Once upon a time ago, we, humans lived in harmony with nature, satisfied with what we were offered and the actions of the Homo sapiens synchronizing to nature’s rhythm of life creating the ultimate ‘balance’, between man and the wild. But this so-called ‘life’ that humans lived wasn’t an easy one as it was nature that determined man’s sole survival.
However, over time humans embraced their unique minds to create ways to tame the wild. Along with the dawn of technology, humans endeavored the future by altering the mother Earth piece by piece, until she was no more superior. The actions of man had unleashed the beginning of a new epoch; ‘Anthropocene’; The age of humans, where the survival of nature now rests in the hands of humans. But there is one small problem, due to overexploitation of our Earth to feed our greed, we have lost the ultimate ‘balance’ with nature. Without this balance, the age of humans would be no less than just a fleeting existence.
What is World Nature Conservation Day? Why celebrate it?
World Nature Conservation Day, observed on the 28th of July annually is a reminder for us to restore the lost balance between nature and man. This far-fetching day is celebrated to breed and increase awareness of the importance of the Earth’s natural resources and how to live sustainably while protecting these resources. Water, air, soil, minerals, plants, and wildlife are the elements that make up the Earth’s natural resources, and numerous human activities and their consequences, are threatening the existence of these resources. Thus, we are threatening our own future!
Planet Earth is dying or worse, being killed…
Did you know that we have already lost 80% of our planet’s forests and are currently losing them at an approximate rate of 375 km2 per day and that we have an enormous garbage island enriched with plastics floating in our ocean, in the size of India, Mexico, and Europe combined?
We are consuming 50% more natural resources than the Earth is able to provide, that is 1.5 Earth, which plainly does not exist!
One biggest predicament that we are facing today is climate change, which gives rise to catastrophes such as wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, tropical cyclones, rainstorms, hurricanes, etc. If climate change is not controlled, at the ongoing rate, nearly one-third of the Earth’s surface would be turned into deserts and the ecosystems would collapse, starting from the divine coral reefs in the ocean, the green guardians in the amazon, to the cold castles of glaciers in the arctic. Due to the lack of conservation of the environment, wildlife is fading away along with our humanity.
Pollution is slowly killing the Earth, and the creators of these pollutants are mostly us, humans. Isn’t it ironic how we are obliterating the mere air that we breathe? Through deforestation, we are cutting down the sources that bless us with life, and yet our lips fail to quiver with guilt when we call it “our planet”. Deforestation not only knocks down the evergreens on the planet but also sabotages the habitats of innocent animals and overall causes a disruption in the natural ecological balance.
How can we save our planet and regain the ‘balance’?
Sustainable development by definition means the development to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. In simpler words, it is the blueprint to a better future.
Change doesn’t always have to be on a large scale like preserving our fossil fuels (Non-renewable energy sources) and replacing them with renewables all across the world, it could be simple changes like encouraging nature wherever we can and little routine switch-ups like remembering to turn off your shower to reduce water wastage, replacing plastic bags and containers with recyclable biodegradable ones, following the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), switching to energy-efficient light bulbs to reduce greenhouse gas emission, planting a tree, cycling instead of driving or maybe enjoying a bit of carpooling and most importantly educating yourself on this topic and spreading awareness.
Transforming the whole world overnight is impossible, but if the infinitesimal changes we do make a noticeable impact, imagine the amount of influence we would have on our planet if all of humanity were to unite as one. The amount of power we would possess would be miraculously monumental.
Surely, we would not be able to turn back time or re-wire the entire planet, but at least we could strive to restore it, do justice for our mother Earth and most importantly reclaim our humanity!
Happy Nature Conservation Day to all Earthlings!
Written by Ama Upeka Perera
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