Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
04 August 2021
Post No. 207
The Week’s Contents
• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring COVID-19
• Track, Trip and Trending in a Leafy Year and Project
• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring COVID-19
August is CENFACS’ Track, Trip and Trending month.
We do Track at CENFACS as we think that every one of us can undertake basic physical activity of running or racing to help reduce poverty. Our project known as Run to Reduce Poverty is designed to meet that end.
This Summer, we are going to do COVID-19 Secure Track. This is due to the coronavirus and its continuing adverse impacts and effects.
August is also the month during which we carry out some Trips to our projects. We visit our projects all over the year, but August is the time we highlight this. It is the month of the year we walk again and reach out to the need, to the people, communities, organisations and livelihoods in need.
This Summer, we are going to undertake Virtual or in-person Trips depending on the COVID-19 circumstances and climate change situation. This is also due to the coronavirus pandemic and its continuing associated impacts and effects on CENFACS’ budget.
We thirdly deal with Trending in August as we spend time looking at what is popular at CENFACS in the context of poverty reduction. This is what what we can call Trendy Development. Trending in Poverty Reduction helps us to follow the direction of poverty reduction work. This August we are going to follow this direction of poverty (or poverty reduction) via natural capital. Natural capital can help reduce poverty, particularly sanitation poverty, and enhance health and safety aspects of sustainable development.
Again, due the coronavirus pandemic and its related impacts and effects, we are going to follow this direction via online, video, phone, screen and digital technological means of communication and on papers (print). Where there is COVID-19 secure environment, in-person visits or following will be considered.
The COVID-19 story continues and its ramifications persist in this Summer in every aspect of life. Therefore, we are going to integrate Covid-19 and the theme for Summer into these three activities of August as follows: Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Enduring Covid-19.
This Summer is also about changing climate. Because of that, we are going to apply the changing climate feature to these three activities of August as follows: Track, Trip and Trending in a Changing Climate.
More details about CENFACS’ Track, Trip and Trending month for this year is given under the Main Development section of this post.
• Track, Trip and Trending in a Leafy Year and Project
As part of CENFACS’ Leafy Year and Project and of the month of Track, Trip and Trending; we would like those who can and want to proceed with either of the following Leafy Activities:
(a) COVID-19 Secure Run 2.5 miles (nearly 4 km) to save healing leaves and support those who get or got relief from poor health or poor sanitation via herbs, leaves and plants
(b) Undertake Virtual or in-person Visits or Tours of 3 leaf projects or activities relating to Covid-19 hit local people or communities
(c) Carry out online search to find 6 natural leaf Trends in the contexts of leaf-related poverty alleviation and leaf-enhancing sustainable development
The above three types of Leaf Activities are our way of linking our Leafy Year/Project and the month of Track, Trip and Trending together.
To undertake any of the above mentioned Leaf Activities, please contact CENFACS.
CENFACS will be pleased if you could share with the experience you would build in undertaking these Leaf activities.
• Happiness and Healthiness Journal: Creative Activity No. 1: Create Your Journal of Happy and Healthy Social Support
Social support is one of the six predictors of happiness and healthiness. One can create a journal for having someone to count on in time of trouble like of COVID-19 crisis or any other personal matter over this Summer. They can create a journal for the things and people who have been socially supportive to their enjoyment and good conditions of life during this Summer 2021.
They can record their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relation to the social support they have received or given. They can share with the community their experience of happy and healthy social support as recorded in their journal by the end of Summer 2021.
To submit the contents of their happiness and healthiness journal relating to social support, and help build a better Summer holiday experience within the community, they can contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Summer 2021 Humanitarian Appeal Projects
The 2021 Edition of our Summer Humanitarian Appeal has now been completed and is ready for support. We have added to Distress-free Life from Enduring Coronavirus in Africa the other four remaining projects making this appeal. The addition includes:
√ All Gifts for All Poor to Build Forward
√ International Networking and Protection against Enduring COVID-19
√ Iconic Young Carer and Builder
√ COVID-19 Secure ELCLASSICO International
We have provided extracts from these added projects, extracts that can be found at Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk). Their details including proposals can be requested from CENFACS.
To support and or enquire about these appeal projects, please contact CENFACS.
• Record your Summer Telling Moments to Report Back
Whether one has a Summer break or is working over this Summer, it is always a good idea to record your memorable moments or just what you are doing.
After Summer, we often ask people or the community to report their Summer experience back. If you record what you are doing this Summer, after Summer it will be easier to share what you may judge is a shareable part of your Summer experience or story.
If you decide to record your Summer activities or experiences, please do not forget to take photos and pictures, make a video, record your voice, podcast, etc. It is also useful to write down dates, places and names of people involved in your projects or experiences. You can plan the way you want to report back whether you want to use words or numbers or information graphics (e.g. tables or graphs, figures, etc.).
Before including people around you in your recorded experience, please take care of Data Protection Regulations. This extra care will help to protect yourself and others. If necessary, please check the policy on handling people’s information and data.
Reporting back your experiences can sometimes inspire others, especially if your experiences contain poverty-relieving elements. Sometimes what you may think is not important in your life experience could be very useful or even life-saving for others in the community.
We hope you will seriously take our message of recording to report back.
Thank you!
• Mid-year 2021 Review of Actions and Results of Triple Value Initiatives (i.e. Play, Run and Vote Projects)
It is now more than six months since the kick-off of this year’s Triple Value Initiatives (All-year Round Projects) which are made of Play, Run and Vote Projects. As a result, we are undertaking a review or examination of actions carried out and results achieved so far by participants to these projects.
For those who have been engaged with these initiatives, this is the time to start looking at the journey they have taken so far. It is also the time to fix what is not working and enhance what is working in implementing these projects.
Since participants to these recreational and life-enhancing projects may have other better things to do for their own lives, they can use the opportunity of Summer holiday or any other holiday to revisit or look back on them. In this reviewing process, they can say what they like and dislike in the implementation of these projects.
Since these projects kicked off, we offered extra support about them in the form of Questions and Answers, Green and Sustainable Alignment of these projects to greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets, Start-up tips and hints, etc. Those who still need any help and support to better implement these projects and or to conduct the six-month review, CENFACS is willing to assist.
To ask for help regarding these projects, just contact CENFACS by indicating the kind of help you need. You can also contact CENFACS to inform and or share your progress, actions and results about these projects.
Main Development
• Track, Trip and Trending in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring COVID-19
Our thematic and working model of Summer of Happiness and Healthiness in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring Covid-19 will continue this month through the three activities of…
(1) COVID-19 Secure TRACK to help reduce poverty
(2) Virtual or In-person TRIPS to Hybrid Running Projects and Covid-19 hit locals
(3) Online TRENDING in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via natural capital
• • Track, Trip and Trending 2021 Activities
• • • COVID-19 Secure Track to help reduce poverty in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring Covid-19
This is delivered through the project Run to Reduce Poverty, Gaming to Reduce Poverty and Vote your African Manager of Poverty Reduction. These are All-year Round Projects or Triple Value Initiatives.
However, because of the weather conditions (sunshine) and nature of August (holidays time for many of our supporters) we put a particular emphasis on the Run aspects of these all-year round projects, over this month.
This Summer, this emphasis has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because of that, one can only do physical run out and indoor if they respect the coronavirus guidance in terms of security and rules.
We expect those who sign up to the Run element to take actions and run it by themselves while following to letter the UK Government restrictions, the National Health Service advice and the World Health Organisations guidance regarding COVID-19. After summer or at any convenient time before the end of the year, they can report back to us.
• • • Virtual or In-person TRIPS to Hybrid Running Projects and Covid-19 hit locals in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring Covid-19
This is the second aspect or part of work over the month of August at CENFACS. We expect and advise our supporters to visit some of our projects and initiatives whether in the UK or in Africa during and around the month of August.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic there are restrictions and travel bans about non-essential trips although some parts of the world are easing the lockdown. For those who cannot in-person or physically visit projects on the grounds, arrangements can be made between the physical visitors and the organisations to be visited so that they can organise a virtual trip, tour or viewing.
This requires that the visitors and visiting organisations have the technology that enables this virtual tour to happen. If this is possible we expect and advise our supporters to virtually visit some of projects and initiatives whether in the UK or in Africa during and around the month of August. Because of the circumstances we are all in at this time of Covid-19, it could be a good idea if this trip can be done to Covid-19 hit areas, people and communities.
Because we are also talking about Trip to the needs in a changing climate, our Trip this year will be to see how climate change affects local people and local needs as well.
Trip to the need and project includes some of the experiences undertaken by CENFACS All in Development Volunteers through field work involvements and project visits, to reach out to unreached, underserved and unserved people and communities, particularly those living in remote areas of Africa. It is the kind of experiences that we recommend to future invertebrate and vertebrate volunteers to have and report back in September or after.
These trips also help us to check if we are on the right track at helping to reduce poverty and at tracking our records for the work on the ground.
Since we cancelled all non-essential physical trips, CENFACS All in Development Volunteers can do virtual trips. These virtual trips can still help us to check if we are on the right track at helping to reduce poverty and at tracking our records for the work on the ground.
Because the theme of trending for this Summer is about Natural Capital, we are going to link Trip to the need on the ground of preserving and conserving Natural Capital Assets.
• • • Online TRENDING in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via natural capital in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring Covid-19
Sustainable development does not need to be trendy, but we can follow the trends in sustainable development and poverty reduction.
During this August we are dealing with Trending in poverty reduction by following the direction of poverty reduction via natural capital and its capacity of lifting people out poverty. We mean by that we are following the direction of poverty reduction via natural capital assets and investments.
The coronavirus pandemic and climate change have led to the surface of discussion on natural capital. To deal with the challenges posed by both the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, natural capital needs to be better considered. We cannot only rely on other forms of capital such as manufactured, financial, human and social capitals. Likewise, to reduce poverty one needs to bring in natural capital as well.
Natural capital assets include species, ecological communities, soils, freshwaters, land, atmosphere, minerals, oceans, coasts, etc. Natural capital stock and flows can contribute to poverty reduction and hardships; just as they can enhance sustainable development.
We will be observing how the use of natural capital assets and investments are doing to hep to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. We will be looking at the extent to which natural capital can be poverty reducer and sustainability enhancer.
We will be doing it while integrating the COVID-19 as it affects the way in which we are happy or not happy, healthy or unhealthy; we eat; we entertain ourselves; we pass our summer holiday; we dress; we socialise; etc. to reduce any form of on-going and intergenerational poverty. COVID-19 also affects the state of natural capital.
So, natural capital and its respective impacts on poverty reduction and sustainable development in a Summer of Changing Climate and Enduring Covid-19 are what will be trending at CENFACS, as given below.
• • August 2021 Trending Activities/Programme
August 2021 Trending Activities or Programme will focus on four selected types of natural capital assets to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development, which are: species, soils, fresh waters and minerals. The following is our August 2021 plan of work.
∝ Week beginning Monday 02/08/2021; Trending: Species
∝ Week beginning Monday 09/08/2021; Trending: Soils
∝ Week beginning Monday 16/08/2021; Trending: Fresh waters
∝ Week beginning Monday 23/08/2021; Trending: Minerals
If you are interested in this trending programme, please share with us your experience or comments about it.
Further explanation about this August month’s activities can be obtained from CENFACS.
• • In Focus from Week beginning 02/08/2021: Species
Before saying how we are following the direction of poverty reduction here, let us define natural capital and species.
• • • Basic understanding of natural capital and species
What is natural capital?
To basically understand natural capital, we have referred to the definition given by the Natural Capital Committee (NCC). This is what the NCC (1) says:
“Capital can be defined as a resource used / available for use in the production of goods and services. … Natural capital is that part of nature which directly or indirectly underpins value to people, including ecosystems, species, freshwater, soils, minerals, the air and oceans, as well as natural processes and functions. Natural capital underpins the four types of capital [manufactured, financial, human and social capital]. In combination with other types of capital, natural capital forms part of our wealth; that is, our ability to produce actual or potential goods and services into the future to support our well-being” (p. 3)
Let us argue that the ability to produce actual or potential goods and services into the future to support our well-being will help to reduce and possibly to eliminate the inter-generational poverty or the transfer of poverty to future generations.
How can we define species?
They are defined in many ways depending on the kind of connotations (e.g. biological, ecological, etc.) one wants to put forward.
The same NCC (op. cit) argues that species are
“All living organisms including plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms; the product of ongoing evolutionary processes” (p. 4)
In the similar line of reasoning, Chris Park (2) defines species in his Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation as
“A population of organisms that reproduce one another but not with other populations” (p. 422)
In the context of our online trending, we are going to follow the direction of poverty reduction via species of organisms like animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms for the baseline set for our work. Additionally, this trending could involve studying the interactions or conflicts between human and species (e.g. animals) in the process of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development.
• • • Following the direction of poverty reduction via conflicts between human and animals over natural resources
There are conflicts between human and animals over the use and access of natural resources or other natural capital assets in the process of reducing poverty for both beings.
An example of these types of conflicts is what is happening in Cameroon around the national park of Campo-Ma’an. In the vicinity of this park, there is a discontent amongst local villagers as animals (like elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, etc.) keep destroying their cocoa and banana plantations.
Animals are trying to make their ends meet although in this process they may accidentally or incidentally damage fields. As for local villagers or farmers, they are also trying to grow their staples and meet food subsistence and sustenance in order to avoid food poverty and other types of poverty. Their interest to reduce poverty can conflict against animal species one.
There is a possibility to reduce or avoid this conflict over natural resources between human and animals in order to help each side to meet their own needs, particularly of reducing poverty. One of dealing with this problem is to have a legal framework that acknowledges conflicts between fauna and human over natural resources.
Acknowledging or raising awareness of something is one thing. But, setting up legal terms and conditions to resolve these conflicts is much better and life-saving for both conflicting sides. Perhaps, to resolve this on-going dispute between human and animals over natural resources in the process of reducing poverty, legislators need to provide some guidance regarding both human and animal rights and obligations on this matter.
The above is our trending work for this week; work which has already started.
To follow with us the direction of poverty reduction via natural capital, please contact CENFACS.
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References
(1) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upload/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/909202/ncc-terminology.pdf (accessed July 2021)
(2) Chris Park (2011), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York
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One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2021 and beyond.
With many thanks.
