With over half of the global population residing in urban areas, projected to increase to 70 percent by 2050, the challenge of providing sustainable cities and communities is paramount. Slum conditions affect around 1.1 billion people, and this number is expected to rise by 2 billion within the next 30 years. Issues include urban sprawl, air pollution, and limited open public spaces. Achieving SDG 11 necessitates sustainable urban development policies prioritising basic services, affordable housing, efficient transportation, and green spaces for all.
One way that we can combat mass emigration to urban areas is by ensuring that communities can generate income and have a good quality of life within rural environments such as our Bolivian rainforest projects. We firmly believe that the collection of Brazil nuts stands as a crucial method for indigenous communities to not only generate income from the rainforest but also to protect it from the detrimental impacts of deforestation.
In one of our Bolivian projects, the requirement for social housing was highlighted. We have a long-term partnership with this community, working with them under the Fair For Life initiative for 3 years; this provided a framework for them to improve their administration and organisational skills within the cooperative. In turn they made an application to be considered for governmental programs and in 2023, the social housing application was approved, and we eagerly anticipate the positive impact this will have on the lives of the families within the community. We believe that this housing project is one small step towards SDG 11.
Find out more at https://sdgs.un.org/
