I dream that society care and act to save our planet, considering that everything we do has an impact in the environment, not only affecting water, air, soil but also other living species putting at risk our lives and that of future generations.
When I was little I read a newspaper mentioning that one Bolivia´s glacier disappeared. I was shocked as glaciers were supposed to be eternal iced mountains. I cried for weeks, I could not believe that we permitted that the highest ski track in the world, “Chacaltaya”, was gone forever. From that moment, I became an environmentalist, changing some common habits, avoiding plastic, being alert of my water and electricity consumption, but above all, I was determined to do something for our planet. However, time passed and I did not see big changes in society to protect the environment. I was discouraged as I felt that what I was doing was not worth and did not have any impact.
I decided to study economics since it is the starting point of society’s problems and solutions. We need a restructuring of the economic and productive systems which have caused poverty, inequality, and environmental damages.
In 2016, my city, La Paz, experienced the hardest water shortage, as climate change affected the rain patterns. This event strengthened my conviction about environmental protection. Consequently, I decided to focus my career on sustainable development. I found a way to fulfill this dream through my profession. I started to present the magnitude of environmental problems and propose solutions based on evidence with the vision of contributing to public policies. I published some researches about the costs of deforestation, renewable energy through waste, etcetera. In 2019, I was selected to be a panelist at the Youth and Sustainable Development Forum in Benin, Africa. I am currently working at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Bolivia), a United Nations initiative to promote sustainable development and the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We are working on the “Municipal Atlas of the SDGs in Bolivia”, a book that will be the biggest SDG index to contribute to the sustainable development of Bolivia.
Now I know that one can make the difference with small things, by changing habits, by making your voice heard, that I can contribute from where I am, for a better society.