NIGERIA: Pakistan will host World Environment Day 2021 which will take place on the 5th of June.
The Country will host the World Environment day in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Pakistan’s Adviser to the Prime Minister and Minister of Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam announced this during the virtual Fifth-UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5).
According to Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change, the Government fo Pakistan led by Prime Minister Imran Khan plans to expand and restore the country’s forests through a 10 billion tree Tsunami in the next five years.
This campaign, according to the Minister, would restore mangroves and forests, as well as planting trees in urban settings, including schools, colleges, public parks and green belts.
It was also disclosed that Pakistan has launched an Ecosystem Restoration Fund to support nature-based solutions to climate change and facilitate the transition towards environmentally resilient, ecologically targeted initiatives covering afforestation and biodiversity conservation.
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The World Environment Day
The theme for the 2021 World Environment Day is ‘ecosystem restoration’ and would focus on resetting relation with nature.
The 2021 World Environment Day will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 to 2030.
The World Environment Day takes place every year on 5 June.
It is the United Nations’ flagship day for promoting worldwide awareness and action for the environment.
Over the years, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.
The commitment of Pakistan to Environmental Protection
The Minister of Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam further said that the government of Pakistan is committed to addressing the issue of climate change in the country.
To this end, he said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan launched the Protected Area Initiative to develop 15 model protected areas across the country to conserve over 7300 sq km of land area and create over 5,500 green jobs.
Aslam said that the country is honoured to host this year World Environment Day to lend support to the glob efforts towards restoring the environment.
Hosting the World Environment Day
As host of World Environment Day, Pakistan will highlight environmental issues and showcase the country’s initiatives and its role in global efforts.
The day will be celebrated across the world through various events and activities, in line with the latest COVID-19 regulations.
The Executive Director of UNEP, Inger Andersen said that in 2021, deliberate steps would be taken to enable countries to heal from the effect of the global pandemic of COVID-19 and the continued crisis of climate, nature and pollution.
“In 2021, we must take deliberate steps to move from crisis to healing: and in so doing, we must recognize that the restoration of nature is imperative to the survival of our planet and the human race.
“Pakistan has shown real leadership in efforts to restore the country’s forests; we are grateful for their commitment to host World Environment Day 2021 and lead the charge for all nations to restore our damaged ecosystems through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,” she added.
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN Decade is meant to improve the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis, prevent the loss of a million species and enhance food security water supply and livelihoods.
The UN Decade runs from 2021 through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals.
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