The theme for this year’s World Environment Day, selected by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is “Ecosystem Restoration,” with a message calling for collective action and solidarity to protect and revive ecosystems around the world for the benefit of both people and nature.
Ecosystem Restoration is a global call to action to protect and revive ecosystems around the world for the benefit of both people and nature. It aims to prevent the degradation of ecosystems and restore them to help achieve global goals. Only healthy ecosystems can improve people’s livelihoods, combat climate change, and prevent the collapse of biodiversity.
All ecosystems can be restored, including forests, agricultural land, cities, wetlands, and oceans. Restoration initiatives can be undertaken by almost anyone, from governments and development agencies to businesses, communities, and individuals. Restoring large-scale ecosystems also helps protect and improve the livelihoods of people who depend on them, reduce disease, and mitigate the risks of natural disasters.
For this reason, this year’s World Environment Day theme is closely linked to the theme of International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22), with the message “We’re part of the solution – for Nature,” launched by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This reflects the alignment of global programs in sounding the alarm: It is time for every country to unite, work together, and take more concrete and practical actions to protect nature and our planet.
This marks the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), which also coincides with the deadline for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a timeframe that scientists have identified as the final opportunity to prevent a climate catastrophe.
In response to this year’s World Environment Day theme and in support of the United Nations’ commitment to the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment calls on central ministries, agencies, organizations, local authorities, businesses, individuals, and other stakeholders to develop initiatives to restore Vietnam’s ecosystems and take decisive action to implement comprehensive solutions to reverse ecosystem degradation and protect the country’s environment.
At the macro level, this includes promoting nature-based solutions and an ecosystem-based approach in the development of national, regional, and provincial plans to mitigate the impacts of socio-economic development on ecosystems. It also calls for effective management of natural reserves and landscapes; the application of ecosystem-based approaches to integrated coastal zone and river basin management; sustainable forest management with greater emphasis on the role and interests of local communities; and the development and implementation of circular economy models that promote the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources.
At the local and community level, it is necessary to thoroughly address environmental pollution caused by waste and solid waste, and implement programs, projects, and initiatives aimed at ecosystem restoration. These include activities under the Government’s One Billion Trees Project; forest ecosystem restoration based on a landscape approach; collecting waste along shorelines and on the surfaces of seas, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes; restoring vegetation in wetlands; promoting sustainable fishing and seafood harvesting practices; and encouraging the development of environmental protection projects that serve community interests and mobilize community participation.
If everyone joins hands and takes action to restore ecosystems, we can significantly reduce the pressure on nature. This includes conserving resources in our daily lives; adopting the habits of refusing, reducing, reusing, and recycling waste, particularly plastic waste and single-use plastics; using environmentally friendly public transportation; refraining from the illegal consumption, trading, or exploitation of wild animals and plants; following environmental protection principles when traveling and engaging in ecotourism; and educating younger generations about environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.
Given the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has instructed and called on central ministries, agencies, organizations, provinces, and cities nationwide to organize activities in response to World Oceans Day, World Environment Day, Vietnam Sea and Islands Week, and the Action Month for the Environment in ways that are appropriate to local circumstances. These activities should prioritize the implementation of the dual objectives of ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control while maintaining socio-economic development.
In addition, communication and public awareness activities should be strengthened through campaigns, talks, dialogues, and online interactions on social media platforms. These efforts will contribute to promoting environmental and natural resource protection, marine environmental conservation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate change adaptation.
Source: Moitruong.net