Global campaigners call for improved governance to tackle ecological challenges

Reforming multilateral environmental treaties and ensuring they align with the quest to secure a green, safe and inclusive planet should be a priority for governments and industry partners, campaigners said Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) underway in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, the green campaigners stressed that better governance, accountability and active engagement of citizens will boost action on major ecological challenges.

Dalia Marquez Anez, the founder and CEO of United Youth in Action, an international green lobby, said that a robust and functional multilateral system holds the key to tackling major threats to the environment, including chemical waste, biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.

"We are appealing for inclusive and transparent multilateral legislation, the enforcement of which will be key to finding a solution to pollution that is harmful to the environment and human health," Anez said.

Civil society organizations representing women, youth and indigenous communities over the weekend held a consultative forum to discuss and agree on a common position to present to delegates attending UNEA-6.

Anez said that green campaigners rallied behind some of the resolutions expected at UNEA-6, touching on air quality, fast-tracking the establishment of a plastic treaty, and reinvigorating action on the climate crisis and nature loss.

Magash Naidoo, the head of Circular Development at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) World Secretariat, said that UNEA-6 should serve as a rallying call for policymakers, industry executives and innovators to popularize green solutions and practices that enhance resilience.

Naidoo said that promoting a circular economy, better land use practices, energy security and improved biodiversity protection will boost the response to disasters linked to global warming and ecosystem degradation.

According to Naidoo, civil society and industry groups attending UNEA-6 are pushing for friendly policy and regulatory regimes to ensure that action against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution bears fruit at the grassroots level. 

(Cover image via CFP)