Challenge
In many Asia Pacific nations, environmental degradation has a disproportionate impact on Indigenous populations. The damage is substantial: forest destruction, warming and pollution of fishing waters, appropriation of tribal lands for monoculture, and toxic emissions. Transitioning to green jobs and practices will require a skilled workforce motivated to apply environmentally sound and culturally and contextually sustainable adaptive approaches.
Through the Community Empowerment for Racial and Environmental Justice in the Asia Pacific Region (also known as the R&E Project), EDC will equip youth in selected ethnic communities in Indonesia and the Philippines with the knowledge, skills, and agency to build effective coalitions and move their community toward environmentally safe and sustainable practices, jobs, and habitats.
Key Activities
- Conduct a community diagnostic process to identify local concerns around environmental degradation, priorities for transitioning to inclusive green growth, and community assets and influencers
- Introduce a short course with content aligned with the technical and soft skills gaps
- Provide a subset of youth with intensive training related to green economy and environmental justice leadership, thereby expanding positive youth engagement and youth-led, income-generation projects in local communities
- Build the capacity of partners to provide foundational skills to prepare youth for green jobs and green entrepreneurship
- Provide professional development and access to teaching materials to foster understanding, awareness, and skills development related to addressing environmental challenges and green economic opportunities in the community
Impact
- Engage more than 5,500 youth in Indonesia and the Philippines in a blue and green economy training program
- Provide professional development to 60 trainers to help youth in addressing environmental challenges and green economic opportunities in the community
Learn More
PROJECT DIRECTOR
EDC Staff
DURATION
FUNDED BY
PARTNERS
Mimika Regency Office of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, Mimika Regency Education Office, East Java Provincial Education Office, YESL, KBD, Barangay Local Government Unit of Tablon, Peace Crops