June 5th marks the annual celebration of Environment Day globally. Over the years, WED has become a platform to aware of environmental issues. This year the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) wants to work on restoring the ecosystem for the people, climate, and nature.
A healthy ecosystem is a necessity for survival. But the health of the ecosystem is degrading over time with increasing air, water, noise, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sea-level increase, etc.
The increasing degradation of the environment is the cause of drastic climatic changes and global warming. That’s why it is crucial to restoring the ecosystem to maintain the balance of life.
To restore the ecosystem, first, we need to understand what ecosystem restoration is?
Restoring ecology is a scientific study to renew and restore the degraded and damaged habitat and ecosystem, i.e., landscapes, oceans, etc., to regain the ecological balance.
Apart from reversing the destruction, it also includes protecting the remaining ecosystem & habitat that is prone to degradation and is still in place.
How to restore the ecosystem?
Planting trees is the simplest and the easiest way to restore and take care of the environment.
Along with it, we can take the following initiatives:
- Eradicating invasive species
- Planting rain gardens
- Monitoring the area around us
- Picking out waste
- Making the cities green with Green Building
- Not putting pressure on the environment
We can eliminate the pressure from the environment through:
- Using energy efficiently
- Applying the 3 R’s
- Conserving water
- Traveling through public transport
- Encouraging carpools with environment-friendly fuel
Schooling of the concepts related to protection and reversing the ecosystem should be started at a young age with practical experiences so that children can connect with the environment better and be a part of the ecosystem’s restoration.
Every year different countries host Environment Day. This year Pakistan is hosting the celebration where they have started various campaigns and take actions to prevent and restore the environment. The Pakistan government has initiated a 5-year targeted “10 Billion Trees Tsunami” program to restore the ecosystem in their country.
This campaign is also a way of Pakistan’s contribution to the Bonn Challenge. Bonn Challenge is a global initiative by UN Decade to restore 350 million hectares of deforested area worldwide by 2030.
Protecting and restoring the environment is not the sole duty of the government. We as citizens are equally responsible for it. Hence, get on your feet, and start to renew the ecosystem and habitat in any way you can, along with spreading awareness.
Anyone can be part of the restoration initiative, from people in business, companies, to communities and individuals.
So, let’s get together this Environment Day and be #GenerationRestoration.
