On World Environment Day 2020, the Lewis Pugh Foundation convened 13 United Nations voices to remind us how critical it is to care for nature in this time of environmental crisis. Our health, and that of everything on our planet, depends on it.
Journalist Femi Oke interviewed UNEP Patrons and Goodwill Ambassadors around the world, taking us to the seminal moments that inspired them to become environmentalists, activists and leaders.
View the Time for Nature Series with Femi Oke below.
Eco-activist, television host, former model and mother of three, Nadya Hutagalung founded the Let Elephants Be Elephants campaign to reduce the demand for ivory in Asia. As a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Nadya launched the global #cleanseas campaign and is a face of the #wildforlife campaign.
An ardent environmentalist, Alex Rendell was a child actor when he became a household name in Thailand. Among his many projects, he co-founded the Environmental Education Centre (EEC) to raise environmental awareness among kids through camps.
As a young Mumbai lawyer, Afroz Shah started the world’s largest beach clean-up on his local Versova Beach. His ongoing clean-up crusade urges people and their governments around the world to change their approach to producing, using and discarding plastic and other products that wash up onto beaches everywhere.
Model, filmmaker, actress and activist Dia Mirza has been the face of pivotal environmental campaigns across India, and a voice for the conservation of wildlife. As a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Dia helps spread the message on the importance of clean air, clean seas, wildlife protection and combatting climate change.
Joyce Msuya trained as a microbiologist, before beginning her career at the World Bank, where she served as a public health specialist for Africa in 1998. She brings 20 years experience in international development strategy, operations, knowledge management and partnerships across Africa, Asia and Latin America to her role in UNEP.
An ocean advocate and a pioneer swimmer, Lewis Pugh is a leading figure in global ocean protection. In 2015 he helped negotiate the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area – still the world's largest protected area, on land or water. The Lewis Pugh Foundation advocates for MPAs around the world, with a particular focus on Antarctica.
Inger Andersen brings a passion for conservation and sustainable development, along with 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability and policy-making, to her role in directing the UN Environment Programme. She also serves as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Writer and adventurer Ben Fogle spent decades in the world's great wildernesses, documenting the impact of our actions on remote spaces. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in London and an ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund, Tusk, Blue and Plastic Oceans.
Singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding is a long-standing activist and philanthropist who uses her platform to engage young people with global issues. Ellie campaigns at the highest level to amplify the voices of young people. She believes political discussions on climate must match the ambitions of young people across the world.
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins is a passionate re-wilder. Together with her late husband, Douglas Tompkins, and working closely with local communities, she returned vast swathes of landscapes in Patagonia into national parks, restoring diversity and balance. She likes to remind us that we are all connected.
Actor, singer-musician and environmental activist Aidan Gallagher uses his influence among young people to raise awareness of critical environmental issues. He is a youth advocate for UNEP, WildAid, Sea Legacy, and the Oceanic Preservation Society.
Musician, producer and activist Rocky Dawuni uses music to bring people together and inspire action. He champions many social causes, encouraging communities to protect nature for its own sake, and for the generations to come.
Actress, singer, host and environmental advocate Antoinette Taus founded CORA, an NPO which fosters action for sustainable development through volunteerism, as well as The Sustainable Planet, a social enterprise to improve the lives of indigenous peoples and those living in poverty in the Philippines.
Femi began her journalism career at the tender age of 14 and was soon presenting the BBC's flagship educational science programme, Science in Action, as well as Top of the Pops. She joined CNN in 1999, anchoring weather and hosting Inside Africa. She currently hosts The Stream on Al Jazeera English.
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The Lewis Pugh Foundation is a registered charity in England & Wales.
Charity Registration no. 1168977.
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