World Environment Day 2020

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

World Environment Day (also called as WED) has been celebrated as annual event on every 5th June, since 1973, in order to raise global awareness about the importance of the healthy and green environment in the human lives, to solve the environmental issues by implementing some positive environmental actions as well as to make aware common public worldwide that everyone is responsible for saving our environment.

World environment day was first established to be celebrated every year running some effective campaigns by the Unite Nations General Assembly and United Nations Environment Programme in 1972. It was first celebrated in 1973 with a particular theme “ Only one Earth”.Since 1974, the celebration campaign of the world environment day is hosted in different cities of the world.

This campaign was started to address the huge environmental issues like increase in Global warming, Deforestation, Pollution and so many. The programs held under these campaigns helped us to develop sustainable development and to conserve and preserve the nature.

Forest development, waste management, reducing green house effects, promoting Bio fuels like CNG, regaining lost forest lands, energy production through solar sources, mangrove restoration are some of the ways of environmental preservation.

In order to maintain the balance in nature and to live in harmony, every year different countries are hosting these campaigns to preserve their valuable resources.

This year in 2020, Columbia with Germany jointly hosting this event with a Theme “CELEBRATE BIODIVERSITY”

Biodiversity is about variety and variability of life on the earth. Biodiversity provides functioning of ecosystems (home systems) that supply oxygen, clean air and water, water management, pest control, pollination of plants and many services in order to maintain balance in nature.

All the species, no matter how small or big they are all have an important role to play and have an equal right to live on the earth just as humans. There is a lot of wide variety of species exist on the earth.

But due to negligence and over exploitation of natural resources we have lost nearly 784 species in these past 500 years. According to IUCN, 27 species disappeared in last 20 years and about 15,000 species facing threat of extinction worldwide.

As the nature is pointing finger towards us and giving continuous warnings to control human activities. One such instance is COVID-19, Bush fires, Locusts etc.,

If we are not taking time to protect nature, soon we humans are also on the edge of extinction.

So let us Awake, Arise and Stop not until the Nature is safe.

As a famous Quote says,

“If you want to change WORLD, start it from your HOME.”

Let’s Take an Oath on This Auspicious Occasion by Following Some Basic Conservation Steps,

• Maintain a kitchen garden.
• Switch off the lights and electric appliances when not in use.
• Prefer to walk short distances to develop health to avoid pollution.
• Use solar energy to run lifts and escalators instead of electricity.
• Carry your own water bottles and stop using plastic.
• Separate dry and wet waste according to rules prescribed by the government.
• Keep a bowl filled with water and grains in your house terrace and feed animals.
• Save water while brushing and doing bath as much as you can.
• Eat healthy food and do physical exercise.
• Try to avoid fast food.
• Spend some valuable time with family.
• Develop nature, Develop yourselves.

G A Priyadarshini
Biology Teacher