“Land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience” is the theme for this year’s World Environment Day. Tomorrow, Guyana will join the rest of the world in celebrating the day.
Over the past few years, there has been much talk about climate change and the devastating impact it is having, and is likely to have, on communities and the world as a whole.
In fact, it could be argued that, on the global level, not many persons are educated about the issue, especially as it relates to the kind of impact climate change has on the environment and on individuals themselves. Citizens still do take the issue for granted, and do not pay much heed to the various messages about the need to change lifestyle patterns and so on.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, in his message, said that humanity depended on land, but yet, all over the world, a toxic cocktail of pollution, climate chaos, and biodiversity decimation are turning healthy lands into deserts, and thriving ecosystems into dead zones.
In his message, he states: “They are annihilating forests and grasslands, and sapping the strength of land to support ecosystems, agriculture, and communities. That means crops failing, water sources vanishing, economies weakened, and communities endangered – with the poorest hit hardest. Sustainable development is suffering. And we are trapped in a deadly cycle – land use is responsible for 11 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions heating our planet. It’s time to break free.”
“Countries must deliver on all their commitments to restore degraded ecosystems and land, and on the entire Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. They must use their new national climate action plans to set out how they will halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. And we must drastically scale-up finance to support developing countries to adapt to violent weather, protect nature, and support sustainable development.
Scientists have argued that the planet is indeed threatened by lifestyle patterns of individuals, and if persons continue to use resources the way we currently do, the planet’s reserves will be exhausted at an increasingly rapid pace. For many countries, there is still the challenge of getting everyone to not only understand and appreciate the idea of the need to work towards sustainable consumption, but also to take practical steps to move in this direction.
Certainly, Governments can set the framework with their policies: set targets, define standards, give incentives to make companies go green. Businesses and industries, together with researchers, can provide the solutions; but, in the end, the consumers have the power of the purse, whether they buy green products or not.
Based on statistics, the world’s population is growing rapidly, as more than a billion new people will enter the middle class by 2050. Experts have predicted that if citizens do not change their consumption patterns, the global use of resources will be multiplied by 15, which is considered dangerous for our planet, as it would not be able to satisfy the needs of everyone.
At the individual level, every individual does play a crucial role in defining his/her own consumption pattern, and can, in a way, also contribute to the fight against climate change. For example, we can reduce the level of energy utilised, and the money that is saved on energy could be used instead to develop climate-friendly technologies and appliances.
Official records show that on a global level, more than 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are related to household consumption. While it is accepted that it is not an easy task to get persons to change lifestyles and to work towards a climate-friendly environment, the task would be much easier if they are educated about the role they can play and the benefits of their own action.
Here, in Guyana, we still continue to dump garbage carelessly. For example, persons continue to dispose of plastic items in a reckless manner, resulting in the clogging of drains and trenches, thereby leading to flooding, etc.
We agree with the UN SG, who said, “Inaction is too costly. But swift and effective action makes economic sense. Every dollar invested in ecosystem restoration creates up to 30 dollars in economic benefits. We are Generation Restoration. Together, let’s build a sustainable future for land, and for humanity.”
