Lydia was standing at the doorway of her small home trying to comfort her crying 4-year-old son when she saw something scuttle past her and right into their living room. On closer inspection, she found a terrified fawn hiding behind the sofa trying to escape the blazing fire outside. As she looked into it's big watery eyes, she couldn't help but offer it refuge in her home. It took just a few soothing words for the visitor to come out from its hiding place and lay down next to her. Her son had by now fallen asleep and the fawn gave her silent company as she sat there watching the bushfires at a distance, wondering if she, the fawn and all life forms hadn't the same soul of nature...
The World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5th of June every year to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of our environment. This year's environment day celebration aims at promoting biodiversity after the Australian bushfires burnt down 46 million acres of land claiming the lives of about 1 billion animals. The fires destroyed the habitats of many endangered species. Infact environmentalists fear that the fires might have wiped out some entire species like the Kangaroo Island dunnart, a marsupial found only in Australia, and the Regent Honeyeater, a bird with bright yellow tail feathers.
Biodiversity conservation is the practice of protecting and preserving the rich variety of species, habitats, ecosystems and genetic diversity on the planet. Conservation of biodiversity is closely associated with food security as it protects plants, microbes and genetic resources needed for sustainable agriculture. It also plays a vital role in economic development and alleviation of poverty as some 1.6 billion people around the world depend on forests for subsistence and income in addition to approximately 2.6 billion people depending on fisheries for income in the developing countries. It can also help counter the effects of climate change by conserving vital ecosystems like mangroves, rainforests and coastal regions thereby reducing the excess amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and lessening the occurrence of floods, landslides etc. It also helps local communities secure rights over natural resources thus minimizing conflict and ensuring the proper protection of natural resources while providing economic growth for the indigenous communities. In short, biodiversity conservation goes hand in hand with human welfare.
Conservation of biodiversity may remind us of big projects launched by governments of various countries and international organizations but there are a lot of things we could do as individuals to contribute to this noble cause. Making it a point to not encroach forest land, practicing responsible fishing, designing industrial processes to be sustainable and promoting brands that are most eco-friendly are small steps towards a great change. Using reusable materials, conservating natural resources like water, minimizing energy consumption, using bicycles to travel smaller distances, funding studies dedidated to the cause of environment etc. are effective ways for conserving the environment. Spreading awareness for the cause through blogs, drawings and stage performances is also a great way of contributing at the individual level.
As we stay home during this pandemic and witness nature's healing power let's do our bit to help our planet and ourselves. On this environment day let's promise to hand down to our future generations a much greener, purer and better earth than the one we inherited. This is the time for nature!
Image credits: Unsplash