Today on 5th June marks an another World Environment Day and It’s not the first time that the world is going to celebrate the Environment Day. World Environment Day was established in 1972-74 by the United Nations at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It has been 46 years but unfortunately still the question remains same “do we really care about the environment”?. The answer is a big NO.
World Environment Day 2021, which counts with Pakistan as the host country this year for its official celebrations, calls for urgent action to revive our damaged ecosystems. From forests to peatlands to coasts, we all depend on healthy ecosystems for our survival. Ecosystems are defined as the interaction between living organisms – plants, animals, people – with their surroundings. This includes nature, but also human-made systems such as cities or farms.
Ecosystem restoration is a global undertaking at massive scale. It means repairing billions of hectares of land – an area greater than China or the USA – so that people have access to food, clean water and jobs. It means bringing back plants and animals from the brink of extinction, from the peaks of mountains to the depths of the sea. But it also includes the many small actions everyone can take, every day: growing trees, greening our cities, rewilding our gardens or cleaning up trash alongside rivers and coasts. Restoring ecosystems carries substantial benefits for people. For every dollar invested in restoration, at least seven to thirty dollars in returns for society can be expected. Restoration also creates jobs in rural areas where they are most needed (UN 2021).
Here in Kashmir we hardly know about the consequences of what we are constantly doing to our much-limited natural resources, lets not forget about the water sources especially river Jhelum and the Wular lake. These water bodies are more vulnerable to all forms of aquatic pollution since decades and immediate attention now for the sustainable future. The unchecked waste is being dumped in Wular and Jhelum, which is destroying one of the Asia’s largest freshwater lake. The area of the water bodies since long has been under the scanner.
Kashmir is losing the forest resources as well which results the man and wild conflicts, recently 4-year girl was killed by the Leopard in Budgam’s area of Kashmir. We are at stake and are responsible for these disasters.
The factors responsible for Environment degradation includes, encroachment of the riverbanks, pollution, plastic waste, unsustainable agriculture practices, plastic pollution, and solid waste etc. Polyethene the great invention of time has proved to be lethal for the environmental health and and the living community, Many of the regions like Ladakh has already banned the use of polyethene and it should be also banned in Kashmir to save the fragile ecosystems of the valley.
Let’s step out and care for our environment, let’s not waste our natural resources. Say no to polyethene, plant more trees every year, protect Wildlife. Let’s Keep our Kashmir green and clean.
