Environment

The work of VCSE organisations is vital in helping to ensure the protection of our natural environment with more than 1 in 10 members delivering services that promote a healthy natural environment through 5,000+ volunteer hours per year.

 

Working with political representatives, government officials and the business sector, environmental specific voluntary and community organisations aim to protect, inform, educate and promote enjoyment of our natural and built environment.

Man-made climate change and other threats to the health of our natural environment are among the most pressing issues facing society; presenting enormous risks to the health and well-being of all who inhabit the planet.

 In 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that if global warming continues to increase at the current rate, it is “likely to reach 1.5°C” by 2030 and that whilst “limiting warming to 1.5°C is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics…doing so would require unprecedented changes." Many environmental voluntary and community organisations are actively developing practical and policy solutions to meeting these challenges.

 

 

 

 

Working in a wide range of areas including sustainable agriculture, climate change and renewable energy, wildlife and biodiversity, and recycling/sustainable use of resources, many voluntary and community organisations provide on the ground services and deliver projects that help promote a healthy environment both in Northern Ireland and globally. This work helps underpin our future social and economic well-being.

 

 

 

Environmental voluntary and community sector organisations and those who volunteer for them provide major benefits to our society including helping to educate, disseminate information, and inspire people about our environment; gathering vital information about the numbers and health of our plants and animals through environmental monitoring;  and cleaning, protecting and enhancing our environment (for example through litter picks and removing damaging alien species).

 

Click here to read case studies that demonstrate the value of the voluntary and community Sector in Northern Ireland. 

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