Comenius

Biodiversity and Ecosystem services

This Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform has recently published its first report to answer questions like “what are humans doing to the world’s species, its biodiversity, its ecosystems and its natural resources and what are the consequences for human life as well as the natural world”.

Its findings include that at least one million species are at risk of extinction and nearly one third of the world’s coral reefs and more than one third of marine mammals are also threatened. For domesticated plants and animals, the lack of biodiversity in genes is providing les protection against diseases and fewer options for breeding plants and animals that will be better adapted to a changing climate.

Reference-Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services-https://www.ipbes.net/

Scouts for SDGs

The World Scout Movement hosted an event at the United Nations headquarters in November 2018 to launch Scouts for SDGs – a mobilisation of 50 million Scouts to make the world’s largest coordinated youth contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 

Scouting has made an extraordinary contribution over the years to improve the sustainability of our planet, promote peace, and tackle inequality. Earlier this year Scouts surpassed an incredible milestone by giving more than one billion hours towards sustainable development through local projects under World Scouting’s programmes, including the flagship Messengers of Peace initiative.

Now, as a global Movement, Scouting is taking that commitment one step further with Scouts for SDGs. By 2030, this unprecedented activation aims to engage 50 million young people in a coordinated effort to deliver two million local projects and an additional three billion hours of service for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Scouts for SDGs features a newly launched online SDG hub and a range of resources to support National Scout Organizations to raise awareness and take action for the SDGs. The initiative also leverages financial and in-kind contributions from the World Scout Foundation and a wide network of partners, including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, to support local projects led by Scouts.

For further information consult www.sgs.scouts.org. Inspire others by sharing your project!