Act fast to save Earth

Hyderabad: 'Live and let live' is something humankind must think of at this moment as the world marks World Environment Day on Saturday. With the United Nations theme of the decade (2021-2030) being the restoration of ecosystems, Council for Planetary Health and Human Development brings to the fore the need for the State and Central governments to take proactive measures and be a world leader in the conservation efforts.

According to UN Environment Programme (UNEP), ecosystems such as farmlands, forests, grasslands and savannahs, mountains, peatlands, urban areas, freshwaters and oceans need immediate restoration. Communities living across almost two billion degraded hectares of land include some of the world's poorest and marginalised. The report, Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate, highlights that humanity is using about 1.6 times the amount of services that nature can provide sustainably. That means conservation efforts alone are insufficient to prevent large-scale ecosystem collapse and biodiversity loss.

While the governments in India seem to have realised the negative impacts of climate change, the steps taken to avoid the impending dangers are not so encouraging and are hardly sufficient. Not just governments, the general public too have their fair share of mistakes that contributed to the worsening ecological imbalance, said Dr Suresh Kumar Cherukula, founder, Council for Planetary Health and Human Development.

While Article-48A of the Constitution mandates both protectionist and improvinistic policies with respect to the environment, their scant implementation is the cause for concern. The environment conservation laws remain only on paper and it is high time India, in particular, and the world, in general, woke up from slumber and acted towards mitigating the degradations of ecosystems planet earth is witnessing, Suresh Kumar added.

Speaking in the context of Telangana, he said the State has been doing a commendable job through its flagship Haritha Haram programme by planting crores of saplings every monsoon but a lot needs to be done yet. The State government's efforts in the transition towards electronic vehicles (EVs) are also far-reaching, and incentives such as waiver of life tax on EVs among others will certainly boost sales and bring down emissions, he said. On the other hand, the State government must strictly implement the plastic ban and create awareness among the public on its evil effects on the environment. Besides, everyone must remember that it is a fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the environment and have compassion for other living creatures, he said.