Member of the youth delegation for Germany at the UN Nature Conservation Conference. Ambassador for the UN Decade of Biodiversity. These are impressive titles that Adina Arth can adorn themselves with. Behind the important words is a student in the subject of sustainability science who is particularly concerned with one topic: the protection of nature and biodiversity.
“Of course, climate protection is also important,” she says. “But the loss of nature and biodiversity has as big an impact as climate change. Still, the subject is much less in people’s consciousness or in the media. And less is being done for it, ”she adds energetically. And then there is a very simple reason why Adina Arth is interested in nature conservation: “Climate as such is a fairly abstract concept. This is nothing in contrast to nature. You can go to it, look at it, touch it. ”
Two years ago, Adina successfully applied for a place in the German youth delegation for the UN Nature Conservation Conference. Together with five other young people from Germany and many others from all over the world, she attended the conference in Egypt at the end of 2018. It is the regular meeting of the signatory states to the UN Biodiversity Convention, i.e. the thematic equivalent to the major UN climate conferences.
Represent and have a say
As a youth delegate, Adina, 25, had a dual role: “Like all other observers, we had the right to speak at the conference. We were able to try to influence the process on site, for example between meetings in the corridors. At the same time, our task is to convey what is happening there, especially to our generation. ”
She has a similar role as a youth ambassador for the UN Decade of Biodiversity. As such, she gives lectures to environmental organizations or other interested groups, but has also been invited as a guest to various panel discussions. This representation role in particular is a great challenge, she says. After all, there are also different views within a generation. But: “What unites our generation is that we all have to live quite a long time. “The student tries to integrate her commitment to nature conservation in her everyday life in Kiel and Berlin in as many areas of life as possible, from nutrition to clothing, also to be a source of inspiration for others. “I don’t think you should underestimate the impact you can have on people around you,” she says. She points to her bright blue knitted sweater and grins: “By the way, it’s from my grandmother.”
Species loss is not a problem of nature
For her, it was a school friend who was interested in climate protection in the middle school and aroused Adina’s interest in environmental issues. “I can still clearly remember that we met for a movie night and watched Al Gore’s“ An Inconvenient Truth ”. The film totally impressed me back then and started a real thinking process. ”
This process is far from over. He influenced Adina’s choice of study and will probably also decide the career choice. “I find the interface between nature conservation, politics and business particularly exciting. The loss of species is not a problem of nature itself, but the reasons for it lie in our economic system. I would like to work on tackling the causes, ”she says. In any case, one thing is clear to them: “I don’t want to be sitting in my midlife crisis and thinking, for years now I’ve been moving Excel tables from left to right for some large company. I want to do something useful. “
The contribution comes from the 5/2020 issue of natur you here can order. In the future we will present young people in every issue of natur and on our website who are actively committed to nature, the environment and the climate. Please send suggestions to Redaktion-natur@konradin.de