Every year we observe Earth Day on April 22. The day is observed worldwide to support protection of the environment. Earth day was introduced by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970 to focus on issues related to environment. Every year on Earth Day a theme is decided which gives a message to save our Earth.
This year the theme for Earth Day is "Protect our Species" and to raise awareness about the increasing rate of extinction of millions of species. Excessive reduction of plant and wildlife is connected to causes of species extinction driven by human activity: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides. The impacts are far reaching. Every species has its own place in the environment that contributes to the ecosystem but due to man-made activities like hunting and other environmental damages many species are facing extinction.
The good news is that the rate of extinction can still be slowed, and many of our declining, threatened and endangered species can still recover if we work together to build a united global movement of consumers, voters, educators, faith leaders, and scientists to demand immediate action.
The goals of observing Earth Day are:
- Educating and raising awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
- Working out major policy decisions in order to protect broad groups of species as well as individual species and their habitats.
- Building and activating a global movement that embraces nature and its values.
- Encouraging individual actions such as adopting plant-based diet and stopping pesticide and herbicide use.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bangladesh works on the endangered species. It disclosed the findings of a study on endangered species titled 'Updating Species Red List of Bangladesh' three years ago.
The Sustainable Development Goal 15 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is also devoted to "protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss".
The key message of the Earth Day is that if we join our hands together, the impact can be enormous in protecting the planet.
Md Touhidul Alam Khan is the Deputy Managing Director of Prime Bank Limited.
toohid1969@gmail.com