"It Is A Matter Of Great Sorrow That Nature Indicates, But Humans Do Not Care." This Comment Made Centuries Ago By Victor Hugo Is Still Relevant Today. At A Time When The Kovid-19 Epidemic Is Becoming A Threat To Our Existence, We Should Not Forget That We Are Responsible For This Disaster In One Way Or The Other.
There Are A Number Of Crises - Climate Change, Loss Of
Biodiversity, Increasing Pollution In The Ocean And The Occurrence Of Natural
Resources - All Of Which Are Clearly Indicating That This Situation Cannot Be
Allowed To Continue. Based On Governance And Exploitation, Our Relationship
With Nature And Life Has Already Destroyed About 75% Of The World's Eco-Systems
And 40% Of The Marine Environment. The Current Rate Is 10 Thousand Times Higher
Than The Number Of Species That Have Gone Extinct In The Last 10 Million Years
In The World; And It Is Increasing; And Out Of About 80 Lakh Fauna And Flora
Species, 1 Million Are On The Verge Of Extinction 1. This Situation Cannot Be
Allowed To Remain.
Scientific Evidence Is Showing That Radical Changes Are
Needed: A Complete Overhaul Of Our Relationship With The World Of Nature And
Living Beings. It Is Not An Option, But A Necessity For Our Existence. The
Welfare Of Mankind Depends On The Health Of The Environment, As Well As The
Flourishing Of Other Species With Which We Live On This Earth.
Now Is The Time To Take Action. First Of All, We All Have To
Stop The Ongoing Destruction Around Us - For Both Present And Future
Generations, Because Our Health And Well-Being Is A Fundamental Human Right For
All.
We Must Focus Our Legitimate Aspirations And Resources On
Protecting And Restoring The Environment, Whether Natural Or Managed By Humans.
Based On Discussions At The Biodiversity Conference, Some Countries Are Working
To Protect 30% Of The World's Land And Sea By 2030. Thankfully, UNESCO's 252
Natural World Heritage Sites, 714 Bio-Area Reserves, And 161 Global
Geographical Gardens Cover 6% Of The Earth's Terrain.
We Also Need To Bring About A Comprehensive Change In
Production And Consumption Patterns. We Cannot Allow The Destruction Of Nature
In The Struggle To Increase GDP. The SDG's Collectively Developed New Framework
Sets Dimensions For This: Poverty, Inequality, Human Rights, Education, Health,
And The Environment Must Be Addressed While Constantly Moving On The Path Of
Development.
To Achieve The SDGs, We Have To Be Modern And Imaginative.
We Need To Find Other Ways To Live Life On Earth. In Particular, We Must
Develop And Better Manage Areas Where Plants And Animals Can Thrive, Areas
Where Conditions Are Favorable For A Respectful Relationship Between Humans And
Nature.
We Must Also Listen To Those Who Have Always Considered
Nature As Our Past, Present And Future: That Is, Local People. Their Rights
Need To Be Recognized And Protected, As Their Unique Traditional Knowledge Can
Play An Important Role In Addressing The Protection Of Environmental Systems.
Finally, We Should Communicate And Raise Awareness. In Order
To Protect And Honor The World Of Organisms, We Have To Resort To Education To
Provide Marine Information. Through Education We Can Achieve Desired Results.
For This Reason, Environmental Education Should Be Included In The School
Curriculum And Teacher Training - It Is The Commitment That Is The Basis Of
UNESCO's Action.
In Addition To Protecting A Part Of The Earth's Surface, We
Want To Reconcile 100% Of The World's Population With It. Given The Important
Role Of Biodiversity In The Economy, Health And Our Welfare, The Need Is To
Keep Environmental Problems At The Center Of Our Decisions And Actions.
We Do Not Have To Abandon Our Humanistic Values Or
Ideology Of Progress For This Radical Change. We Have To Keep In Mind That:
Only The Most Deprived People Bear The Brunt Of The Consequences Of Climate
Change. We Should Not Forget That There Can Be No Good To Society Without
Respecting The Environment. Now The Time Has Come For Humans To Understand That
We Are Not The Owners Of The Earth, But We Depend On It. The Whole World Has To
Understand That We Should Prefer The Preservation Of Nature For The Betterment
Of Our Society, Otherwise We Should Be Prepared To Suffer Its Terrible
Consequences.
(The Author of This Article
is the Director General of UNESCO )
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