Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health

The United Nation General Assembly declared 12 August the International Youth Day to celebrate young peoples' views and initiatives on a global scale. The theme for 2021 is transforming food systems: youth innovation for human and planetary health. The success of such a global effort is integrally tied with the meaningful participation of young people. The UN and the Bangladesh Government recognize the importance of youth and accordingly reflected in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and various Rules and Policies of Bangladesh.

It has been some time now that global priorities have centred around reducing atmospheric CO² concentration to stabiles weather and climate system, adapt to the adverse impacts of global warming and climate change, biodiversity loss, unemployment, poverty, gender inequality, conflict, and forced migration. Demographically the youth (aged between 10 and 24) constitute almost a quarter of the total population. Different studies show that the youth have the great potential to conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems. The fact that Bangladesh Government has recognized this potential is reflected in a range of laws and policies like Protected Area Management rule 2017, Bangladesh Biodiversity act 2017, Social Forestry rule 2004, Bangladesh National Conservation Strategy 2005, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009, National Agriculture/Fisheries/Water Policy and 8th Five Year Plan. In the ongoing pandemic, the youth is also playing a vital role in managing the Covid-19 related response.

Youths are significant in conservation because our present and future generation depends on them. They have the potential to act as an 'agent of change' in conservation. As youths are innovative, so they can bring new ideas in the conservation process. Considering this reality, governmental and non-government organizations should adopt meaningful tools and strategies to motivate the youth to embrace the ideas in conservation. Some of these strategies could include arranging community-based awareness meetings/workshops/youth conservation camps, developing forests/wetlands conservation clubs, organizing forests/wetlands site visits, and doing art/photography/essay/quiz contests and exhibitions. These would empower the youth to engage not just on national and international days relating to forests, wetlands, and ecologically critical areas, but beyond such days to learn about and inform conservation themes.

To address natural resource management and youth employability challenges in Bangladesh, the US Forest Service International Programs in partnership with USAID, has initiated the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) under the Community Partnerships to Strengthen Sustainable Development (Compass) Project. The program aims to empower vibrant, healthy, and skilled youth acting in their communities to conserve natural resources and earn a decent living. The program strives to equip the youth to serve as leaders in the community as environmental stewards possessing the skills to engage in sustainable livelihoods. The point is to embed the youth in locally led activism and in turn facilitate their capacity development through training, demonstrations, and job placement. The program provides both theoretical and hands-on training including community services as well as an internship on soft skills like leadership, suitable trades, environmental stewardships and vocational skills. We believe nurturing conservation leadership among young groups and developing 'youth champions' to lead conservation activities at the community level is of paramount importance.

Initially, the YCC aims to build skill and leadership of 240 underprivileged, formal education dropouts from the youth to empower and improve livelihoods and make them environmental stewards in their communities. This year, the first cohort of the program will start by celebrating the International Youth Day 2021. A total of 40 youths nearly half of whom are women are observing the International Youth Day 2021 with a weeklong fruit tree plantation campaign. The campaign will come to end with an online webinar where YCC Youth Fellows will tell us about their lived experiences.

• Mofaq Kharul Taufiq, Youth Conservation Corps Advisor
• MD. Shams Uddin, Academic And Research Coordination Specialist