5
December, 2009 / Bonn, Germany - Thousands
of volunteers around the world have registered
more than one million hours of effort to
tackle climate change and other environmental
issues, as part of a campaign to promote
International Volunteer Day (IVD) on 5 December.
The United Nations Volunteers
(UNV) programme launched the global campaign
'Volunteering for our Planet' to promote
voluntary effort for the environment. Since
the website launched in October, tens of
thousands of people have visited the website,
www.VolunteeringForOurPlanet.org, to register
the time that they spend on a voluntary
basis, helping communities to adapt and
innovate and to mitigate the causes of climate
change.
As the total registered
effort passed 1 million hours, volunteers
in developing countries had registered the
most time and activities. The top five countries
were India, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, and
the Philippines. Only one western country,
the United States, appeared in the top 10.
"This sends a very
strong message that volunteers make a significant
contribution to development and that everyone
can be a part of the solution to climate
change," said UNV Executive Coordinator
Flavia Pansieri. "It is highly relevant
that developing countries are so well represented
in this campaign, because they will be among
the most affected by global climate change."
UNV is continuing to
collect information about environmental
volunteerism and will present the result
of the campaign at the UN Climate Change
Conference in Copenhagen which opens on
7 December. "Governments are increasingly
recognizing both the urgency of addressing
climate change, and the support they have
from their citizens to do this. In Copenhagen,
they have the opportunity to turn this powerful
voluntary force into agreed international
actions," Ms Pansieri said.
Volunteers are taking
action across many areas, including environmental
education in Egypt, agriculture in Brazil,
energy in China, waste and pollution in
Germany, water and sanitation in Australia
and biodiversity in Canada. People registering
on the website have given details of many
different ways that they are volunteering.
One couple volunteered 1000 hours to teach
environmental conservation to communities
in Malaysia. In Turkey, a woman volunteered
for 100 hours to build more energy-efficient
buildings, while a man in Liberia spent
50 hours installing water pumps and mobilizing
young people to volunteer for environmental
projects.
"People are committed
and they are taking positive action to do
something about this issue," said Ms
Pansieri. "Taken on their own, a few
hours of effort by an individual volunteer
might not look like very much, but the fantastic
response to this campaign demonstrates that
the combined actions of thousands of volunteers
around the world add up to a tremendous
contribution to the global effort to address
climate change."
As UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon stated on World Environment
Day 2009, "Our planet needs more than
just action by governments and corporations;
it needs each of us. Although individual
decisions may seem small in the face of
global threats and trends, when billions
of people join forces in common purpose
we can make a tremendous difference."
Ms Pansieri noted that
volunteerism was instrumental to fighting
climate change. "Volunteers started
the global environmental movement and we
are an essential part of the solution to
climate change. That is why UNV established
'Volunteering for our Planet' as our theme
for International Volunteer Day. We want
political leaders to recognize that the
solution lies not only with governments
and industry, but with every one of us.
We are sending a strong signal to the Copenhagen
conference that people should be encouraged
to volunteer to be part of the response
to climate change. Our climate is changing
and everybody needs to get involved to help
us cope. Every hour counts."
'Volunteering for our
Planet' is the UNV contribution to the UN
campaign to Seal the Deal in Copenhagen.
The website is recording voluntary contributions
made between 5 June and 5 December. Contributions
will continue to be recorded until the closure
of COP15 on 18 December, when the final
results will be released.
The United Nations Volunteers
programme is the UN organization that promotes
volunteerism to support peace and development
worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the
pace and nature of development and it benefits
both society at large and the individual
volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and
development by advocating for volunteerism
globally, encouraging partners to integrate
volunteerism into development programming,
and mobilizing volunteers. UNV is the UN
focal point for International Volunteer
Day, celebrated internationally every year
on 5 December and marked in a variety of
ways by governments, institutions and individuals
worldwide.
To learn more about the campaign please
visit www.VolunteeringForOurPlanet.org
