By Joyce Gyekye
Ghana joined the global community to observe World Environment Day, which falls on the 5th of June every year. On its 51st anniversary, the day was set aside by the United Nations in 1975. The global event was hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the theme “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”.
Saudi Arabia hosted the event because it has overtime demonstrated pioneering efforts as part of commitments to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) in restoring degraded landscapes, combating desertification, and building resilience to drought, thus advancing efforts to achieve environmental conservation and sustainability.
In a statement to observe the day, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, highlighted activities that the ministry has undertaken to create awareness and educate the public on the need to protect the environment.
This included a “What Do You Know Quiz”, exhibitions, tree planting exercises, public education and awareness creation on sustainable land management practices, facilitated dialogues on nature-based solutions suitable for ecosystem restoration, among other activities. She said to appreciate this year’s theme which focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience calls for collaboration among stakeholders to accelerate progress by government and civil society organisations in addressing the effects of climate change.
Ophelia Hayford stressed the importance of nature-based solutions in ecosystem restoration to advance efforts to achieve sustainable development goal 13, which aims at taking action to combat climate change, and 15, which centers forest management and addressing biodiversity loss, among others. This, she noted, is to preserve the environment for a sustainable future for both the planet and the next generation.