World Environment Day (WED) was announced on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972, two years after the first WED was held on the theme “Only One Earth” in 1974.
World Environment Day is celebrated in 143 countries. It is also called “People’s Day” to show support for the Earth and the environment.
The theme of World Environment Day this year is ‘Biodiversity‘. The United Nations Environment Program has announced that the South American nation will host World Environment Day 2020 in association with Colombia, Germany.
Biodiversity is a very important subject. Taking note of recent developments, the incidence of bushfires in Brazil, the USA and Australia to grasshopper attacks in East Africa, Baluchistan, and India tell us how much humans and other creatures depend on each other.
This is the foundation that supports all living organisms living on land and underwater, as it affects every aspect of human health. It provides clean air and water, nutritious foods, scientific understanding, drug sources, natural immunity, and climate change mitigation.
Colombia accounts for 10% of the world’s biodiversity. It is one of the largest ‘megadiverse’ countries in the world, as it is part of the Amazon Rainforest, Colombia ranks first in the diversity of bird and orchid species. At the same time, Columbia is second in plants, butterflies, fish, and amphibians.
Conclusion
Human actions such as deforestation, encroachment on wildlife habitats, and climate change have pushed nature to its limits. Human demands are so high that nature will need 1.5 Earths to fulfill them. The great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy had said, ‘The first condition to be happy is that the link between man and nature should not be broken.’