Malaika Vaz- People who endeavoured to better the environment

Youth in every domain of life bring a new perspective to the outlying issues, concerns etc. and creating waves. Environment being one such domain where youth endeavour has a substantial impact on peoples perspective. We are all aware of a popular example to support my cause on this, Greta Thunberg. Similarly, a young environmentalist, from Goa, India, has had some interesting endeavours. Malaika Vaz, a young 22-year old environmentalist, filmmaker and conservationist, she is a recipient of the National Geographic Roar Talent bursary award. Her vision is to use her talent in filmmaking to reach out to the masses about important environmental concerns. 

Malaika is the youngest to go on Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. She has any accolades to her name for her work in the environmental field. She has been recognised several times for her contribution at such a young age. Of her many endeavours, she had started a Leave no Trace campaign in Goa. Having grown up in Goa, she had been eager to explore and protect the Marine ecosystem. With her encounter with the plastic pollution at Goan beaches, her campaign aimed to reduce plastic pollution in the area, and so it did. [1]

Malaika and her passion for filmmaking has led to her mixing both environmental issues and filmmaking together. She has done projects like “Living with Predators”, based on how Asiatic lions, leopards and tigers in India have been protected by tribal communities. Vaz has also created a series on the lesser known species that are endangered on the show “On the Brink”. [2] She believe that filmmaking can help bring environmental stories into spotlight and wishes to continue doing so. Her experiences with traveling across the globe through various ecosystems keeps her passion alive. Vaz has investigated the wildlife illegal trade accrues South East Asia, focussing on dive deep into the Indo-Burmese border pipeline that ends up at a market in Guangzhou, China. [3]

Malaika has truly worked hard to fight for causes she believe to turn around. She believes that more young people should be encouraged for their environmental endeavours and change the world to a better place. Her work is inspiring and educative for the young generation. Leaving you with an inspiring Ted Talk by Malaika Vaz herself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwlrpaOSXAQ

[1] https://peoplepill.com/people/malaika-vaz-1/

[2] https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/filmmaker-malaika-vaz-on-endangered-species-greta-thunberg-and-more/article29799092.ece

[3] https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/meet-six-environmentalists-who-are-changing-world