Protecting the environment: Children’s commitment and action across Peru’s coast, highlands, and Amazon

  • January 21, 2025
  • Area: Governance
  • As part of the Generation Hope campaign, children carried out advocacy actions in Apurímac, Loreto, and Piura.

In response to the multiple impacts of the climate crisis and inequality, child organizations in Peru, with the support of Save the Children and local organizations, are leading various environmental advocacy actions to demand their right to live in healthy, clean, and sustainable environments.

These initiatives, part of the global Generation Hope campaign, are the result of advocacy and campaign training workshops promoted by Save the Children in collaboration with local organizations such as Paz y Esperanza (Apurímac), INFANT (Loreto), and MANTHOC (Piura).

In these three regions, representing Peru’s coast, highlands, and Amazon, the organized children emphasized the importance of including their specific needs and demands in decision-making processes to protect the environment. To achieve this, they self-organized to design and implement advocacy actions addressing the issues that most affect their lives.

This initiative aligns with Save the Children’s commitment to localization, prioritizing collaboration with local actors to ensure solutions directly address the specific needs and contexts of diverse children, fostering more sustainable and locally driven responses.

Loreto: Organized children to save the Itaya River

In Loreto, limitations in waste collection services have led to solid waste accumulating on the banks of the Itaya River, contaminating this vital water source for nearby communities.

In response, children and adolescents living along the right bank of the Itaya River in Belén, supported by INFANT, organized a river clean-up activity using boats. Their goal was to demonstrate to local authorities the importance of reactivating and improving waste collection services, which directly impact the preservation of water sources and public health in the region.

Apurímac: Rescuing Lake Pacucha

In Andahuaylas, Apurímac, pollution also affects Lake Pacucha, a worrying situation that endangers children’s health and limits their right to recreation in a clean environment.

To address this issue, local schoolchildren, supported by Paz y Esperanza and Save the Children, organized clean-up campaigns and drafted a municipal ordinance proposal for local authorities to prioritize protecting this valuable water resource.

Piura: Reforestation against climate change

In Piura, the impacts of climate change are evident in coastal areas, where high temperatures highlight the urgent need for reforestation.

Children and adolescents took the lead in organizing a reforestation campaign and a march with the message “Together for a sustainable environment.” Their efforts aim to emphasize the importance of collective action to mitigate climate change and secure a better future for current and future generations.

In all three regions, the participating children and adolescents stressed that tackling climate change, mitigating its effects, and addressing inequality is possible if everyone commits to action. They called on authorities to allocate budgets that guarantee clean and safe environments and invited society to join their cause: “We are Generation Hope.”

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