Youths Challenged to Conserve the Environment

YAFEJ Members Protecting a Planted Tree

Members of a Nkambe based Civil Society organization;  Youth Assembly for Environmental Justice (YAFEJ) Cameroon have planted over 400 environmentally friendly trees at the Nkambe general hospital as part of activities marking the 2013 edition of World Environment day.

Addressing young people and Youth groups that turned out for the exercise, Mr Abanda Marcel, YAFEJ Coordinator challenged them to take all necessary measures to protect the planted trees.

Citing the UN Secretary General Speech on the World Environment Day, Ban Kimoon said, we live in a world of plenty, where food production outstrips demand, yet 870 million people are undernourished and childhood stunting is a silent pandemic.

“To create the future we want, we must correct this inequity. We must ensure access to adequate nutrition for all, double the productivity of smallholder farmers who grow the bulk of food in the developing world, and make food systems sustainable in the face of environmental and economic shocks”.

One way to narrow the hunger gap and improve the well-being of the most vulnerable is to address the massive loss and waste inherent in today's food systems. Currently at least one third of all food produced fails to make it from farm to table.

“This is foremost an affront to the hungry, but it also represents a massive environmental cost in terms of energy, land and water especially in Nkambe where most of the land and water catchment in particular are occupied by Eucalyptus tress and seriously affect the population negatively in water shortage”. 

To Mr Abanda, food loss and waste can be easily addressed if youths take the challenge. He added the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and public and private sector partners have launched the "Think.Eat.Save: Reduce Your Foodprint" campaign to raise global awareness and showcase solutions relevant to developed the youths to face the future; a campaign that began on the world environment day.

By reducing food waste Mr Abanda said UN scribe Ban Ki Moon, “we can save money and resources, minimize environmental impacts and, most importantly, move towards a world where everyone has enough to eat”.

Talking to News Watch after the tree planting exercise, the coordinator disclosed that of the 400 trees planted, “over 300 were purchased by the Nkambe general Hospital’s interim Director, Dr. Yanick Assembe, 50 donated ANAFOR Nkambe and the rest donated by the Divisional Delegate of Forestry and wild life for Donga Mantung, Kitang Amang Thoephile”. 

Other speakers at the tree planting exercise like the interim Director of the Hospital Dr. Yanick, the Vice President for Cameroon National Youth Council Nkambe, Mr Nganyu Alfred all lauded YAFEJ for the brilliant initiative.

They all challenged other youth associations to emulate the initiative by YAFEJ by conserving the environment through tree planting.

By Tandap Tandap in Nkambe