World Environment Day, marked annually on 5 June, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. Over the past five decades, the Day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach. Millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events, and actions around the world.
This year’s World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the 2024 World Environment Day global celebrations.
Ways to become #GenerationRestoration:
Make agriculture sustainable.
One of the best ways to make food systems more sustainable is through agriculture finance reform. Currently, agricultural producers receive US$540 billion a year in financial support from countries. About 87 percent of subsidies either distort prices or harm nature and human health.
Save the soil.
Soil is the planet’s most biodiverse habitat with almost 60 percent of all species living in soil. Soil health is the capacity of soil to function as a living system. Healthy soil is the largest store of terrestrial carbon and plays a vital role in climate mitigation by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
Bring back the buzz.
Close to 75 percent of the world’s fruit and seed crops depend, at least in part, on pollinators including 87 of 115 leading food crops worldwide. While bees are the most prolific pollinators, they get a lot of help from others, such as bats, insects, butterflies, birds, and beetles to name a few. All pollinators, especially bees, are in serious decline, primarily due to intensive agricultural practices, pesticide use, invasive species, diseases, and climate change.
Restore freshwater ecosystems.
Freshwater ecosystems supply food and water to billions of people, protect us from droughts and floods, and provide habitat for countless plants and animals. They also sustain the water cycles that keep land fertile and are crucial for restoration.
Renew marine and coastal areas.
Oceans and seas provide humanity with essentials, including oxygen, food, and water, while mitigating climate change and helping communities adapt to extreme weather. About 37 percent of the global population resides within 100 km of the coast, while over 3 billion people, primarily in developing nations, rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Yet the world’s oceans are facing pressure from climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
We cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and bring back soils. We are the generation that can make peace with land