World Environment Day, a day where we pledge on Restoring the lost ecosystem, Recreating the lost biodiversity, and Reimaging a future where the life’s of all living organisms are respected.
Metaphorically the life on the Earth is so much dependent on a healthy ecosystem, a system where there is continuous interaction and engagement of biotic and abiotic components through energy flow and nutrient cycle with their surroundings.
In the year 1972, UN General Assembly labelled 5th June as a World Environment Day with the slogan “Only on Earth which was used for the first celebration of Environment Day in the year 1974. Since, then this day is used to create awareness on the issues our environment is facing such as plastic pollution, poor waste management, water pollution, declining groundwater level, illegal mining, animals trading, air pollution, rise in sea level, food security. Furthermore, the day is used to bring change in the pattern of consumption and action towards the protection of the environment.
It’s been decades since we are over-utilizing, wrecking, exploiting, and profiteering from our ecosystem. In the hunger of creating human-made beauty every three seconds, we are damaging destroying and killing natural resource to the size of a football pitch.
The damages are not limited up to lands, but we are also killing our underwater ecosystem, by now we have almost lost 50 per cent of our coral reef and in nearby future, if steps are not taken towards restoration the possibilities are we could lose 90 per cent of our coral reef by 2050.
The planet is warming up with an intense rise in temperature, the effects of global warming and climate change are much more visible, the burning heat is melting our glaciers, shifting precipitation pattern, and damaging the homes of wildlife. Moreover, if warming continues with the increase of time hurricanes, floods, droughts will become strong and common resulting in destroying millions of worthy life and livelihoods.
Additionally, there will be an increase in water-borne diseases such as malaria and extinct species such as polar bears who won’t be able to adapt to the changing environment. In India, there are a lot of environmental issues such as poor waste management to water pollution, the situations were much worse between 1947 to 1995 with overutilization of resources, soil erosion, deforestation, increase in urbanization and overpopulation.
As per World Bank evaluation, investigation and study from the year 1995 to the year 2010 India is trying to build harmony with the natural environment with enhancing its ecological qualities but still environmental issues are the biggest challenge which is the primary cause of disease, illness, health issues and long term livelihood impact. As Indians, we still must go way long to reach the desired environmental quality.
Ecosystem restoration is what we must count on. On a massive scale, we have to work towards bringing back the life of lost living organisms from the fringe of extinction to the top of mountains and ultimately from the bottom of the sea. A small day to day initiative from people such as planting trees, rewinding our gardens, using the 3R principle (reduce, reuse & recycle) to cut down waste and stopping human activities that pollute our natural environment.
Restoring will not only protect our environment from further destruction but will also create job opportunities and livelihood options in rural areas.