Climate change threatens all of us, especially the poor. Environmental activism has a long tradition of volunteerism and it is at the community level where people can make the biggest difference to preventing desertification and land degradation. 

Driven by a number of factors -  including global recognition of the role of volunteerism in environmental protection as well as UN General Assembly resolutions - UN Volunteers contribute experience in a range of environmental fields to an increasing range of projects.

There are three interlinked priorities within this focus area.

Community-based adaptation to climate change: Communities themselves can alleviate or respond to the negative impacts of global warming. They can increase their resilience to adverse changes, improve human security and enhance socio-economic development. UN Volunteers support communities in utilizing new technologies, and help them improve water management and agricultural practices as well as food security and sustainable livelihoods.

Food security through sustainable livelihoods: Around 852 million people worldwide are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty. Up to two billion people intermittently lack food security due to varying degrees of poverty. Climate change is likely to further impact the four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and the stability of food systems.

At the community level, sustainable food production depends on agricultural practices that respect local ecosystems. Community volunteerism can play a crucial role in this area.

Natural resource management and sustainable biodiversity conservation:  Biological diversity and local ecologies are both used and conserved by communities through various informal institutions and traditional knowledge. UN Volunteers support the culturally appropriate sustainable management of water, land and forest resources through the engagement of community and local level stakeholders.

• Learn more about UNV and the delivery of basic services
• Learn more about UNV and disaster/crisis prevention and recovery

If you wish to register your profile in the UNV database of potential candidates, please go to register to be a UN Volunteer.