“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” – Gary Snyder, American poet and writer.
World Nature Protection Day is observed on October 18, with the goal of raising public awareness about the need to care for the planet and all living beings that inhabit it, including plants and animals.
Origin of the Date
World Nature Protection Day has been observed since 1972. Its origins date back to a message delivered by the then-president of Argentina, Juan Domingo Perón, on July 24 of that year while he was in Madrid, Spain. In his letter addressed to Kurt Waldheim, who was then Secretary-General of the United Nations, he warned of humanity’s “suicidal march” due to environmental pollution and the squandering of resources.
Raising Awareness and Promoting Sustainability
This celebration has two main objectives:
- Raising awareness: Drawing the attention of society and governments to environmental damage, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and climate change.
- Promoting sustainability: Encouraging the use of clean energy, reducing plastic use, recycling, and protecting terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
How can we help nature?
Currently, one of the United Nations’ main goals is to create a more sustainable world—that is, to ensure that countries achieve development without harming nature, but rather by making use of its renewable resources.
The best way to contribute to this goal is by meeting the following objectives:
- Use renewable energy sources.
- Recycle and reuse plastic and any other waste materials that can be turned into new products.
- Perform regular maintenance on your car or switch to one that runs on biofuels or solar power.
- Promote the use of green roofs.
- Compost organic waste at home to reduce trash in cities.
- Bring reusable shopping bags.
- Reduce our carbon footprint.
These are just a few suggestions, but there are many other things you can do to keep our planet clean and healthy.
For example, you can join one of the activities organized by environmental organizations, team up with friends to clean up a park or a beach, hand out flyers with information on environmental conservation, attend a craft workshop using recycled materials, or start your own YouTube channel teaching people how to make decorations or objects out of plastic bottles.
By: Juan Carlos Ugarelli.
