Is Ecosystem Restoration our only way out?
Here’s why World Environment Day 2021 calls for action from #Generation Restoration
In 1972, The UN General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day, marking the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of the UN Environment Programme.
Over the years, this day has developed into a global platform for raising awareness and taking action on urgent issues from marine pollution and global warming to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Millions of people have participated in such eco-aligned initiatives, driving change in our consumption habits, in national and international environmental policy.
The theme for Environment Day 2021 is Ecosystem Restoration and will be hosted by Pakistan.
Let’s understand the Ecosystem
An Ecosystem is the complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space.
Ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks, like forests and peatlands, at a time humanity can least afford it. Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown for three consecutive years and the planet is on pace for catastrophic climate change.
Over 4.7 million hectares of forests — an area larger than Denmark — are lost every year. That’s one football pitch every three seconds. Over half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared in the last century.
The emergence of COVID-19 has also shown just how disastrous the consequences of ecosystem loss can be. By shrinking the area of natural habitat for animals, we have created ideal conditions for pathogens — including coronaviruses — to spread.
How do we restore an entire planet’s ecosystem?
Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Restoration and other natural solutions can deliver one third of the mitigation needed by 2030 to keep global warming below 2C while also helping societies and economies adapt to climate change.
In one of the world’s most ambitious afforestation efforts, Pakistan plans to expand and restore forests across the country through a drive it calls the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami. The campaign includes restoring mangroves and other forests, as well as planting trees in urban settings, including schools, colleges, public parks and green belts.
In a bid to boost both nature and the economy, Pakistan is also developing 15 protected areas across the country, with an eye towards conserving over 7,300 square-kilometres of land. It has also unveiled a green stimulus package designed to create over 285,000 sustainable jobs.
World Environment Day 2021 will see the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global rallying cry for everyone — from governments to corporations and citizens — to do their part in healing our ailing planet.
While a decade sounds like a long time, scientists predict, it is the next 10 years that matter most in preventing catastrophic climate change and bending the curve on biodiversity loss.
Now more than ever, is the time for us to join forces and employ our replenishing habits in a pledge towards Ecosystem Restoration.
Together, we are #GenerationRestoration.
Commit to do your bit by taking the People’s Pledge to Replenish Earth.
Let’s spread the word and build a community of eco-aligned Replenishers! Already doing your bit to restore the ecosystem? Tell us how by writing to us at info@replenish.earth and get featured on our social media channels.
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Replenish Earth, a cause and a collective action to protect the global commons — the natural resources we all share. Replenish Earth is focused on ecosystem restoration, with a multidisciplinary approach to creating a positive impact on earth including and not limited to education, eco-therapy (physical and virtual), eco-products, eco-futurism.
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