ENG - UN CC:Learn

AFRICA
LESOTHO
Engaging Young People in Environmental Management for Poverty
Reduction 1
QUICK FACTS
CURRENT PORTFOLIO BUDGET
Total UNDP-GEF and Co-Finance: $12,837,000
Total UNDP and Co-Finance: $5,789,864
Total: $18,626,864
SPOTLIGHT
SOUTH AFRICA
LESOTHO
SOUTH AFRICA
With 80% of Lesotho’s population living in rural areas, people’s livelihoods are
dependent to a large degree upon the quality and the sustainability of the country’s
natural resources. Lesotho’s economic boom leading up to 1998 was followed
by unsustainable land management practices and rapid environmental degradation.
Recognizing this threat, Lesotho’s National Environment Secretariat adopted a youth-oriented approach to combating
degradation, while simultaneously promoting income-generating activities.
In 1996, a joint initiative between UNDP and the Government established the National Environment Youth Corps Project (NEYC)
to provide employment opportunities for Lesotho’s young people. Total funding came to over US$ 3.7 million, with contributions
from the Government, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom. This initiative
was borne out of the realisation that Lesotho needed to address the socio-economic and environmental
problems afflicting the country, and ensure their sustainability in future generations.
The NEYC programme raised awareness about land degradation, and taught young
people how to rehabilitate degraded lands through soil conservation methods and tree
planting. The programme also addressed poverty alleviation by engaging young people
in income-generating activities, such as produce and sale of tree seedlings, recycling, carpentry,
stone cutting, and sculpture.
As a result of this training, participants in the NEYC, renamed “Environmental Management
for Poverty Reduction” in 1999 to better reflect the goals of the organisation, successfully
established tree nurseries at the community level, and seedlings were produced for sale to
farmers in the surrounding and urban areas. In addition, the young people supported the community
by constructing environmentally-sound drainage systems, and maintained secondary and
tertiary public and individual roads.
STRATEGIES
Maseru
Cumulative Total ODS Phased-Out:
3.6 ODP tonnes
72