In these two months I have learnt a lot while working with the AFi team at the Rainforest Alliance. The first phase of my work, as I mentioned in my last blog post, was to produce company profiles summarizing their deforestation commitments and to check how these commitments align with the core principles of AFi. I also supported the AFi team with the launch of the framework in Washington DC, it was a successful event where I got to meet more people from the team. On the same day, I attended the Global Forest Watch summit, where I learnt about many new initiatives which use GIS and remote sensing for monitoring deforestation.

The next phase of my work focuses on researching how governments report their progress towards the INDC’s (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) to U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). My goal is to analyze the NDCs of Indonesia, Colombia, Ghana, Liberia & Cameroon and examine how their targets align with the AFi Core Principles and how AFi’s Operational Guidance can help them achieve their goals. Most of these countries have signed the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) in which they pledge to eliminate deforestation by 2030, hence AFi would be very useful to help them in achieving their NDC goals. Currently I am working on finding out how AFi can help businesses and countries achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In the past, I have worked on various projects related to carbon sequestration, biodiesel production, wastewater treatment, and other hardcore sciency stuff, but I would always get discouraged knowing that even after publishing a paper on it, it’s actually very difficult to put the research into practice, meanwhile, big companies would still be cutting down forests and releasing GHG, that’s why I wanted to work with the accountability framework, to understand how the change is  happening on a policy level, at Rainforest Alliance, I’m learning a lot about initiatives and how companies and countries commit to reducing deforestation, and working on this with the AFi team gives me hope, that we can still help companies and countries to achieve their goals and save the planet.

Apart from work, I am also enjoying my time in DC. On July 4th, I participated in a parade with the DC Environmental Network, we chanted “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Climate Change has got to go” on the streets of DC. It felt so great to be a part of the group and march for clean water, clean air and sustainable DC. Thousands of District residents who live in every ward of the city heard our messages, “Protect Our Water”, “Respect Our Ecosystems”, “I’m Fed-Up with Lead”, “Protect the Rights of Wildlife”, “NO Microplastics in My Water!”, and other slogans meaningful to residents in DC, it was heartwarming to see them cheer in our support. 

I also explore museums and art exhibits on the weekends and after work. This week, I visited the Artech house, I highly recommend this place to anyone who is in DC or will be here in the future, it’s the perfect representation of technology through mesmerizing art. Here’s a picture of me in the Artech house:

I have a little more than 2 weeks left here in DC before I head back to Madison, I will utilize this time by doing more thorough research on the commitments of governments and businesses towards deforestation, so that we can curb climate change while we still have time.