Volunteerism: An Indispensable Tool For Environmentalism
By: Rees Africa
Tags: Africa, Volunteerism, Sdgs, Environmentalism

By Yetunde Oyelami

REES volunteers working alongside local volunteers for community development.

The term “Volunteerism” refers to a wide range of activities, including traditional forms of mutual assistance and self-help, formal service delivery, and other forms of civic participation, undertaken of free will, for the benefit of the general public and where a monetary reward is not the main motivator. Volunteerism is a strong tool that paves the way for effective, societal engagement in environmental sustainability.

Volunteerism has long been seen as an important strategy for overall, sustainable development. Spontaneous collaborative reactions to emergencies are among the clearest and widely accepted forms of coordinated community action.

In 2011, the Declaration of the 64th United Nations Department of Public Information / Non-Governmental Organizations Conference agreed by more than 1,300 representatives of NGOs, highlighted the critical contribution of millions of people’s voluntary actions towards sustainable development.

It underscored the intrinsic interconnectedness of voluntary work and environmental sustainability and called on governments to ensure that voluntary work and civic engagement are incorporated into all global, national, and local sustainable development plans.

Because of its key inherent attributes and the processes it engenders, volunteerism is particularly suited to promoting environmental sustainability, as the following points show:

Communities are often the first responders in the face of environmental challenges. They will harness fast concerted action, caring for themselves and others with resilience. Local community initiatives will have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ perspective on the challenges and drivers that neighborhoods are facing, be they environmental or structural or utility shortages. The United Nations System Task Team (UNTT) defined environmental sustainability as a central aspect of sustainable development. The High-Level Committee recognized that poverty cannot be resolved without environmental sustainability. In the sense of evolving nature and the occurrence of environmental disasters, due in part to the consequences of climate change, the role of volunteerism in promoting resilience is critical. Spontaneous voluntary reactions to crises are among the clearest and widely accepted forms of coordinated municipal intervention. Evidence in the fields of environment and sustainability shows that community-oriented programs are effective as they emphasize social mechanisms that enable collective action, such as engagement, integration, and empowerment. Volunteering focuses on the idea that everyone has something to give. It creates an opportunity for all to participate in roles within their communities, opening up powerful paths to engagement and participation. This requires not only involvement in organized meetings but also active participation by often excluded communities.

Efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals highlighted the intrinsic link between eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development. These efforts also stressed the need for a coherent approach that integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development into the post-2015 agenda.

The notion behind ‘environmental sustainability’ relies on a core principle: satisfying human needs without compromising the capacity of the earth to support life. It is, besides the economic and social aspects, one of the three interconnected elements of ‘sustainable development’. And far from being all about natural resource management, environmental sustainability is central to poverty reduction, economic growth, and health.

Volunteering Helps Build Resources

The key features associated with volunteering are intended to improve capacity building. Although not exhaustive, the following list highlights some of those attributes:

Values

Commitment and Unity Belief in joint action for the good of the public Collaboration to uphold equal rights and gender equality

Ownership in the Community

A large number of volunteers are members of Communities to which they serve Positive social communication Exchange of know-how and experience reciprocity

Sustainability

Mobilization and utilization of local capital rather than global ones Facilitating capacity building for the community as a whole, rather than just a fraction

Innovative volunteerism leverages abilities, strengths, and perspectives to support the society. In the context of Africa’s increasingly complex development challenges, and population explosion, innovative volunteerism is critical to harnessing the continent’s youthful energies in addressing environmental problems. The collaborative and equitable way of discovering synergies and overcoming problems offers incentives for everyone. To create these synergies, innovative volunteerism is always the way forward.

There is an immediate need to quell environmental problems, and environmentalism provides a ready solution through innovative volunteerism. However, the window of opportunity to exploit this strategy is very limited, and active participation is continuously required.

Innovative volunteerism is a movement that leverages abilities, strengths, and perspectives and makes use of those resources to promote progress for the good of everyone. The distinction between innovative volunteerism and volunteer service per se is that the strengths and skills of everyone is vital for task completion. Addressing challenges collectively and inclusively offers opportunities for everyone that is a part of it. When everyone benefits, it makes it easier to solve the bigger challenges that lie ahead.

Generally, we need to encourage synergy and cultivate a sense of selflessness, collectivism, and hope, which are the very essence of an innovative volunteer. By adopting innovating volunteerism as a culture, we put the society in a position where it prospers economically, as poverty eradication is simultaneously addressed, alongside environmental issues.