An environmental Foundation takes children from a contaminated area on the outskirts of the Argentine capital to visit projects to recover degraded lands. The minors feel the excitement of their first contact with the field.
An environmental lawyer has told UN News how children and adolescents from some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, have been moved to tears after encountering nature for the first time.
Ana Di Pangracio works for the civil society organization Environment and Natural Resources Foundationwhich participates in projects to recover degraded lands in Argentina.
Di Pangracio spoke with UN News in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, where he is attending the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16) focused on soil degradation, drought and land reclamation.
The lawyer works in the Matanza Riachuelo basina contaminated area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, where about 4.5 million people livemany of them in situations of socio-environmental vulnerability or other difficult circumstances.
The restoration activities carried out by his Foundation include the planting of native flora and the removal of non-native invasive species on approximately 4.5 hectares, as well as the construction of viewpoints and interpretive trails and the cleanup of illegal landfills.
“Part of our work is to bring people, especially young people, to this restored natural wetland. Many live nearby, in highly urban and built-up areas, and may come from difficult or violent backgrounds, but They have never seen this land or even knew of its existence”explains Di Pangracio.
Ana Di Pangracio attends the COP16 desertification conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Emotions and tears
The lawyer assures that “some are moved to tears” when they experience nature for the first time in their lives: “We console them and tell them that it’s okay to get excited.; I am very happy that they can connect with nature in this way, because I see that our work is having a great impact.”
The children also tell their friends and teachers about the experience, and in this way the Foundation received more visitors.
“I am excited to give young people the opportunity to enjoy nature and for them to become the new guardians of the wetlands and carry the message to their peers about the importance of preserving ecosystems for future generations,” he explains.
The Foundation’s work has an educational component, as it teaches children the importance of protecting wetlands, but also the adjacent native grasslands and forests.
“I am dedicated to bird watching and, although I am not an expert, I enjoy showing our visitors my favorite bird, the carancho, which is a very intelligent and fun bird that can be seen throughout Argentina, even in urban areas. It is my way of connecting with nature,” he says.
The recognition that the right to a healthy environment is a human right underpins all of the Foundation’s work.
In Argentina there is a lot of land loss, including areas degraded by drought. In 2020, a three-year drought was recorded, the worst in more than 60 years. This had serious social and environmental repercussions.
A carancho perches on a sign in the wetlands of the province of Buenos Aires.
UN conference on desertification
Di Pangracio highlights the importance of participating in COP16, since provides the opportunity to engage with civil society groups and to consider the interface between national and global policy on a range of issues such as land restoration and biodiversity.
“If you believe in multilateralism, it is important to be here and civil society organizations can make a difference,” he says before pointing out that it was the pressure from these organizations that led to the inclusion of elements related to human rights and the gender in the Convention on Biological Diversity and in his recently adopted Global Framework for Biological Diversity.
In the Convention to Combat Desertification, the issue of land tenure, reflected in COP decisions, was also promoted by civil society organizations.
The process of these meetings facilitates the inclusionsince civil society can access plenary sessions and make statements, so we are heard.
These organizations cannot yet participate in COP contact group meetings, but Di Pangracio hopes that one day they will. “We are aware that other international forums, such as the UN climate COPs, do not have the same level of access.”
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