After over 50 years, the World Environment Day (WED) on June 5, was hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which faced more severe and prolonged droughts, sandstorms and rising temperatures and expanding deserts, evaporating fresh water sources and eroding fertile soils.
World Environment Day registered a record number of 3,657 (and counting) at the time of launch held by governments, cities, civil societies, universities and schools and businesses around the globe, said a press release of the UN Environment Programme, the leading global voice for the environment.
Activities ranged from high level such as those held in Riyadh, weeklong festivities in South America, zoo celebrations in Europe and Asia to soil restoration labs for children in Africa– from posters dotting transport hubs to the largest mural in North America, film screening to video messages from celebrities and space agency, NASA.
Tens of millions joined online global conversation with #WorldEnvironmentDay trending above blockbuster movies and global politics on social media, amplifying the global rally to restore the land that humanity and countless other species depend for survival.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a special address pointed to the “travesty of climate justice where those least responsible” for the climate crisis are hardest hit– the poorest people, the most vulnerable countries, Indigenous People, women and girls.”
The UNEP said 40 percent of the world’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of humanity and an estimated 3.2 billion people are negatively impacted by desertification.
By 2050, over three-fourths of the world’s population would be affected by droughts.
WED aims to support accelerated progress of global commitments like protecting 30 percent of land and sea for nature and restoring 30 percent of the planet’s degraded ecosystems.
While countries have vowed to restore 1 billion hectares of land by 2030, current trends suggest 1.5 billion hectares still needs to be restored to meet the 2030 land degradation neutrality goals.
Saudi Arabia for one targets to plant 1 billion trees in the region to reverse desertification and land degradation and drought under its Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative.
The Saudi government also said it is on track with its goal to meet global land degradation neutrality target by 2030.
Both initiatives do not just aim to restore lands and limit degradation but also promote regional cooperation to conserve vegetation, enhance biodiversity and food security, said Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, Saudi Minister for Environment, Water and Agriculture.
At the Riyadh event, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen stressed the need for urgent action to make the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration goals a reality by 2030 .
Citing that “billions across the world are facing food insecurity, crippling droughts, and livelihoods are under threat. That is why on World Environment Day we’re asking the world to join the global movement to restore our lands, increase drought resilience and combat desertification,” Andersen said.
“Restoration is the natural solution to help address the triple planetary crisis, deliver new jobs, lower poverty and build resilience to extreme weather. Land is life – and we must protect it,” she added.
On WED, six new cities– with about 45 million inhabitants , 2.1 million hectares of land and 600 kilometers of waterway stretching from Africa to Latin America– joined UNEP’s Generation Restoration Cities. These cities seek to replicate and scale up ecosystem restoration initiatives using nature-based solutions.
Some WED announcements and commitments were from:
· Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, who launched a 5-M Tree Project
· Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmedhis government’s commitment to conserve 30 per cent of land and ocean by 2030, and to boost clean energy industries
· Brazilian President Lula da Silva who announced new environmental protection measures, including decrees signed.
· Oman’s 16-M seeds to plant 10mn indigenous trees
· Bangladesh to expand tree cover to 25 per cent of land area by 2030
· Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson announcing the government’s intention to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPAs) and all Swedish territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles)
· The unveiling of a new observatory to track progress of Africa's Great Green Wall
· The unveiling of the largest exterior mural in North America to celebrate WED
· The announcement of a Rainforest Trust, a massive milestone—50 million acres of habitat protected to date, an area 40 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park
· Przewalski’s horses land in Kazakhstan marking a new chapter in biodiversity conservation.
· The announcement of the winners of the Prince Talal International Prize for Human Development of $1,000,000 dedicated for Life on Land.
· Liberian President Joseph Boakai proclaimed WED to be observed throughout the country as a Working Holiday.
WED is just one of the biggest international days for the environment that is led by UNEP annually since 1973. The event has grown to tbe the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from the world engaging to protect the planet.
Photo Courtesy: http://www.ecogreennews.com
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