Local and youth-driven non-profit organization Sustenta Honduras has a clear goal: to empower Honduran youth to promote sustainable development and public participation to meet the country’s, and the world’s, needs in facing the climate crisis.
While it is true that the entire world and every being in it will experience the changing climate, there are certain countries and populations that are significantly more vulnerable to its effects. Honduras is one of these countries. In fact, in 2017 it was considered the most vulnerable country in the face of the climate crisis, and its susceptibility to extreme weather was underscored twice last year in the form of two storms (Eta and Iota) that hit Honduras within just two weeks.
What is Sustenta Honduras?
With the help and support of the British Embassy, Sustenta Honduras hopes to equip and educate the country’s youth so that they can develop capacities on climate change. Sustenta wants to empower youth to propose different programs, projects, and policies that will address the needs of Honduran people and the environment.
Sustenta Honduras has already developed the Climate Empowerment Forums, a space for the co-creation of climate proposals aimed at Honduran youth, within the framework of COP26. So far, 500 young people have already participated in the forums, with 65 percent of attendees being young women looking to provide a gender perspective to circumstances specific to their local regions.
The inclusion of diverse voices will also contribute to the Honduran government’s commitment to developing at least two annual forums that promote the social inclusion of gender, youth, indigenous, and Afro-Honduran peoples.
The document that emerged out of this process includes a compilation of proposals generated by the youth titled “Proposals for the Inclusion of Honduran Youth in Climate Action,” which was then presented to the authorities of the Ministry of Environment.
Youth involvement is key as they will bear the brunt of the consequences that are made today regarding climate change.
