I got this from the Foundation for Sustainable Development aboutfsd@gmail.com
Greetings from Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD)!
A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with extinction. The reason? Human activities. Traditional development approaches have contributed to significant degradation of original forest, drainage of half the world's wetlands, depletion of three quarters of all fish stocks, and emission of enough heat-trapping gases to keep our planet warming for centuries to come. Today, species extinctions occur at up to 1,000 times the natural rate. As a result, we are increasingly risking the loss of the natural resources essential for our own survival.
The loss of biodiversity is dangerous and its consequences on developing countries' populations are immediate: Fewer opportunities for livelihoods, for better health, education, and quality of life for indigenous communities, which are already amongst the poorest on Earth. Biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to meet immediate human needs, such as clean, consistent water flows, protection from floods and storms, and a stable climate.
For this reason, Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) encourages you to join us in our commemoration of World Environment Day on June 5th. FSD's Community-Based Partners throughout Africa, Asia, & Latin America aim to build effective and sustainable ecosystem stewardship in their communities. World Environment Day presents an unprecedented chance to advance environmental programs around the world that also support poverty reduction and further development efforts in human rights, health, education, and microfinance.
We encourage you to read on to meet two FSD partner organizations that focus on the importance of biodiversity as a means of promoting sustainable development in their communities:
FROM THE FIELD
NICARAGUA: Strengthening Indigenous Rights by Preserving Native Species & Local Plant Knowledge
In rural communities along Nicaragua's Pacific Coast, indigenous communities suffer from a high prevalence of vector-borne and infectious diseases. Lacking a permanent doctor at the public health centers, the local population must travel long distances for medical care, and health centers often run out of the medicines people need. FSD Partner, Puesto de Salud Las Salinas de Nagualapa, has created three traditional medicinal community gardens to help address gaps in access to effective, curative treatments to common ailments. They have also created educational guides that support workshops given by local students and health care workers to encourage community service participation, basic plant care, and collection of new plants. Cough relief, for example, is now being treated with plants such as zacate de limón, eucalyptus and guayaba. Problems such as inflammation, earaches, diarrhea, parasites, gastritis, and flu symptoms have also been effectively treated with native plants. The traditional medicine gardens are a replicable means to improve local public health outcomes while maintaining the rich culture and traditional knowledge of this indigenous community.
INDIA: Empowering Women while Promoting the Regeneration of Local Forests
The burden of ecological degradation often falls squarely on the shoulders of women, requiring solutions to empower women to become advocates capable of promoting the protection and regeneration of the natural resources they depend on. FSD partner organization in Udaipur, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), works in environmental conservation, natural resource management as well as women's empowerment and gender equity strategies. To enable natural regeneration, FES works with village communities to protect their existing forests and grazing lands through socially and economically equitable practices. Through this approach, FES has improved the standard of living in rural communities by focusing particularly on the role of women and the resources they need to maintain a household.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Join FSD in Africa, Asia, & Latin America this Fall
Experience the power of change first hand - learn how the socio-economic rights of many can be secured by conserving natural resources. Applications for FSD's Fall Intern and Volunteer Programs are open through July 1st. Apply today to join grassroots organizations in Africa, Asia, & Latin America and support community-based projects that stem biodiversity loss by ensuring effective ecosystem stewardship for all.
Bear Witness & Bring Change: Join FSD & National Geographic's Glimpse Program
Fall 2010 FSD program participants have the opportunity to become Glimpse Program Correspondents and get their stories from the field published in high-profile publications. Supported in part by the National Geographic Society, the Glimpse Correspondents Program provides talented writers and photographers between the ages of 18-36 with a $600 stipend as well as one-on-one editorial training and support to complete an independent journalistic work based on their experience abroad. To learn more, visit: http://glimpse.org/correspondents
Help FSD win the Great Non Profits Women's Empowerment Award!
Since 1995, FSD has worked with grassroots organizations to provide opportunities for women in all development sectors – from environment, health, and education to microfinance and microenterprise. Vote for FSD before May 31st and recognize the importance of our work in promoting sustainable development at home and abroad. Click here to cast your vote.
Pay it forward for the next generation: Match FSD-Alumni Contributions for the Summer Grant Fund! Support the social and economic benefits FSD grassroots partners and programs bring to local communities and stakeholders around the world. Give today to strengthen FSD's work in creating incentives for habitat protection and sharing the benefits of conservation with communities throughout Africa, Asia, & Latin America.
Join us this World Environment Day 2010 - celebrate many species, one planet, one future for all,
Ana-Mari Hamada
Communications Director
anamari@fsdinternational.org
www.fsdinternational.org