By Pam Reblora / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE world is now home to 7 billion people and is expected to reach the 8 billion mark in 2024. The United Nations predicts that by the year 2050, the human population will reach 9.6 billion and will require three planets to sustain humans’ ways of living, if wasteful resource consumption patterns will not change. The challenge now is how to achieve the balance between development and environmental sustainability.
To promote environmental awareness and protection, the World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every June 5. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the WED is a “principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment, and is considered as ‘People’s Day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.”
This year’s theme is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.” The UNEP Goodwill ambassadors encourage everyone to make a pledge for the environment and share their dreams for a healthier planet. Popular personalities like Leonardo di Caprio, Ian Somerhalder and Li Bingbing are just some of the many celebrities who support this campaign.
To see their dreams and pledges for the environment and to share yours, visit the WED 2015 official web site at www.unep.org/wed/wedchallenge.
“In this year of transformation, when we hope to see great advances on sustainable development and climate change, let us celebrate World Environment Day by becoming more conscious of our ecological impact. Let us think about the environmental consequences of the choices we make. Let us become better stewards of our planet,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
Simple steps, exponential impact
You might ask yourself, “What can an ordinary citizen like me, do for the environment?”
“Protecting the environment is not just a responsibility of the government, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] or environmental conservation advocates. We can all do our share in ensuring a healthier environment for present and future generations through simple conservation acts,” lawyer Roberto V. Oliva, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), said. Examples of simple ways to help protect the environment are the dreams and pledges made by people from all over the world who participated in the WED challenge by the UNEP.
Celebrating the environment, Asean style
This year the ACB celebrates its 10th year of existence as an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the Asean member-states, and with relevant national governments, regional and international organizations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
As part of its anniversary celebration, ACB will launch a series of activities that will promote environmental protection and conservation. One of the activities launched during the World Environment Day was the third Zooming in on Biodiversity Photo Contest to promote the sustainable use of biological resources through photography.
The competition is open to all citizens of Asean, both amateur and professional photographers, who can translate into exceptional photographs the sustainable use of natural resources in a developing world. Participation details on Zooming in on Biodiversity may be downloaded from the ACB web site: www.aseanbiodiversity.org.
“The World Environment Day is not just a one-day event—protecting the environment should be a lifetime commitment. Nature has been providing us with everything we need to survive; it is about time to give back,” Oliva said.