Achieving universal access to water and sanitation by 2030 through blended finance – World Bank

Today, 2.4 billion people still live without access to improved sanitation; about one billion people defecate in the open; and more than 640,000 people lack improved drinking water sources.

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals on water and sanitation (SDG 6), countries of the world committed themselves to change this situation by achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation while addressing issues of water quality and scarcity to balance the needs of households, agriculture, industry, energy, and the environment over the next 15 years.

A substantial increase in sector financing will be necessary to achieve SDG 6. Recent estimates by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) indicate that the present value of the additional investment in the water and sanitation sector alone needed through 2030 will exceed US$1.7 trillion. Existing funding falls far short of this amount; countries may have to increase their water and sanitation investments by up to four times in order to meet the SDGs.

The World Bank at World Water Week 2016

At present, most water sector actors in developing countries rely on government lending and concessional financing from national, bilateral or multilateral development banks (MDBs) to mobilize financing for capital investment. These financial sources alone will not be sufficient to finance investments on the scale that is called for by the SDGs. It is therefore essential to mobilize up-front financing from commercial sources as well.

National governments and donors must use their funds in a catalytic manner, as part of broader financing strategies that mobilize funding from sector efficiency gains, tariffs, domestic taxes, and transfers to crowd in domestic commercial finance. If they are able to do so, countries will be much more likely to access the resources they need to improve and expand the infrastructure needed to deliver and sustain universal coverage of water and sanitation services and achieve SDG 6.

However, commercial finance has been limited for the water sector up to now. How can it be mobilized? In a newly published paper - Achieving Universal Access to Water and Sanitation by 2030: The Role of Blended Finance, we suggest that “blended finance” can help lift the constraints that are limiting the mobilization of commercial financing for the water sector.

What is “blended finance”?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) refers to blended finance as ‘the strategic use of development finance and philanthropic funds to mobilize private capital flows to emerging and frontier markets’. 

Blended finance in the water sector has the potential of mobilizing private sector financing for credit-worthy or close to credit-worthy investments. This would allow reallocating public funds to other areas where public subsidies are likely to be needed.

Commercial finance usually brings requirements for greater investment discipline and transparency, which in turn could support improved efficiency in the sector, an objective for most water sector reform efforts around the world.

Domestic commercial finance in particular can be mobilized in local currency, which reduces the foreign exchange risk and can bring down transaction costs, particularly for smaller scale investments to improve efficiency that can generate rapid returns (such as replacing meters or fixing leaks).

Blended finance has traditionally been used as a tool to stimulate interest from the commercial financial sector, with the use of concessional finance then tapering off over time to avoid distorting markets.

World Bank pulled together nine case studies on how blended finance has been used in facilitating access to water and sanitation in developing countries so far. 

These case studies include diverse experiences reflecting different levels of financial market development and targeting different sector needs -- from facilitating access to micro-finance for households to invest in water and sanitation in Cambodia or Bangladesh, all the way to setting up a revolving fund for utility investments in the Philippines.

The case studies shed light on how grants, concessional lending and various forms of credit enhancement (such as guarantees or revenue intercepts) have been used to address constraints on accessing finance so that more households would have access to drinking water, an adequate toilet and a suitable place to wash their hands by 2030.

Do you know of other examples where blended finance approaches have been successful in catalyzing investment in the water and sanitation sector? What about other sectors? Let us know in the comments! Or write to us at jkolker@worldbank.org and stremolet@worldbank.org. 

Source:World Bank

FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG IN NIGERIA

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is in Nigeria on his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, using his time in the country to visit the Yaba technology hub in Lagos, meet with developers and partners and explore Nollywood.

Zuckerberg says he will also listen, learn and take ideas back to California on how Facebook can better support tech development and entrepreneurship across Africa.

One of his first stops on the trip was to visit a ‘Summer of Code Camp’ at the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, known as the Silicon Valley of Nigeria.

At CcHub, Zuckerberg met with developers like Temi Giwa, who runs a platform called Life Bank that makes blood available when and where it is needed in Nigeria. Life Bank saves lives by mobilising blood donations, taking inventory of all blood available in Nigeria, and delivering blood in the right condition to where it is needed.

After visiting CcHub, Mark Zuckerberg said: “This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I’ll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the start-up ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I’m excited to learn as much as I can.

“The first place I got to visit was the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps.  I’m looking forward to meeting more people in Nigeria”.

Mark also met developers At Andela, an engineering organisation, that is building the next generation of technical leaders in Africa.

Andela is a business that recruits the most talented technologists in Africa and shapes them into world-class developers through a four-year technical leadership program.

In the two years since it was founded, Andela has accepted just over 200 engineers from a pool of more than 40,000 applicants.

Andela developers spend six months mastering a technical stack and contributing to open source projects before being placed with global technology companies as full-time, distributed teammates, working out of Andela headquarters in Lagos and Nairobi.

Earlier this year, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invested in Andela after being impressed by the company’s innovative model of learning and its drive to connect the global technology ecosystem with the most talented developers in Africa.

The Director of Andela Lagos, Seni Sulyman, said: “We are excited and honoured to welcome Mark Zuckerberg to Lagos. His visit reinforces not only his support of Andela’s mission, but his belief that indeed the next generation of great technology leaders will come out of Lagos, Nigeria and cities across Africa.

“Andela has created a platform for passionate, driven software developers and engineers to break into the global tech ecosystem, but the barriers to entry are still very high. Mark’s visit demonstrates to all Nigerian developers and entrepreneurs that they’ve caught the attention of the tech world, and they are capable of succeeding on a truly global level”.

At the end of the day Zuckerberg stopped by an Express WiFi stand in Lagos owned by Rosemary Njoku.

Facebook’s Express WiFi lets entrepreneurs like Rosemary set up a hot spot to help their community access apps and services built by local developers.

On plans to expound Express WiFi, Zuckerberg said: “This week, we’re launching a satellite into space to enable more entrepreneurs across Africa to sell Express Wi-Fi and more people to access reliable internet. That means more connectivity and more opportunity for entrepreneurs like Rosemary everywhere”.

Zuckerberg’s presence has become the talk of the day in Nigeria’s commercial city, with lots of ‘welcome to Nigeria’ messages on his Facebook page.

In response to some of the messages, an excited Mark said: “Thanks for such a warm welcome”!

(Culled from CHANNELS TELEVISION WEBSITE)

Lagos State Government reiterates commitment on environmental sanity in the state.

The Lagos State Government has reiterated its commitment in bringing back environmental sanity to every part of the state.

The commitment was made by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday while inaugurating the Special Committee on Clean-Up of Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki areas of the state.

The governor said that gross abuse of urban planning and environmental laws in the state had necessitated the action to clean up the environment and restore it to its desired form.

“The neat road sides of the past now parade pockets of kiosks, illegal parking lots, unapproved mechanic workshops, roadside beer parlours and commercial centres’’.

Ambode explained that the state government will not allow the environment to be destroyed by people who had no regard for its beauty, serenity, law and order.

“A safe and prosperous Lagos is non-negotiable; that is the commitment of our administration. We will not allow these environmental infractions to continue,’’ the governor said.

According to the governor, bad environmental practices thriving in prime areas, such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki axis, can no longer be tolerated and will be brought to an end immediately.

He said that the clean-up was not a one-off exercise, adding that the one taking place in the high-brow area was the pilot scheme.

The governor charged the committee, chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, to immediately commence the implementation of the approved action plan and execution of the clean-up exercise.

He said the committee should develop strategies for preventing recurrence as well as other recommendations as necessary to sustain environmental renewal of the areas.

Bello, in his response, pledged that all members of the committee would carry out their tasks diligently.

Nigerian government urges Space Agency To Address Nation’s Challenges

Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged the National Space Research and Development Agency to intensify research efforts that will address Nigeria’s peculiar challenges.

He made the appeal at the sixteenth Annual Space National Dialogue of the agency held in Abuja on Monday.

The Minister said that the agency should apply space science and technology in addressing Nigeria’s security and economic challenges.

He also appealed to the agency to make researches that would solve Nigeria’s peculiar challenges a priority.

The guest lecturer, Professor Ibidapo-Obe, said that space science could help solve security challenges, including rescuing the abducted Chibok school girls.

The Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Professor Seidu Mohammed, said it was time to review how it has fared since its inception.

The Agency was established in 1999 to pursue the development and application of space science and technology for economic benefits. 

The National Space Center had in 2003 launched the first satellite, the Nigeria Sat-1 into space.
 Four years later, another satellite; the NigComSat-1 was also launched.

NAHIMAT ADEKOGA

Scientists set to launch 50 mini-satellites on atmosphere’s outermost layer

An International team of Scientists is getting ready to launch a set of 50 mini-satellites called CubeSats into Earth’s thermosphere, the outermost layer of our atmosphere that we know relatively little about.

The 50 mini-satellites will be launched from the International Space Station, and their job will be to feedback data on how our outer atmosphere functions.

The 50 CubeSats are part of an international project called QB-50, involving researchers from 28 countries, including Europe, Japan, the US, and Australia.

CubeSats are tiny satellites, measuring approximately 10 cm each side, and weighing around 1 kilogram each.

It’s an exciting move for Australia in particular, which is one of the Organizations for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD countries without a space agency.

One of the team from the University of New South Wales in Australia, Andrew Dempster said that the thermosphere is where much of the ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the Sun collides with Earth, and generates auroras and potential hazards that can affect power grids and communications.

Another researchers, Elias Aboutanios said that the project is the most extensive exploration of the lower thermosphere ever, collecting measurements in the kind of detail never tried before.

Aboutanios explained that the satellites will operate for three to nine months, and may last up to a year, orbiting the little-studied region of space, before their orbits decay and they re-enter the atmosphere and burn up.

The researchers are excited about the potential data collected by the 50 satellites, and the best part is that the CubeSats are a lot cheaper to launch than large satellites, which means you get more data for your money.

The actual launch date is currently scheduled for December, and will be sent to the International Space Stationusing the Orbital ATK Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia. 

They will then take about a month to be deployed from the International Space Station, drifting down from  Station's 380 km orbit to the lower regions of the thermosphere.

NAHIMAT ADEKOGA

WASTE TO WEALTH

WASTE TO WEALTH

Do you know we can actually make money from waste and also save the environment from the filth and refuse in our communities?

Yes, we can save the environment by turning our waste into wealth.

Refuse waste has become a thing of concern to both government and inhabitants of areas filled with filth, as it may spread diseases and endanger the lives of residents.

But unfortunately, most of these waste are non-degradable, that is waste products and packaging materials which cannot be  decomposed chemically or biologically, and that is why environmental enthusiasts are clamoring for ways to recycle these waste and turn them into wealth.

Now we have a story of a young man, a 19 year-old man who invented a waste to wealth machine.

Emeka Nelson is a student of community secondary school Umuorbu Awka in Anambra, south East Nigeria. He proffers solutions to disposal of waste in his community, and creates wealth in the process.

His innovation “a waste to wealth machine” recycles non-biodegradable wastes like polythene, plastic etc. The machine converts these waste to refineable oil from which petrol kerosene and diesel can be gotten.

Emeka is one among several other students from across Nigeria who participated in the 2015 edition of the NTA ETV (Nigerian Television Authority-Educational TV programme) for Art, Science and Technology Exhibition, where other participants designed cars, vans and many other products from waste.

Brilliant young minds like Emeka Nelson is what our communities needs and should encouraged as the working principles of his machine leaves us only with useful bye-products from which interlocks for construction purposes can be made.

Emeka explains how his machine works in this video downloaded on the NTA website.

Meanwhile, government at all levels have appealed to individuals and communities to maintain cleanliness of their environment and save them the huge cost spent on illnesses.

NAHIMAT ADEKOGA 

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS (CONCLUDING PART)

Biological Hazards and their Adverse Health Effects

Now let’s talk about another aspect of environmental hazard, and that is the Biological hazards.

So what are biological hazards? Biological hazards, which are also known as bio-hazards, refer to biological substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily that of humans.

This can include medical waste or samples of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can affect human health.

These bio-hazards generally fall into two broad categories: those that produce adverse health effects through infection and those which produce adverse effects in non-infective or allergic ways.

Biological hazards that have effects through infections could in form of Avian Influenza virus (bird flu), HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis viruses, Norovirus (Norwalk virus), Salmonella bacteria, Mycobacterim tuberculosis bacteria, Vibrio cholerae bacteria (cholera), MRSA superbugs, Plasmodium parasites (malaria) and hundreds of other microorganisms.

These Bacteria, viruses and parasites are responsible for the bulk of the 18.4 million deaths worldwide from communicable diseases in 2004 estimated by the World Health Organization plus additional deaths from non-communicable diseases and cancers.

Pathogens currently infects billions of people and trends indicate a rising number of pathogen deaths and infections from population growth in developing countries, urbanization, poor sanitation, broken water infrastructure, reduced food safety, globalization, international travel, extreme weather, and the rising costs of new drugs, vaccines and antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Recreational water which is heavily contaminated with pathogens, notably coliform bacteria, has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal and other infectious illness, usually self-limiting.

Some biohazards in our environment also produce adverse effects in peoples’ health in non-infective or allergic ways.

Allergies manifest in a number of very specific ways, including nasal and eye symptoms, allergic asthma, eczema, hives and anaphylaxis. It is common for a person to have more than one allergic disease.

The immune system in people with allergies reacts in a specific way to allergens. Allergens are those things that trigger allergic symptoms. Common allergens include materials and particles in the air and environment such as dust mites, molds, pet dander, tree pollen, grasses and weeds, foods, drugs and stinging insect venoms.

Many allergens such as grass pollen grains, or faecal material from house dust mites may cause attacks of asthma or "hay fever". Hay fever, is also called allergic rhinitis, causes cold-like signs and symptoms, such as a runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, sneezing and sinus pressure. There is evidence that high exposure to these allergens early in life increases the risk of suffering from asthma later on in life.

An increasing number of studies suggest that airborne chemical pollution can act synergistically with naturally occurring allergens and result in effects on lung function at concentrations lower than those at which either the allergen or the chemical irritant on its own would have produced an adverse effect.

The so-called "clinical" waste is also a bio-hazard that is not merely an occupational hazard for health care workers but is now becoming an increasingly more important risk for everyone, even at home.

We have discussed how substances present in our environment affect our health, but the essence of the discussion is to call for action. Individuals, groups, communities and the governments of countries around the world have roles to play in safeguarding their environments.

As individuals, we need to take good care of both our immediate and outside environments. Our homes, street, workplace are all important to our lives and that of our children.

As a community, it is imperative for us to be our neighbours’ keepers. We have to be careful of what pesticide we use on our farms, the type of food we plant, the cleanliness of our streets, how we trash the dirt, do we just dump them at a site? Do we recycle them? Do we keep the gutters clean to avoid floods? All these are things we do as a community to keep the environment healthy for all.

And as government, either at the local, state or federal level, there should be strict implementation of policies, laws and agreements that dwell on the environment.

Remember You are your environment, and your environment is you.

NAHIMAT ADEKOGA

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS (PART TWO)

Chemical Hazards and their Health Effects

This is actually in continuation of the write-up on the Environmental Hazards around us.

Yes, we hear the word ‘chemicals’, we say chemicals, we even talk about chemicals, but we don’t take extra efforts in knowing how these chemicals affect our lives.

But first what are chemicals? Chemicals are substances that are artificially prepared or purified. Water, oxygen, gold are parts of chemicals in our environment.

Surprisingly, these chemicals are in our immediate environment and have their effects on us.

Now, what are chemical hazards in your environs? A chemical hazard is a type of occupational hazard which is caused by exposure to chemicals in the workplace, causing acute or long-term detrimental health effects.

But these chemical hazards are not limited to workplace alone; you can actually be exposed to chemical hazards in the comfort of your homes, in the buses, on the streets, everywhere, anywhere.

We can chemical hazards in form of liquids, vapors, fumes and flammable materials.

Tobacco smoke can be described as one of the environmental hazards that carry airborne chemical risk on health, in terms of death rates and ill-health associated with it. Diseases like lung cancer and other lung disease such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and disease of the heart, especially, and of blood vessels and other parts of the body are mostly caused by tobacco smoking. To a much lesser degree of risk, these adverse effects also apply to non-smokers exposed passively to side-stream tobacco smoke.

General airborne pollution is another chemical hazard in our environment. It arises from a variety of causes but can be subdivided into pollution from combustion or from other sources.

Combustion of coal and other solid fuels can produce smoke and sulphur dioxide and have them emitted into the environment.

Combustion of liquid petroleum products can generate carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and other agents.

Industry and incineration can generate a wide range of products of combustion such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins etc.

Combustion of fossil fuels generates varying amounts of particulate matter. It also adds to the environmental burden of carbon dioxide.

Nowadays some asthmatics people can be adversely affected by some levels of urban air pollution in most major cities around the world.

Health effects of this air pollution are asthma, bronchitis and similar lung diseases.

Products of combustion and other harmful airborne pollutants can also arise within the home. The nitrogen dioxide generated by gas fires or gas cookers can contribute to an increased respiratory morbidity of people living in the houses.

Certain modern building materials may liberate gases or vapors such as formaldehyde at low concentration, but which might eventually provoke mild respiratory and other symptoms in some occupants.

Special local environmental exposures can also arise in communities that are exposed to drifting pesticide sprays which may contain organophosphates. Organophosphates are a group of chemicals that have many domestic and industrial uses, though they are most commonly used as Insecticides and are also responsible for a number of poisonings to human health.

Some natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions can also present serious risks to health to both environment and man. Fortunately they are rare but can be catastrophic.

Water can be an important source of chemical hazards. It can leach lead from pipes especially if the water is soft.

Some concern has been raised about possible increased cancer risks in association with chlorinated water but there is as yet no proof that a causal association between the two exists. Fluoride added to water reduces the risks of caries but can also have unwanted effects such as mottling of the teeth.

Nitrate in water usually arising from fertiliser leaching (natural or artificial) can increase the risk of methaemoglobinaemia ('blue babies') in bottle fed infants but this is extremely rare. Although pesticides can and do leach into water, there is no evidence that the current standards for water quality are inadequate in this respect, but most standards are based on evidence other than human epidemiology which in this context is extremely difficult to conduct.

Beyond the point of supply, further problems in drinking water quality may result. Thus for example water tanks containing lead may increase the burden of this metal in the water; while water softeners may increase its sodium content which can be harmful for bottle fed infants.

Deposition of solid hazardous waste can result in harmful substances leaching into water supplies, becoming airborne or being swallowed or otherwise absorbed directly by children playing at such sites. If the sites are well contained to prevent leaching into water supplies and segregated from human activity, then the risk to human health is usually immeasurably small.

However where the position of disposal sites and their contents are unknown and houses are proposed to be built on them or they are to be developed in other ways, extensive prior investigation may be needed in an attempt to estimate the health risks. 

To be continued......

NAHIMAT ADEKOGA

Environmental Hazards and their Health Effects

Environmental Hazards and their Health Effects (Part 1)

Although you might have heard or read a great deal about the environmental consequences of global warming or climate change, individuals will be most likely affected through famine or drought before the health of a community or country as a whole is affected to a serious degree by the temperature change.

However, the increasing extremes of temperature, that is extreme hotness and coldness, as a result of climatic change, could result in increased deaths even in temperate climates.

Noise and other physical hazards may also present a nuisance to many inhabitants, and impair their general well-being.

Environmental noise does not usually contribute to deafness but notable exceptions may include noisy discotheques and "personal stereos".

Electromagnetic radiation ranges from low frequency, relatively low energy, radiation such as radio and microwaves through to infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. These last as well as other forms of radioactivity such as high energy subatomic particles (e.g. electrons - Beta rays) can cause intracellular ionisation and are therefore called ionising radiation.

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation carries an increased risk of skin cancer such as melanoma, and of cataracts which are to an extent exposure related.

Some pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants or in aerosol propellants or in the manufacture of certain plastics can damage the "ozone layer" in the higher atmosphere (stratosphere) and thus allow more UV light to reach us, and harm us directly.

Ultraviolet light may also cause harm indirectly by contributing to an increase in ozone in the troposphere (the air we breathe). 

(To be continued) 

NAHIMAT

World Elephant Day

World Elephant Day

Today is World Elephant Day, when people with a passion for pachyderms come together to celebrate the wonder of elephants and raise funds to protect them.

It seems paradoxical that the largest land animal, which symbolizes strength and sagacity, is so vulnerable across the globe, especially in Africa and Asia.

The numbers of elephant are dwindling as human activities and expanding agriculture squeeze elephants into smaller  patches of fragmented habitat.

Even where the habitat remains, the elephants are hunted by criminal gangs for their front teeth, for their meat and for their babies that are being beaten into submission for a life of servitude in entertainment, temple ceremonies or tourist attractions, despite legal protection.

And in spite of all these, elephants like every other species are suffering as climate change raises average temperatures, disrupts rainfall patterns and brings more drought and extreme weather events.

Why should we care for the survival of these elephants?

A glance through the literature of organisations dedicated to saving elephants gives a clear idea of why people care about elephants. We find their size impressive; their improbable shape and sometimes comical behaviour endear them to children; their matriarchal society and cognitive capacity fascinate us; their ability to suffer and show compassion strikes an empathic chord in us; and they are high on the list of “must-see” animals on wildlife-watching holidays in Africa and Asia, so they bring in tourist revenues.

Apart from generating revenues as tourist attractions, the elephants also help in stabilising the climate.

Elephants, because of their size, appetite and migratory habits, help in dispersing seeds of more species further than any other animal. Tree species with small seeds such as figs can have them dispersed by birds, fruit bats, antelope, etc. Species with large seeds, such as mangoes and durian, need big animals such as apes and elephants to disperse them, sowing the seeds of the trees of tomorrow.

Their dung is important, too, as fertiliser.

An adult elephant produces about one tonne of first-class organic manure every week. Germination and seedling survival are much higher for seeds given such a good start in life. This is why ecologists refer to elephants as mega-gardeners of the forest.

The current wave of ivory poaching is killing some 30,000 African elephants a year. This is a tragic loss to the surviving members of each elephant’s family, and to the potential revenues from tourism, but think of the ecological impact. Think of the loss of soil fertility of 30,000 fewer tonnes of manure a week and millions of seeds not dispersed.

Before the advent of modern firearms, it is thought there were some 10 million elephants across Africa. Even the most optimistic estimates today put the figure at under half a million. We have already lost 95% of the workforce of the forest and Savannah. This is why majority of the countries with natural elephant populations are calling for an end to the ivory trade everywhere. 

Lets protect the elephants.

Source: The Guardian (UK)

NAHIMAT

Happy International Youth Day!

Happy International Youth Day!

The UN Environment Programme UNEP recently sent out a call to ask young people around the world to tell their stories about the action that they were taking with respect to this year's theme: sustainable consumption and production and poverty reduction.

And fortunately the social media team picked Damien Cluzel's story.

UNEP posted Damien Cluzel's story and it will also appear in the UNEP magazine Perspectives.

Congratulations to Damien!

It was in the midst of his career at FMCG giant L’Oreal that Damien Cluzel, now 30, realised that a barrier to action for sustainability around the world was that it was often invisible, individual and disparate.

“Many people act on climate change and the environment or make donations, we don’t know who or where they are and what that action is,” he explains.

He wanted to find a way to combine environmental action with solidarity and a sense of collective action, which could make people aware that small actions taken by large numbers of people could change their world.

Eventually, he hopes to encourage people “join the movement to preserve all the beautiful places we love and in which we live”.

The engineer and financial controller quit his job to work full time on an app, Wild-It, to boost visibility of action and social rapport, joining up with 25-year-old full-stack developer Jade Chabaro, and designer Gregory Jubé.

The team launched it in France and the United States at the end of June this year. Damien says it’s the first app for the general public that allows users to rate their environment and promote conservation. The team saw a reach of 51 countries within a few days of being launched

Beyond this, the team has big hopes and plans.

“We would eventually like the collaborative aspect of our app to lead to action being taken where it is needed,” Damien explains.

The team hopes that eventually the app will attract a huge community, which would in turn encourage people and cities to change. It also hopes to include action by companies on the app to help attract sponsorship of these actions—another gap that Damien discovered while still at L’Oreal.

“Companies might be putting in place significant action to respect and protect our environment and build a sustainable world, but apart from summarising these actions and policies in an annual report, there is no further visibility,” he said, detailing his ex-employer’s efforts in sustainable infrastructure, sustainable production and design and supply chain greening.

It was Damien’s childhood summers on the French west coast that alerted him to environmental problems. He noticed over the years the degradation of some of the places along this coast, and the toll that pollution and urban expansion had on them.

Culled from http://unep.org/stories/InternationalYouthDay

NAHIMAT