TUNZA: The UNEP Magazine for Youth

In February 2003, the Governing Council of UNEP adopted a long-term strategy for engaging young people in environmental activities and in the work of UNEP. The strategy was entitled the TUNZA Youth Strategy.

The word “TUNZA” means “to treat with care or affection” in Kiswahili (a sub-regional language of Eastern Africa). The overall TUNZA Concept, therefore, is built around this theme. It is an initiative that is meant to develop activities in the areas of capacity building, environmental awareness, and information exchange, with a vision to foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens, capable of positive action.

Important by-products of this strategy include the annual TUNZA International Youth Conference, Tunza Advisory Council, TUNZA magazine, and the book "A Time for Action" provide up-to-date information and resources that support the environmental empowerment of young people.

EDITORIAL:

In truth we are all islanders, clinging to our small inhabitable globe adrift in the limitless black ocean of space. And the world’s islands are indeed microcosms of the Earth itself. Many of the most pressing issues affecting the planet arise fi rst, and most intensively, on islands. For although they are among the most beautiful places in the world, they are also among the most vulnerable.

Islands are home to some of our richest wildlife, harbouring one in six of the world’s plant species on their limited combined land area, but this life is particularly at risk of extinction. Islands usually have sparse resources, both mineral and natural, which are thus especially prone to degradation and overexploitation. They often depend on the seas that surround them for much of their food, and thus are hit hard by the devastating effects of overfi shing. And with little hinterland, most are exceptionally at peril from natural hazards like hurricanes, droughts and tsunamis – and, above all, from the rising seas and changing weather resulting from global warming.

Their environmental fragility is compounded by economic vulnerability. Most islands are dependent on just a handful of crops or industries, and so are particularly prey to the uncertainties of the weather and of world markets. Most are heavily dependent on imports, and have to pay high costs for transporting their goods. And most, too, are among the least powerful nations on Earth.

All this makes the world’s islands a natural place to start tackling the threats to the planet as a whole. And they also often have a social cohesiveness which makes solutions easier to implement. But, in practice, they have largely been neglected by the rest of the world. This must change. For in the fate of the islands can be read the future of the Earth itself.

Download Tunza Vol. 5 No. 4: Islands

ENGLISH. PDF format, 3.7MB, 24Pages.

Visit Tunza for Youth Website

for young people · by young people · about young people

COOL & COOLER

COOL: Recycling your metal, glass and paper.
COOLER: Creating weird and wonderful art from your recyclables. You could take inspiration from the Wonder Welders in Tanzania, who make funky animal fi gures from scrap metal, customized cards from waste paper and natural fibre, and beads from old bottles and broken glass.

COOL: Cycling to the cinema.
COOLER: Cycling to power a cinema. The Magnificent Revolutionary Cycling Cinema in Cambridge, England, combines entertainment with education to engage cinema-goers with environmental issues. The touring cinema screens independent movies while demonstrating how clean power can be generated locally. The cinema works on pedal power – so the film only plays for as long as the people keep pedalling!

COOL: Visiting a nearby nature reserve or protected area.
COOLER: Volunteering for tree-planting, coral reef conservation or litter collection to keep your protected area green and clean.
COOLEST: Getting together with friends to research a local nature spot and see if it could become a protected area. Make presentations to your school and local community and see if together you can persuade the authorities to recognize its value.

COOL: Drinking water from a biodegradable bottle made of corn.
COOLER: Green motor racing. Eco-One is a prototype racing car made largely from hemp and potatoes that proves that eco-cars can be both fun and functional. The latest plan is to go tropical and develop a Formula 1 car made from coconuts!

COOL: Bargain-hunting for vintage chic in second-hand clothes stores.
COOLER: Renovating your existing wardrobe. Personalize your clothes to update tired styles and get a unique new look!
COOLEST: Organizing a clothes-swap amongst your classmates or friends. Guilt-free shopping where everything from sweaters to scarves is exchanged in the ultimate friendly free-for-all.

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