Indore: The United Nations General Assembly declared 2021 – 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and UNEP India will launch this on World Environment Day - June 5, 2021, as announced by Atul Bagai (ex- IAS)
country head UNEP India, said. UNEP will be able to implement this programme in collaboration with Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development and the people of Indore region.
This was declared during the weeklong environmental discourse organised online by the centre.
“India is going through COVID crises that has locked us all in for the last 16-17 months and adversely affected its social–economic and ecosystems. It has also clearly proven that environment and health are two sides of the same coin,” Bagai said. He added that we all need to involve all the common people and using commonly spoken, understandable language.
“All the environmentalists, leaders, researchers, businesses, farmers, industry corporates, scientists and government have to work together to recover from this threatening emergency of climate change due to our behaviour of exploiting nature and all the ecosystems without realising the consequences,” Bagai said.
He added that research has shown that this exploitation has resulted in the destruction of forests, animals, pollution in the last 40-50 years.
“Indore has set examples of cleanliness and waste management, plastic-free IPL cricket match of 2018, etc. so it is possible for this city to inspire the change and continue to work towards a greener tomorrow,” Bagai said.
In her address online to the gathering on social media group, Padma Shri Janak Palta McGilligan welcomed the speakers and quoted the importance of sustainable development
“I have been actively hosting and participating in World Environment Day since 1992 based on theme declared by UNEP, and the purpose of this weeklong environment discourse is to seek larger participation of people,” McGilligan said. She added that people’s participation is sought to know, understand and act to recover our ecosystems especially learning from the threatening pandemic crisis “It is high-time to understand, act and improve our human behaviour in favour of ecosystems,” McGilligan said.
She added that this calls for urgency in sustainable environmental actions and solutions at local level for the global challenges of climate change due to extinction of largest number of species threatening ecosystems.
