Dr. Banarsi Lal & Dr.Vinod Gupta
Every year 5th of June is celebrated as the World Environment Day across the globe to mark the importance of nature and environmental protection. The major objective of the event is to create awareness on the protection of the nature and contemplate on growing environmental issues.The day encourages individuals,governments,schools,organisations and various communities to take action to protect the environment.On this day various government and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), individuals, communities, charities, institutions etc. create awareness on environmental issues. It is celebrated by organizing various awareness programmes,seminars, lectures, conventions, campaigns, concerts, tree plantation drives, essay writing, painting competitions etc. The theme of 2026 World Environment Day is “Inspired by Nature.For Climate.For Our Future ”. This year theme focuses on learning from nature and taking urgent action to protect the climate and future generations.The host country for World Environment Day 2026 is the Republic of Azerbaijan.The official global observance will be hosted in Baku ,Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan is an important host because it has been active in global climate discussions.It hosted COP24 in 2024 and has worked on issues such as carbon markets,climate finance,renewable energy,agriculture,biodiversity etc.The campaign reminds us that nature is not separate from human life.Forests,rivers,oceans,glaciers,soil,animals,plants and clean air are all essential for survival. The day is celebrated across the globe to tell the people that the nature should not be taken for granted and must be respected for its values.World Environment Day 2026 matters because the planet is already showing warning signals.Climate change is no longer only a future risk,it is already affecting ecosystems and people.There are different ways for restoring the ecosystem. Planting of trees is one of the easiest methods for restoring the environment. We all need to make our efforts to minimize the pressure on the environment.
Biodiversity plays a significant role in survival of the life on the mother Earth. Biodiversity provides us food, water and various other resources as well as services such as recycling of nutrients, climate control, pollination and flood mitigation. World Environment Day is one of the biggest annual events organized by the United Nations (UN) to generate awareness about the significance of nature and greenery. This particular day is dedicated to spread the awareness and message among the people to save the environment and planet Earth. In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the human environment was held from 5th June to 16th June. After that, every year 5th of June is celebrated as the World Environment Day. In 1974, it was celebrated with the theme ‘Only One Earth’. Since then, various host countries are celebrating it. According to the UN, this day provides us an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by the communities and individuals in preserving and enhancing the environment. Proper strategies and long-term goals are needed for the global environmental sustainability.
Presently, we have 7 continents on planet Earth. Every human being has only one dream which is to live better, to eat better and to consume better. But majority of them do not care for the environment and planet Earth. Present population is more than 7 billion in the world but we have only one planet to live and survive. We have limited food, limited place and limited shelters. If we keep on using natural resources as we are doing every day, a day will come when our own grand children shall be forced to live homeless with full of hunger. So it’s better to consume the natural resources with care and responsibility. So, we should stop the wastage of natural resources and use them according to our need not on our greed. Each of us knows the importance of nature. It consists of all the living beings on the earth, which are mutually interdependent on each other. But due to the excessive pollution caused by human beings, many species are becoming extinct and the global climate is also changing at a very rapid rate. The changing climate is inversely affecting our health and also going to give a long term effect on our future generations. We know that millions of people on the Earth depend on forest for their livelihood. Every living being is dependent on plants and trees. Only the plants and trees can make our food. But, we people are degrading the forests in a rapid rate. Biodiversity loss is costing the global economy 10 per cent of its output each year. If we do not sufficiently finance nature-based solutions, we will impact the capacities of countries to make progress on other vital areas such as health, education and employment. We will be unable to achieve sustainable development without saving the nature. Presently about one million species are facing extinction. There is dire need to re-examine our relationship with nature. Although we are having numerous technological advancements but still we are completely dependent on healthy ecosystem for our food, clothes, shelter, health, water, medicines, fuel, energy etc. It seems that there is dire need to conserve the biodiversity for the benefits of life on the Earth. It is fact that nature acts as the solution of our many problems. Nature is closely associated with the climate change, food security and health.
The environmental crisis is an existential threat. Pandemics are related to the environmental crisis, helping to nurture and host novel germs. Even in present era many people are not aware about some serious environmental issues-from air pollution to toxic dumps to pesticides to loss of biodiversity. There are enormous challenges but there are also vast opportunities on environmental action. Environmental protection is considered as the biggest challenge for the mankind. Biodiversity is badly affected due to our short-sighted activities including infrastructure development, chemical farming, deforestation, mining etc. All these activities have degraded the ecosystem and have created the pandemic like situations. There is urgent need to work together for the resilient and sustainable global economy. The exploitation of renewable and non-renewable energy resources and rapid increase in the urbanization are severely affecting the biodiversity. Sustainable development is the only way to mitigate the needs of our present and future generations. It also ensures the health of the planet Earth. It has been observed that around 25 per cent of all animals and plants species are threatened with extinction. On this particular day we should create awareness on preserving the endangered habitats among the people.In order to keep global warming under control,urgent action is needed.We must remember that protecting the environment is not just a one-day activity but everyday for our better health and future.
The writers are: Dr. Banarsi Lal,Chief Scientist and Head of KVK Reasi and Dr.Vinod Gupta,Prof.& Head,Division of Extension Education, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu(SKUAST-J).
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