KUCHING: Young Malaysians as well as individuals and organisations that support youth initiatives are encouraged to participate in a crucial South East Asian regional survey running until June 20.
Organised by the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Southeast Asia and Sarawak Eco Warriors, the survey is to understand and map the current efforts of youth in the region in relation to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM GBF).
“This collaborative project, supported by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, KfW Development Bank, German cooperation, and the Hanns Seidel Foundation, aims to spotlight the needs and contributions of young people in the areas of nature conservation.
“By taking part in the survey, Malaysian youth can help shape the future of biodiversity governance and ensure their voices are heard,” the organisers said today.
The GYBN has been actively working to streamline youth contributions to the KM GBF.
During the World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium in February, GYBN hosted an in-person mapping session to identify ongoing youth efforts and establish connections to biodiversity governance.
Meanwhile, GYBN co-coordinator cum lead consultant for the regional KM GBF youth mapping survey Nadia Putri said while young people are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change, they also hold great potential to act as drivers of change.
“As we move forward in our mission to make youth voices heard, we hope our approach is inclusive of people from different backgrounds,” she said.
Moreover in May, a similar mapping session took place in Kuching, Sarawak under the Sarawak Youth Green Leaders (SYGL) Programme by Sarawak Eco Warriors.
Its president stated that the said programme is aimed to empower youth aged 18-35 years to learn about biodiversity governance and enhance their leadership skills for nature conservation.
“The SYGL programme has been running since 2020, and we have seen significant improvements over the years. This collaboration with GYBN has been essential in helping us understand the needs of young people.
“Through this survey, we hope to expand our reach beyond Sarawak and engage with more young people throughout Malaysia,” Nadia said.
The survey is available in four languages – English, Bahasa Melayu, Chinese, and Tamil.
Youngsters may participate in the survey at http://bit.ly/YouthBioD.
