Ever since 1974, 5th June has been celebrated as World Environment Day. Started off by the United Nations, this day attempts to shed light on the environmental issues concerning the Earth. It highlights the increasing concern that the ecosystem is facing in today’s time and the effort that needs to be made in order to restore the degrading environment, all thanks to humans! This day aims to raise awareness on environmental issues such as global warming, air and water pollution, sustainable consumption, wildlife crisis and the burgeoning population, to name a few. With an astounding number of 143 countries participating in the global event, the pressing issues are advocated by communities concerned. Various businesses, government, NGOs actively participate to propagate schemes and campaigns that stir human minds and push individuals to think about the way they make consumption choices and urge
us to collectively help build a greener tomorrow.
THE THEME
The theme for the first WED (World Environment Day) was “Only One Earth” which was the start to an alarming environmental cause. The theme for each year is decided along with a specific country that hosts the event. Last year it was hosted by Colombia and this year it is Pakistan who is going to be hosting the event and the theme for this year is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’. To put things into perspective, ecosystem restoration comes in the form of restoring biodiversity. As is said, a healthy biodiversity breeds a healthier lifestyle. Recovering the already depleted ecosystem and conserving the existing ecosystem is what is meant to be done this year and onwards. Activities such as reforestation, sustainable consumption choices are a few picks among the many at hand. The government of Pakistan plans to restore the country’s forest and to expand the resources through a project called ‘10 Billion Tree Tsunami’. This is a five year project which aims to plant 10 billion trees across Pakistan starting from 2018 to 2023.
It is time that we understand that a healthy ecosystem is the only way forward to an enhanced, good quality life that both humans and creatures can have. Taking active steps towards building back a stronger, greener biodiversity will avoid the Earth from collapsing.