UNHCR
Climate love
Climate love
Peter Kamau
133 w
An explicit reforestation programme in Cameron that has ensued refugees turn a desert camp into a thriving forest.
Refugees in Cameroon have turned a desert camp into a thriving forest An ambitious reforestation project, carried out by refugees in Minawao, Cameroon, has turned an extensive area of desert into forest - and changed people's lives. The region, already badly affected by climate change, has gradually become home to nearly 70,000 refugees since 2014. They have fled violence linked to militant group Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria. The new arrivals accelerated the desertification process, cutting down the few surrounding trees to support themselves. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) launched a reforestation programme in 2018. "In order to protect the world’s displaced, we must do more to protect the environment. Protecting the environment provides better protection for people. Andrew Harper"-UNHCR’s Special Advisor on Climate Action Refugees and local communities received training on how to give seedlings the best chance of survival in the harsh environment. The so-called "cocoon technology", developed by Land Life Company involves burying a doughnut-shaped water tank made from recycled cartons. This surrounds the plant’s roots and feeds it. To date, volunteers in the refugee camp have given new life to more than 100 hectares (250 football fields) of severely degraded land. "Minawao has become a place that is green all over and there are a lot of benefits to that. We have shade from the sun, the soil has improved and the trees attract water", says one of the volunteers Lydia Youcoubou. This project is contributing to the Great Green Wall, an African-led initiative that aims to grow an 8,000-kilometre continent-wide barrier to stop the ongoing desertification of the Sahel, a territory on the border of the Sahara and the Sudanian savanna. https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/10/10/refugees-in-cameroon-have-turned-a-desert-camp-into-a-thriving-forest https://youtu.be/fAPH8vkWEao
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Many thanks to We Don’t Have Time, the entire community of supporters, and to Peter for recognizing and amplifying the work of refugees in Minawao, Cameroon. They are protecting their community by rehabilitating and preserving their environment in the face of climate change. The first point that I would like to make is that it is essential that we do whatever we can to protect the natural environment, in order that those people who have been displaced by conflict are not put at further risk by an increasingly hostile climate. The green project in Minawao and its surroundings is crucial to stop and then hopefully reverse the accelerating desertification brought on by climate change and the arrival of nearly 70,000 refugees fleeing Boko Haram over the past decade. As the refugees did not have access to other energy sources, they had no choice but to cut down trees for firewood in order to meet their basic needs such as cooking and boiling water. Unfortunately, like in many new displacement settings, the environment suffered. This in-turn heightened tension between the refugees and the host communities. Women were also forced to go further into the bush to fetch wood, with the increased risk of being assaulted or raped. In order to both protect the environment and the most vulnerable within the community the Minawao project was born. The Minawao project saw 400.000 trees planted, making the green areas ideal for both agriculture and livestock, which reduced the tensions over natural resources. The climate crisis is a human crisis. It is also a protection crisis. It is amplifying vulnerability, driving displacement, and already making life harder for those forced to flee. While these populations are disproportionately exposed and vulnerable to climate-related shocks, they often have the fewest resources and support to cope in the face of an increasingly hostile environment. However, much displacement and suffering can be avoided with greater and urgent support to adaptation, particularly in the most climate vulnerable and fragile countries and communities, many of whom host refugees and internally displaced people. We must all come together and double down on increasing adaptation and building defences for those who are hardest hit. This will require financial, technological, and capacity support to those who are already working on the ground to protect their communities in a changing climate. We Don’t have Time is playing an important role in raising awareness and contributing to global climate action, and we commend the community’s continued efforts. Thank you, Andrew Harper Special Advisor to the High Commissioner for Climate Action UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
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Great such feedbacks are encouraging, congratulations colleague let's keep amplifying our climate action voice.
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I'm so humbled @UNHCR for the comprehensive feedback recognizing me and the We Don't Have Time community for appreciating your noble course in working with the refugees to help curb the climate crisis.
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@peter_kamau congrats.It is amazing work.
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Woow such replies are a motivation.. thanks for taking your time UNHCR
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107 w
Many thanks to We Don’t Have Time, the entire community of supporters, and to Peter for recognizing and amplifying the work of refugees in Minawao, Cameroon. They are protecting their community by rehabilitating and preserving their environment in the face of climate change. The first point that I would like to make is that it is essential that we do whatever we can to protect the natural environment, in order that those people who have been displaced by conflict are not put at further risk by an increasingly hostile climate. The green project in Minawao and its surroundings is crucial to stop and then hopefully reverse the accelerating desertification brought on by climate change and the arrival of nearly 70,000 refugees fleeing Boko Haram over the past decade. As the refugees did not have access to other energy sources, they had no choice but to cut down trees for firewood in order to meet their basic needs such as cooking and boiling water. Unfortunately, like in many new displacement settings, the environment suffered. This in-turn heightened tension between the refugees and the host communities. Women were also forced to go further into the bush to fetch wood, with the increased risk of being assaulted or raped. In order to both protect the environment and the most vulnerable within the community the Minawao project was born. The Minawao project saw 400.000 trees planted, making the green areas ideal for both agriculture and livestock, which reduced the tensions over natural resources. The climate crisis is a human crisis. It is also a protection crisis. It is amplifying vulnerability, driving displacement, and already making life harder for those forced to flee. While these populations are disproportionately exposed and vulnerable to climate-related shocks, they often have the fewest resources and support to cope in the face of an increasingly hostile environment. However, much displacement and suffering can be avoided with greater and urgent support to adaptation, particularly in the most climate vulnerable and fragile countries and communities, many of whom host refugees and internally displaced people. We must all come together and double down on increasing adaptation and building defences for those who are hardest hit. This will require financial, technological, and capacity support to those who are already working on the ground to protect their communities in a changing climate. We Don’t have Time is playing an important role in raising awareness and contributing to global climate action, and we commend the community’s continued efforts. Thank you, Andrew Harper Special Advisor to the High Commissioner for Climate Action UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
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Thank you for your reply. It is great to remind people that the climate crisis is also a social crisis and that we need to understand and take into account the intersections of the different issues
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Thank you for such a well written and exhaustive reply!
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Thank you for a deep detailed reply.
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Dear peter kamau Thank you for getting your climate love to level 2! We have reached out to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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109 w
Very inspiring!
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Forests are a natural treasure with so much significances in relevance to tackling climate change than most people know.
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Amazing! Let's do more for our planet.
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Awesome!
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Amazing project!
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Welcome, let's solve the climate crisis together
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