World Environment Day: TOGETHER WE CAN BE #GENERATIONRESTORATION

5 June 2021, Kuwait – The United Nations has proclaimed June 5 the International Day for Environment to increase understanding and awareness of Environment issues. The Day offers an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and renew our resolve in overcoming the environmental challenges facing the world today. Held annually since 1974, World Environment Day is a vital platform for promoting progress on the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2021 Environment day is being celebrated under the slogan “Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. This year, the Day will also serve as the formal launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UN Decade) is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. The official hashtags for the Day are #GenerationRestoration and #WorldEnvironmentDay.

Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. All kinds of natural as well as human-made ecosystems can be restored, including forests, farmlands, cities, wetlands and oceans. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield greater benefits for the planet and its people. These include, among many others, more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases. Restoring ecosystems, large and small, protects and improves not only our planet but also the livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them.

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guteress highlights that: “the degradation of the natural world is already undermining the well-being of 3.2 billion people – or 40 per cent of humanity. By restoring ecosystems, we can drive a transformation that will contribute to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals. It will create millions of new jobs by 2030, generate returns of over $7 trillion dollars every year and help eliminate poverty and hunger.

Science tells us these next 10 years are our final chance to avert a climate catastrophe, turn back the deadly tide of pollution and end species loss”.

Tarek Elsheikh, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the State of Kuwait said:.Dr

“Today we celebrate World Environment Day, as the UN we dedicate this year to a global call for the restoration of our ecosystem and launch a comprehensive community call for preserving the ecosystem by amending many consumer practices, that pollute our waters, oceans and beaches, which contribute to the ecological imbalance in our deserts and cities, increase air pollution, losing many of our environmental resources and spreading waste”.

“In contrast to the consumption patterns affecting our environmental system, we are witnessing a growing community awareness in Kuwait, especially among promising young people. We see a major shift in life practices to a system that is less consuming, healthier and less waste production. We see an increase in energy conservation and community solutions and innovations that promote this.

We see Governmental commitments by switching to renewable energy and promoting its use in open areas, walkways and gardens. We see young people and children in schools raising awareness and advanced classes in order to preserve their ecosystem, and in the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization invite everyone to join us with their initiatives in our International Compact to Restore Our Ecosystem movement. We care to listen to the challenges that you have faced and the innovative solutions that you have taken to preserve the ecosystem, biological diversity and natural resources of water, air and energy. We call upon everyone to put our hands together for a better future, for us, for our health, our life and well-being: Dr Elsheikh added.

The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources is participating in the World Environment Day, June 5, 2021, which is dedicated this year to a global call for the restoration of our ecosystems. The Director-General Sheikh / Mohamed Al-Yousef Alsbah, stressed: “the importance of protecting and developing ecosystems, including their biological diversity and natural resources, through the role of the authority in carrying out work related to agricultural development in its plant and animal sectors, developing and protecting fish wealth. With regard to restoring and repairing degraded terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the contract set by the United Nations General Assembly for the years between 2021-2030, the authority manages and implements a series of projects to rehabilitate the environment from the damage caused to it as a result of the Iraqi invasion funded by the amounts approved by the United Nations for compensation and the supervision of the Secretariat General of the Kuwaiti link point for environmental projects. The authority also participated with a group of state authorities with the aim of enriching the ecosystems and wildlife in the State of Kuwait, including the Kuwait Oil Company, by establishing the Abdali Reserve by planting more than 150,000 wild seedlings, as well as the rehabilitation of Al-Liah Reserve with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and the Kuwait National Petroleum Company Center project For the development and propagation of fungal plants located in the agricultural Wafra area, and other important projects to combat the threat of land degradation and restore ecosystems”.

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Youssef AlSabah added that:” there must be concerted efforts between government agencies, civil society and the private sector to reach the best results in protecting the environment at all local, regional and global levels”.

Sami Dimassi, UNEP Regional Director and Representative for West Asia stated “Kuwait consists of a diverse environment which includes vital ecosystems and ecosystem services that we depend on. Deserts contribute to around 90% of the total area of the country, hosting a unique diversity of species. However, we have seen the impact of climate change firsthand. The increased number and intensity of dust storms, the rising sea temperatures affecting coastal areas and marine resources, and other factors further degrading the diverse ecosystems. In response to this, the State of Kuwait has increased its ambitions and commitments in tackling these environmental challenges and enhanced actions towards environmental protection and conservation – and we see this across the board, through government, NGOs, as well as the private sector.”

He continued, “The upcoming Decade will be critical in addressing these challenges and will require the action of many. Achieving successful ecosystem restoration in the region will require deep changes to grasp the economic, social and ecological benefits, creating an enabling environment for private-public partnerships, taking action on food waste, making more efficient use of agricultural land, mangrove and coral reef protection and water management to further support adaptation to climate change. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity”

Dr. Dino Francescutti Subregional Coordinator for the GCC states and Yemen stated “Biodiversity for food and agriculture is indispensable to food security and sustainable development. Sustainable agricultural practices can help safeguard the adaptive capacity of food production through the conservation of genetic diversity while also contributing to healthy and culturally relevant nutrition”.

He added “We need to encourage production systems that support biodiversity and harness its power, such as agroforestry, agroecology, conservation agriculture and silvopasture. Biodiversity based production systems have the capacity to produce food and secure livelihoods while minimizing the cost to the environment.”

2021 is a year of reimagine, recreate and restore. It is the year of building back better. One of the critical components of biodiversity is genetic resources for food and agriculture. The diversity of genetic resources for food and agriculture (i.e. plants/crops, animals, aquatic resources, forests, micro-organisms and invertebrates) plays a crucial role in meeting basic human food and nutritional needs. It is essential for maintaining and enhancing the efficiency and the resilience of production systems, as well as for healthy diets and the delivery of ecosystem services, such as pollination and pest and disease regulation. These resources need to be assessed and inventoried for their sustainable use and conservation for current and future generations.

A better understanding of the role of ecosystems and biodiversity in addressing diseases and other threats to people's lives, health, and livelihoods will enable us to overcome the COVID-19 challenges and prevent the re-emergence of such devastating outbreaks in the future.

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