"Green War: Pierre Chanel Kazungu’s Mission to Combat Climate Change (SDG 13)"

Can you give us a brief overview of your project and how it addresses SDG 13?

My "Green War" project, in the first part, consists of tackling climate change through awareness and training, and by empowering my community to act for the preservation of our planet through small daily ecological actions so that we can fight against global warming and its impacts. In the second part, it consists of protecting any climate activist and anyone who tries to protect and safeguard our environment/planet in one way or another. Several climate activists are persecuted and killed every day. The objective is to strengthen the capacities of climate activists to act safely and to contribute to the improvement of civic space.

What inspired you to tackle climate change as part of your project?

In 1993, there was a civil war in my country Burundi, several people of my ethnic group "Tutsis" were killed including members of my family, but this war did not only take human lives but also animals, several forests were burned and several trees were cut down, even though I was still a small child I noticed that we had lost a large part of our biodiversity and ecosystem, I grew up with the idea of restoring our environment and I started planting trees since primary school in order to tackle climate change

What specific goals did your project aim to achieve in relation to combating climate change?

The specific objectives that my project aimed to achieve in the fight against climate change, firstly it is capacity building, awareness raising and training play a big role and an important place in our objectives, education is the powerful weapon if we want to change the world and mentalities.

How did your project contribute to raising awareness about climate change or reducing its impacts?

My project has contributed a lot to reducing its impacts because after strengthening the capacities of our communities, we have noticed that many people have started to fight against all forms of pollution and people have started to plant trees in different public places and save the plants already planted. Now we are trying to organize all sports and artistic tournaments in order to encourage young people to raise awareness among the population through their songs, cinema or any other art.

Did your project focus on any particular aspect of climate change (e.g., mitigation, adaptation, education)? If so, could you explain this focus?

Yes, we relied heavily on education because we noticed that a large part of the population is ignorant about everything related to climate change. We started with training clubs and primary schools with all forms of education (teaching, awareness and training, tournaments, games, competitions, etc.)

What were some of the challenges you faced while implementing your project, particularly in addressing climate change, and how did you overcome them?

The challenges we faced when implementing your project were largely the lack of financial and logistical support...but also the lack of public support since before the public was not interested...over time we overcame our challenges by self-financing and working with local media and different embassies.

Can you share any specific outcomes or impacts your project had in relation to SDG 13?

Some specific results and impacts of our project in relation to SDG 13... is that we have managed to restore some young forests, particularly in the provinces of Rutana, Ngozi and Mwaro. Another result is that we have managed to help install 3,000 public trash cans to combat plastic pollution in order to prevent plastics or any other waste from flowing into our lakes and rivers.

Did your project involve collaboration with other students, organizations, or community members? If yes, how did this collaboration enhance your project's effectiveness in combating climate change?

Yes, my project involved collaboration with other students, organizations and members of the community, including different schools and universities, sports and cultural clubs, but also with other local and international organizations... this collaboration improved the effectiveness of my project in the fight against climate change, as you already know, in this kind of project, unity is strength, it helped us a lot to learn new skills and knowledge related to environmental protection but also to have financial and logistical support to carry out our project well even if there are still many things to do.

What were some key lessons you learned from working on this project related to SDG 13?

The main lessons I learned from this project related to SDG 13... first, I noticed that global unity makes the force; in this kind of project, you can't accomplish anything working alone... another lesson is patience and every action counts, don't wait for others... the biggest mistake is thinking that someone else will save our planet... especially don't rely too much on politicians.

Looking ahead, how do you plan to continue your efforts to combat climate change beyond the scope of your project, and what role do you see yourself playing in future climate action initiatives?

In the future, I intend to continue my efforts to fight against climate change since there are no barriers beyond our challenges and within the scope of your project. My motto is "Global union makes the force". For your information, it has already been a year and a half since I fled my country Burundi for security reasons, I intend to continue working to fight against climate change but also to speak out for climate activists, to be a voice for climate activists persecuted and killed because I myself was persecuted. I am developing protection mechanisms so that any climate activist can be considered and treated and well protected like any other activist... it is a shame not to protect those who protect our planet day and night by risking their lives.