Reviving Forests, Water Sources, and Soils for a Sustainable Future
World Environment Day has returned for another year as we draw closer to our world-wide net zero targets. Every year on the 5th of June the United Nations hold a global movement to raise awareness of our environment and the growing threats we face due to climate change.
World Environment Day was first held in 1973 after the UN General Assembly met to discuss environmental protection; the focus of the campaign was “only one earth” and to this day it is still celebrated with a new theme every year.
Generation Restoration
2024’s theme is Generation Restoration. “We cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and bring back soils. We are the generation that can make peace with land”. You can watch the promotional video on the World Environment Day website that puts this issue into visual perspective. The theme aims to bring awareness to what we can do to restore our lands and nature, and what adaptation measures we can take to combat the rising problems of desertification and drought.
This year, World Environment Day is being held by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country that is threatened by disasters like drought and desertification due to climate change. The country has already lost 10 percent of the land due to degradation, but they are fighting back and are leading examples that restoration can work. The Saudi Green Initiative is aiming to turn 30 percent of the countries land into nature reserves and plant 400 million trees by 2030.
This is not too dissimilar to our restoration projects across County Durham and ties in with our Natural Environment chapter of our Climate Emergency Response plan (CERP). Across the UK we have lost 97% flower-rich meadows since the 1930s, this causes a threat to our pollinators, our soil, and our environment. We are working towards planting wildflower meadows, working with the Woodland Trust to plant trees, and encouraging regenerative farming to restore the quality of our land and soil. Adaptation is another chapter that fits in, and one major step to combat climate-related disasters. In Durham we use methods like flood walls around rivers to reduce the chance of flooding and the impacts that arise when it does.
How can we get involved?
World Environment Day share plenty of ways you can get involved on their website. You can find a map with events all around the world that you can join in with as well as a whole guide to help you get involved in ecosystem restoration. If you are hosting an event with the aim to help or appreciate our environment, such as litter pick-ups or bird watching events; make sure to register it on their website and feel free to contact us too, we would love to share your event on our events page.
Explore Seascapes and Durham Wildlife Trust have lists of events taking place in and around Durham. Join a beach clean to protect our oceans and ocean life, take a walk to appreciate nature, or learn about the landscapes and their threats by joining one of these events. We also share events across our website too.
This global movement is a perfect opportunity to learn more about the climate and ecological emergencies that we are facing locally and across the globe. You can use this reminder to take steps to reduce your carbon footprint and empower colleagues, friends, and family to do the same.
As a council we are making a conscious effort to restore our local environment, from our Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) to working alongside organisations like Durham Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust. Every action we take is one step closer to full recovery. Just because the day has passed does not mean our efforts stop here. Movements like this give us all an opportunity to think about how we can help our nature.
