Institute seeks protection of environmental defenders worldwide
Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, has reiterated the need for everyone to raise their voices to demand that leaders make peace with nature.
He stated this at the weekend in a video message to commemorate Earth Day, adding that everyone needs to do their part in protecting the planet.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 of every year. The day is set aside by the UN to raise awareness on the need to protect nature and shift to a more sustainable economy.
Guterres, in his message, said humanity is waging a relentless war on nature and these actions are causing biodiversity to collapse.
“I urge people everywhere to raise your voices in your schools, workplaces and faith communities and on social media platforms and demand leaders make peace with nature,” he said.
He added that scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience as well as learning from the stewardship of indigenous peoples can lead to workable solutions.
“On International Mother Earth Day, we reflect on humanity’s most important relationship – our relationship with the natural world. Our actions are laying waste to forests, jungles, farmland, wetlands, oceans, coral reefs, rivers, seas and lakes. Biodiversity is collapsing as 1 million species teeter on the brink of extinction.
“We must turn these relentless and senseless wars on nature. We have the tools, the knowledge and the solutions, but we must pick up the pace. We need accelerated climate action with deeper faster emission cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
Meanwhile, as the world marked International Mother Earth Day, Register General of the African Institute of Waste Management and Environmental Studies (AIWMES), Dr. Ahmed Tayo, has stressed the need for the protection of environment defenders worldwide. He made this known yesterday in Kaduna.
He said: “By taking part in earth day activities, people can make a positive impact on the environment and contribute towards a more sustainable future.”
The Registrar noted that earth day is now a global event each year, and “we believe that more than one billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world.”
He said planting trees, recycling, disposing wastes properly, and reducing the use of plastics has a huge effect on the environment.
