So, why exactly the SDGs and not just NGOs?
The ARKANAUTS are shifting the perspective on how we generate impact by being part of the change. We refuse to be bystanders while climate problems affect life on land and life below water. We are part of the solution. The Arkanauts are not giving money to one or two NGOs and expect to see positive results from afar but are involved in a collaboratively manner: they’re a tool to help spot initiatives, put them forward, and fund specific impact. If you needed something to remind you that you are part of both the problem as well as the solution, the time is now, and the name is “I own an ARKANAUT, I can do something about it.”
The ARKANAUTS are supporting the cause of climate justice, the impact needed to realize the goals of that cause, and are on the look out for projects that build on top of those goals. Owning an ARKANAUT means that you are aligned with a mission and that you are willing to be a supporter for organisations/open structures anywhere in the world that are generating positive impact for SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on land).
Yes, we will initially fund specific organisations that have a bigger-than-life goal and are courageous enough to do things differently by trying out new methods, new paths forward, and collaborative open initiatives. But as the project matures, we are opening the scene for you to tell us who is aiming to make the impact that you want to support. There is no way on Earth that we — as curators — can be familiar with every amazing projects in the world, nor should we take on that role. We should decentralise this process and work together toward a common goal, which at the end is securing a home for all of us and not scrambling to find solutions to relocate humanity to Mars.
Why exactly the SDGs?
OK, sure, maybe the SDGs are not the perfect answer for nature. We are not looking for perfect, but for a common direction in which to build. And we believe in numbers and know that we cannot do it alone. We need governments, corporations, nonprofits, and startups to align. We need organisations and independent structures. We need all of us and all of you. Choosing the SDGs as the intersection that we can all meet at gives us a solid chance to stand stronger, together.
SDGs = 17 Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. They provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth — all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. The UN’s SDGs are common goals that should be met by 2030.
Just as nations have begun to align to them, we are generating the context for the community of Arkanauts to be aligned with two of them: SDG14 and SDG 15.
SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. More than 3 billion people rely on the ocean for their livelihoods, and over 80 per cent of world merchandise trade is carried out by sea. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication, sustained economic growth, and food security. However, the benefits they provide are increasingly undermined by human activities. Rising CO2 emissions are driving ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation — which threaten marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them — and are overwhelming the capacity of oceans to moderate climate change. Overfishing depletes fish stocks, a third of which are already overexploited. Land-based pollutants, including plastic pollution and nutrient and sewage runoff, adversely affect coastal habitats and communities. These changes have long-term repercussions that require urgent scaling up of protection of marine environments, investment in ocean science, and support for small-scale fishing communities and the sustainable management of the oceans.
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. Ending environmental decline and restoring our planet is fundamental to sustainable development. Nevertheless, forests are being cut down, biological diversity is declining, and terrestrial ecosystems are being degraded at alarming rates, with profound consequences for human survival and well-being. Land degradation now affects one-fifth of the Earth’s land area. Wildlife trafficking threatens human health, economic development, and security through the spread of zoonotic diseases (transmitted from animals to humans), which now represent the majority of emerging infectious diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that by threatening biodiversity, humanity threatens its own survival. To address these challenges, considerable efforts are being made to expand sustainable forest management and to protect sites critical to biodiversity. Countries are also enacting legislation and accounting principles to make nature “count” and to address threats to biodiversity, such as the growing spread of invasive alien species. It is time to put the health of the planet at the centre of all our plans and policies.
- Data about the SDGs reporting is derived from the UN most recent report: The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2021
