Global projects, local results

From the global…

From its earliest days, Zoï has helped explain the complex and nuanced agreements, systems and concepts of regional and global environmental policy institutions and instruments. This cornerstone of Zoï’s work has included engagements with such multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) as the conventions on climate change, the ozone layer, hazardous waste, mercury, and industrial accidents. The work extends to environmental impact assessments and the identification of key biodiversity areas, and has included projects on the Belt and Road Initiative, national hydrometeorological services, and climate proofing. The list is long and Zoï’s contributions run deep. Through maps, graphics, cartoons and animations, and with visual summaries and short explainers, Zoï makes difficult material easy for lay audiences to understand, and thereby contributes to the application of global-level environmental knowledge where it matters the most – at the local level, where people live.

Some important links in the MEA global-to-local chain are the country focal points – the people responsible for meeting the MEA reporting requirements. With a never-growing list of reporting formats and obligations, the focal points face challenges in keeping up with their commitments. Zoï assists in this effort by distilling data and creating visualizations, and by developing e-learning materials that help focal points stay up to date.

In a data mining project for InforMEA – the United Nations database on multilateral environmental agreements – Zoï conducted an excavation of the conventions’ reports to elucidate the connections between the MEAs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to answer such concrete questions as whether Stockholm Convention reports could be used to measure progress on SDG 12. Understanding such synergies will ease the reporting process for focal points by allowing them to tap into existing information. The results also reinforce the importance of accurate data.

…to the local

In an effort to ensure that the major policy processes reach the people who might be affected by key environmental decisions, Zoï works to empower those at the grassroots level. The coordination of the 1 Million Youth Actions Challenge – an initiative that engages youth worldwide in activities that contribute to a more sustainable world – is a prime example. Through 1MYAC, youth are encouraged to green and clean the local environment, check out their local thrift shops and buy second-hand, and a long list of other activities to contribute to a more sustainable world – every action counts.

In our work promoting climate change adaptation solutions in the mountains, we have focused on the people affected by the impacts, and have conducted evaluations of adaptation assistance programmes at the farm and household level of participation. As a partner in the Adaptation@Altitude programme, Zoï assists in the A@A Solutions Portal – a website devoted to collecting and sharing inspiring stories of successful local adaptation projects in the mountains for dissemination to practitioners in other mountain communities, and to policymakers and climate fund managers. Zoï has taken this work a step further by bringing a voice to the beneficiaries of these projects to hear how climate change is impacting them, and how adaptation solutions are affecting their lives for the better.

In cooperation with the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund in the mountains of Central Asia, Zoï is contributing to the strengthening of local civil society for the protection of key biodiversity areas. The grassroots participation in conservation extends to grants to local non-governmental organizations to implement adaptation projects within their areas of expertise in the protection of biodiversity.