sathish Sundaram has rescued numerous dolphins and dugongs from fishing nets and strandings, successfully incubated record numbers of Olive Ridley Turtle eggs, led mangrove restoration, and organized underwater plastic clean-ups. Through targeted and responsive patrols, he has dramatically reduced wildlife crime in the National Park. By collecting evidence of more than 100 poaching attempts, he has enabled recovery of the Park’s sea cucumber population.

He maintains close contact with local communities and has enlisted the help of fishers and local people to protect dugongs and their habitats. To help communities benefit from conservation, he has initiated ‘Kaarankaadu Community-based Ecotourism’, which has been recognized for its success by the National Biodiversity Authority.

And Sergey Erofeev of Russia.

Sergey Erofeev has dedicated his entire 42-year career to the Altai State Biosphere Reserve. He has patrolled every part of the vast Reserve, braving harsh conditions to courageously protect its wildlife from poachers and its land from illegal encroachment.  He has also worked closely with the Altai and Tubalar Indigenous communities, enabling their formal involvement in local decision-making through the Zapovednoye Selo Territorial Self-Government Authority.

Sergey is known for his selfless service to colleagues and community members, often braving blizzards to help people get to the hospital over rough, roadless terrain. Widely respected, he is now passing on the knowledge and skills he has gained over a lifetime to the next generation of young rangers.

DEEPER DIVE: Virtual Awards Ceremony

UN’S ACT NOW WITH PETER RABBIT

Gaming is influential. That’s what the un is counting on. That’s why it’s teamed up with peter rabbit™ teams up with the united nations, the un food and agriculture organization and the un foundation on global campaign to mobilize more food heroes 

“Peter Rabbit is a fun-loving character loved by children and fans worldwide,” said Maher Nasser, Director of Outreach in the United Nations Department of Global Communications. “Peter can help the United Nations reach new and important audiences. His voice is a great way to speak to children and their parents about the importance of healthy eating, buying local produce and other sustainable practices that are important to their health and the health of our planet. We should all aspire to be food heroes.”

The campaign wants to encourage youth and their families to become #FoodHeroes like Peter and his friends, by choosing healthy food, reducing food waste, and celebrating other food heroes who work hard to get food to our plate every day.

As part of the campaign, a new Public Service Announcement has been launched which features Peter and his friends tackling some of the most important issues regarding sustainable foods.

You can also join Peter and his friends and learn how to be a food hero through the un.org/ActNow website, themobile app, and at fao.org/world-food-day.

DEEPER DIVE: ACTNOW, UN Sustainable Development, FAO

WHAT IS THE UN’S ACTNOW PROGRAM?

Peter Rabbit hanging out with the UN and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a cool thing. And if it weren’t for the UN’s ACTNOW campaign, it likely would have never happened. So what is ACTNOW?

The ActNow campaign was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in December 2018, with a call from Sir David Attenborough in conjunction with the award-winning “People’s Seat” initiative.

The campaign has been embraced by influencers dedicated to climate action and sustainability, by leading chefs sharing sustainable recipes and hacks, and by companies engaging their employees and customers. It’s based on the idea that 50% of all emissions can be significantly reduced if every human on the planet were to check themselves.

It admits that current lifestyles are unsustainable and that demand for natural resources is at an all-time high and continues to grow — for food, clothing, water, housing, infrastructure and other aspects of life. Resource extraction has more than tripled since 1970, including a 45% increase in fossil fuel use.

The extraction and processing of materials, fuels and food contribute half of total global greenhouse gas emissions and over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress.

If the global population continues to grow as predicted, reaching 9.6 billion by 2050, it could require the equivalent of almost three planets to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles.

In high-income countries, the material footprint per capita – the amount of primary materials needed to meet our needs — is more than 10 times larger than in low-income countries. And the Group of 20 major economies (G20) accounts for 78% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

DEEPER DIVE: TakeYourSeat, UN/ActNow