Asia-Pacific Youth Environment Forum

If you wanted to see what inspirational change looks like, you should’ve tuned in to today’s Asia-Pacific Youth Environment Forum (#APYEF2025). It’s one thing to say #youth will inherit the future, but it’s another thing entirely to witness capable, action-ready young leaders taking charge of it.

From morning until night, I watched remarkable youth share their work with utter resolve. There were stories of youth running #plastic-free initiatives, others doing mangrove and ecosystem #restoration, women working on community awareness for #climatechange, scientists doing coral reef #rehabilitation, and many more bridging the gap between science and #Indigenous perspectives.

We heard stories of challenges, but more importantly, of solutions.

One that really struck me was a youth leader speaking about the importance of incorporating spiritual principles into environmental work. She invited us to think beyond circular economies and to consider a ‘spiritual economy’, one rooted in care, compassion and charity. She was speaking my language.

And perhaps the best part: this wasn’t just a feel-good session. These youth have been working collectively on the Asia-Pacific Youth Environment Manifesto — a statement of intentions and recommendations that will feed into regional policy discussions and be submitted to the UN Environment Assembly (#UNEA) later this year.

Sure, it’s just a document. But after a wild year marked by fragmentation, multilateral fatigue, and sluggish environmental progress, today felt like a much-needed jolt of momentum, driven by those who have the most at stake and the least time to waste.

We know we need stronger environmental action, and after today, it’s clear young people aren’t just calling for it, they’re already steering the way. Like the master navigators this region is known for, they’re reading the winds, adjusting the sails, and plotting a course through turbulent seas. The journey ahead will be rough, but with this leadership guiding our collective canoe, there’s every reason to believe we’ll reach the shore.

Huge respect to Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP and all the youth leaders making the future we want a real possibility.