by Leslie Loch, UNV Online Volunteering service

04 June 2008

Bonn, Germany: Volunteers are making a significant impact on environmental programmes through the internet. Since 2000, online volunteers engaged via the UNV Online Volunteering service have undertaken 1,350 environmental assignments.
 
On World Environment Day, 5 June, more than 100 online volunteers are involved in current environmental initiatives, from designing websites for NGOs to creating promotional material and researching information on development topics.

Coming from diverse backgrounds but sharing a keen interest in environmental issues, the online volunteers search for opportunities published on the UNV Online Volunteering service website and apply to organizations that need their expertise.

"As a designer, I have the responsibility to design with sustainability and the environment in mind", says Valentin Iosif from Canada, who designed a brochure promoting Life Cycle Thinking amongst business and consumer associations worldwide. He is working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Life Cycle Initiative, which aims to bring life cycle approaches into practice globally. The idea rests on the sustainable management of products, from extracting raw materials to recycling old merchandise.

"We designers have to understand that our work can make a difference in how people use and reuse the products they buy. We cannot remain indifferent bystanders in the struggle for a cleaner planet. With that in mind, I applied for this assignment," he adds.

Shivani Saran, a volunteer from India, helped revise and redesign the fundraising brochure and website for Conservation through Research, Education and Action (CREA). A non-profit organization based in Panama, its mission is the conservation of tropical rainforests in Central America. The professionally designed brochure laid the basis for engaging potential donors such as international NGOs, the UN and large enterprises.

Ms. Saran, a professional fundraiser, says: "This assignment gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to be deeply engaged in the environmental process in Panama, to interact with people who share the same passion for the region and environment and to match my skills and CREA's need to help accomplish a successful and effective fundraising document".

Online volunteers are even helping resolve the environmental impact of defunct computers and electronic equipment. The eWaste Initiative of World Computer Exchange (WCE) aims to research the hazards of 'e-waste' and raise the awareness of the general public in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Pamela Cooney, Director of Operations at WCE says: "Online volunteers played a major role in our eWaste Initiative and continue to help with it, finding the scientific information to determine the hazards to humans and to the environment of computer equipment, identifying refurbishers who might be dealing with equipment disposal, and determining the extent of recycling electronics in the region"

The information collected by the online volunteer researchers was used to produce a dedicated website, a brochure, a presentation and several manuals, for example to assist entrepreneurs interested in building a sustainable refurbishing or recycling business.