World Environment Day 2024: Accelerating land restoration, drought resilience & desertification progress.

World Environment Day, marked on 5 June every year. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. Over the past five decades, the Day has elevated to be one of the biggest global platforms for environmental outreach. It’s commendable to recognize the significance of nature annually, yet the alarming situation forces everyone to acknowledge and accept the degradation challenge and attempts in the bestest way to make our environment healthier and happier everyday.

World Environment Day 2024: Accelerating land restoration, drought resilience & desertification progress.

पृथ्वी संतरणात् संतु नः पुन्या पुन्येन वातः । पुन्येन अध्युष्ट पुन्या पृथ्वी पुन्येन संतु नः ॥ 

Meaning: "May the earth be protected by our good deeds, and may our good deeds be protected by the pure water."

 

Pure water is turning out to be impure,

Fertility of soil is loosing its lure,

Air Quality Index is deteriorating and far from cure,

About our deeds, are humans genuinely sure,,

 

Nature has enough to meet mankind needs, but always lacks to fulfil mankind greeds. 

 

 Data is scary and trends are horrible, either it summers or the winters or monsoons, extremeness is the limit to reach by the climate. Almost every nook and corner of the world is observing the nature's wrath, be it floods at Pakistan, UAE, Afghanistan, extreme monsoons at Himalayas 2023, Heat waves at Northern India, submerging of the Indonesia capital Jakarta etc. Nature blessings' that are most significant for the living are provided to us at free of cost yet humans are mocking these crucial things such as air, water, soil, etc. It is of no use to raise the per capita income of nation if we fail to get fresh air for breathing, portable water to drink and nutritious food to eat. Bhutan, a nation, certified as a happiest country, is the epitome of conserving their nature, bio diversity, preservation of their rich culture, because Bhutan knows where to invest and to what extent. 

 

'Sandstorms may travel to NCR in coming years'

Along with the graduation destruction of the Aravalli ranges, and owing to migration of people, changing rainfall pattern, spreading of sand dunes, unscientific plantation drives, the mighty Thar Desert in western Rajasthan is expanding rapidly. The massive degradation of the land is posing a threat to the desert ecology, while the climate change is contributing to the spread of arid region. 

Anguished to know the data that India's drought-prone area has increased by 57 percent since 1997, while areas' receiving heavy rainfall  have risen by almost 85 percent since 2012. This can have far-reaching impacts, affecting not only mankind, but also flora and fauna to the maximum. Several disaster management services are protecting the victims but the loss of flora and fauna is always remained unnoticed. 

 

“The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.” –Zeno

 

Accelerating Land Restoration :- 

Land Management and Restoration :- Land restoration is the process of restoring degraded or damaged land to a healthy and productive state. To achieve such restoration several measures, such as reforestation, soil improvement, erosion control, water management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation need to be act in accordance with the norms. 

Three major spheres that can be concentrated where land restoration can be achieved possessing serious challenges as well :- 

 

Soil Erosion - loss of fertile topsoil and decreasing the agriculture productivity is termed as Soil Erosion. Implementing the measures such as terracing, contour plowing and cover cropping can help in preventing the soil erosion and increasing the fertility of soil. Techniques include silt fences, straw mulching, and hydro seeding are enough fruitful to save soil. Silt fences prevent sediment runoff, straw mulch protects the soil surface, and hydro seeding involves spraying a mixture of grass seed, fertilizer, and mulch to establish vegetation quickly.

 

Biodiversity Conservation:- Damaged and degraded lands can be restored by preserving and enhancing biodiversity by developing habitats for native plant and animal species. Pollination, water filtration and improving the fertility of the ecological balance can be promoted by the reforestation and habitat restoration. Create wildlife corridors, install nesting boxes, and plant native flowering species to attract pollinators.

 

Climate Change Mitigation :- greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide etc. has changed the entire world's landscapes, temperature, glaciers, seasons etc. Afforestation, reforestation, and agroforestry practices enable in capturing carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

 

Understanding Drought Resilience :- 

"Jal hi Jeevan hai "Water is life and without portable drinking water, no luxury can meet the life expectancy. Deforestation, construction of concrete jungles, and huge industrialization has given birth to the Droughts and this disaster is expensive enough to tackle, causing crop failure, famines, etc. Ground water depletion is the after effects of droughts. Bangalore, Chennai, Saurashtra etc. places are facing severe water crisis. This calls up for the intense and sustainable solutions. 

 

Recognition of special efforts are the must do activity to curb the prevailing issues of Droughts problems. Popularly known as the Lake Man of India, Anand Malligavad is a lake conservationist from Bangalore, Karnataka. He is the founder of the Malligavad Foundation which works for water and forest conservation. He is also known for his contribution in the revitalization of 23 deteriorating lakes in Bengaluru. 

Enhancing drought resilience involves several implementing measures such as water conservation, cultivation of crops that are drought resistant, and efficient irrigation techniques. To work for improving the  resilience to droughts, communities can better cope with water scarcity and sustain their livelihoods in the face of climate variability. 

 

Seven wonders that could do miracles to restore land, halt desertification and combat drought

 

@ Making agriculture sustainable -> Farmers can embrace more soil-friendly crops, such as beans, lentils, chickpeas and peas and several sustainable tools and techniques too. Citing importance to the organic manures, imparting indigenous knowledge to develop sustainable development farming, cultivating climate resilient crops and several hybridization skills to improve the quality and productivity, managing the utilization of pesticides, fertilizers in such a way to avoid harming the soil health. 

@ Saving top layer of soil -> Healthy soil acts as a carbon sink, locks major greenhouse gases. Soil provides habitat to 60% of species and 98% of the food is obtained from soils. An individual can bring some positive change on it's own such as Compost and organic materials could be added to top soil in order to improve its fertility. Irrigation techniques, such as drip irrigation or mulching, could be used to sustain the soil moisture contents and prevent drought stress. Individuals at home could make compost from leftover scraps of fruit and vegetables to be used in their gardens and balcony plant pots. Generally, 

@ Protecting and preserving the Pollinators -> Three out of four crops producing fruit and seeds depend on pollinators. Bees are the most prolific pollinators but they get a lot of help from bats, insects, butterflies, birds and beetles. Interestingly, world can loose bananas, avocados and mangoes, without bats. Although knowing the utmost importance of all pollinators, yet they are possessing serious decline, bees especially. Authorities and individuals need to develop enough of green spaces in cities and introduce more pollinator-friendly ponds to permit nature to return. 

@ Restoring Freshwater Ecosystem -> enables in mitigating climate change and helping communities to adapt extreme weather. Building rain water harvesting at the houses and developing ponds, small lakes if space is available with an individual would be making a positive difference towards sustaining the ecological balance. Generating awareness among the population, not to pollute already available ponds, lakes etc. Government intervention in involving innovations, working on the sewage treatment plants, and imposing strict laws and penalties to cease the irresponsible dumping of pollutants to the several water bodies. 

@ Restoring of Coastal and Marine areas -> Oceans and seas bestows humanity with oxygen, food and water. Population are highly dependent on the coastal and marine areas for their livelihood. Keen to share that oceans, season and other marine spheres are highest source of providing oxygen to the world. Therefore, it doubles our responsibility for conservation of our coastal and marine areas. Many brilliant and responsible citizens have taken up the charges and on their own they are cleaning the beaches, coastal areas. Off course, this is enthusiastic move, yet active participation from each and every citizen of the country is mandatory.

@ Bring nature to cities -> tree plantation are the only source that easily affords to bring peace to the cities. Classroom curriculum must inculcate planting trees a necessity. Since childhood only, growing plants should be the preached. Vertical gardens, agriculture without the soil (HYDROPONICS), such innovative technologies should reach to every house and thus greener and cleaner change can be witnessed. Spreading awareness, that plants and trees can reduce the temperature and AC dependency to an optimum level.

@ Government support to restoration -> election manifesto must focus on improving nature and precious natural resources. In all endeavors, support of system, government and municipal cooperation is crucial. Singapore is setting an perfect example of managing the wastes, they collect urban waster, burn it, thus heat produced is utilized for the generation of electricity and residues are effectively disposed off to the environment with minimum of the effluents. Similarly, Indore city of India, has reached to the benchmark of holding the title of most cleanest city. Government with city's population in collaboration has been working towards their mutual goal of sustainability. 

 

 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 2030 announces that “Every individuals are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

 

Global Conventions towards Sustainability :- 

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) :- 

In 1994, The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established with an objective to protect and restore planet's land and ensure a safer, healthier and more sustainable future. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the lane that UNCCD desires to encapsulate by all the nations of the world. Such conventions want to bring ideas, goals and efforts to curb the menace of planet degradation.  The UNCCD is the only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drought, and has 197 Parties to the Convention, including 196 country Parties and the European Union. The Convention's is extremely dependent on the  principles of participation, partnership and decentralization – is a multilateral commitment to mitigate the impact of land degradation, and protect our land so we can provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) — Global challenges and national needs to be tackled by involving several nations at international level so that amicable solutions can be searched for the sustainability of the resources. Supreme decision making body is COP among the all conventions. Every country that are the parties to the conventions are represented at the COP, where each party review the implementation of the convention and remaining other legal instruments at the conference of Parties. Such implementations are adopted and suitable decisions are taken in order to promote the effective implementation of the conventions, including institutional and administrative arrangements. The COP meetings are done every year. The Convention’s main decision-making body to guide in responding to global challenges and national needs — has met biennially since 2001.

Conclusion :- 

 

Eventually, “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience” for World Environment Day 2024 is a sincere call to highlight the issues and developing corrective action to protect and restore the Earth’s land resources. By combating land degradation, promoting land restoration, and enhancing resilience to droughts, we can rejuvenates our mother earth, safeguard ecosystems, protect livelihoods, and secure a sustainable future for every living identities especially upcoming generation. Let us seize this opportunity to endeavor together towards an era where earth is more healthy, productive, and resilient to the challenges of the 21st century.

 

 

संरक्षेद्दूषितो न स्याल्लोकः मानवजीवनम्। 

To safeguard our own lives, let’s not pollute the world.