World Environment Day 2020
Theme for World Environment Day 2020: Celebrate Biodiversity.
This year the theme of World Environment Day 2020 is “Celebrate Biodiversity”. “With 1 million species facing extinction, there has never been a more important time to focus on biodiversity.” Biodiversity underpins like on earth and refers to the variety found in biota from genetic makeup of plants and animals to cultural diversity.
We depend on biodiversity as our human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and services which are essential for good human health and livelihoods.
This year began with environmental crisis revealing itself in a disturbing way. Wildfires ravaged tropical rain-forests; cyclones and floods washed away trees and buildings. Now locust attacks across Africa, Pakistan and India and the coronavirus pandemic…all these calamities act as a reminder that human health is linked to the planet’s health.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) annually organizes events for World Environment Day, which encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is celebrated on 5 June in over 100 countries.
The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is, ‘Time for Nature,’ with a focus on its role in providing the essential infrastructure that supports life on Earth and human development. This focus is expected to provide an opportunity for driving the momentum and public awareness of nature as a key aspect in the lead up to the 15th meeting of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). COP 15 was expected to take place in October 2020, but will be rescheduled for 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We need to now fundamentally rethink our relationship with the living world, with natural ecosystems and their biodiversity.
O Lord, what a variety of things yo have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. Psalm 104:24-25.
