World Environment Day 2021 will be observed on 5th June and its theme this year is Ecosystem Restoration, but what exactly does Ecosystem Restoration mean? “Ecosystem” refers the interaction between the living and non-living components of the environment, while “restoration” refers to the act of restoring something or making it as it were before. Simple right? Well, yes and no. Ecosystem. Restoration is simple because anything that you do to help conserve nature will be considered Ecosystem Restoration, but on the other hand the fact that the scope is so broad also poses the problem of lack of focus on one issue. There’s also the issue of the vast variety of ecosystems presents on our Earth, each with unique characteristics. So, to clear up this problem today we’ll be discussing what things can be included in the “Ecosystem Restoration” category and how you can practically help restore the Ecosystem around you.
Ecosystem Restoration means both, the act of restoring the ecosystems that have been destroyed by humans and their activities and also protecting the ecosystems that are still healthy. Some of the activities that fall into this category are as follows:
1. Reforestation
Reforestation refers to growing forests on deforested land again. Deforestation is one of the world forms of habitat destruction due to the fact that forests are extremely rich in biodiversity of both fauna and flora. Thus replanting trees and regrowing forests would help solve the issue of habitat destruction.
2. Afforestation
Afforestation refers to growing forests on a piece of land that wasn’t a forest before. Forests are not only beautiful and help biodiversity thrive but are also extremely important for the physical environment like the water table, soil, atmosphere etc. Trees and plants help control soil erosion and desertification and promote water percolation helping recharge the water tables. Forests are also a great way to combat climate change and global warming.
3. Banning Hunting and Poaching
Hunting and poaching are two huge issues that have continued to destroy the biodiversity of our world has led to and is continuing to lead to extinction of various different kinds of animals species. Stricter laws should be thus implemented to ensure hunting and poaching don’t keep destroying our ecosystems. [Check out: 10 Critically Endangered Animals That Can Go Extinct By 2050]
4. Biodiversity Conservation
Ecosystem restoration is impossible without biodiversity conservation because ecosystems can’t function properly without biodiversity. Many species in the world are endangered or even critically endangered, and many more still are vulnerable. Biodiversity loss is a great threat to the goal of ecosystem restoration.
5. Sustainable Development
Sustainable development refers to the kind of development in which we use the natural resources in a way that they don’t hamper the ability of the future generations to use them and take advantage of them. What is currently happening in the world is anything but sustainable, so sustainable development – cities to energy generation to agriculture – is definitely the need of the hour. [Check out: How Can We Make Our Cities Sustainable (An Eco-City)?]
6. Pollution Control
Air pollution, land/soil pollution, water pollution should be controlled as much as possible. Stricter laws should be made and implemented and fines imposed on factories or any other entity polluting our water, air or land.
7. Bioremediation
Bioremediation is a great way to remediate or clean up or even reclaim water bodies or land area that has been destroyed due to human activity. For further information read: Types of Bioremediation and Their Advantages and Disadvantages.
8. Renewable Energy or Waste-to-Energy
Renewable Energy or Waste-to-Energy are both great ways to help keep the environment clean while getting cheaper energy. For further information read: Why We All Should Move to Clean Renewable Energy
9. Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture practices like using organic pesticides and fertilizers and water saving techniques like use of sprinklers etc should be adopted as they are better for the environment and have a lot of benefits. For further information read: Hydroponics – The Future of Agriculture?
10. Climate Change Adaptation Methods and Mitigation Strategies
Climate change and global warming is one of the biggest environmental issues faced by humanity. Restoring ecosystems can play a huge part in controlling further global warming and climate change, thus adopting Climate Change adaptation methods and mitigation strategies is the need of the hour. These will help in ecosystem restoration, while ecosystem restoration in return will help in mitigating climate change. [Also check out: Top 15 Countries Already Bearing the Brunt of Climate Change]
11. Scientific Research
Last but not the least (at least in this article – as there are A LOT of other things included in Ecosystem Restoration) is research. The better the research we have on methods of ecosystem restoration, the better our progress will be!
12. Simplest Things That Can Be Done In Daily Life:
Simple things that you can do on individual level to help Restore Our Ecosystem are:
- Planting native species of trees, shrubs or herbs in your garden – help the environment and the pollinators.
- Save the bees! Don’t kill them or better still, take up bee-keeping. Help protect our pollinators against pollinator decline.
- Saving water as much as you can – turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or applying soap or shampoo while taking a bath.
- Saving energy as much as you can – switch those extra lights off, remove those curtains, open your windows etc.
- Shifting to renewable forms of energy – solar energy is your new best friend. Because according to a new Harvard study, Fossil fuels are killing us!
- Reduce, Reuse and recycle – everything you can, as much as you can.
- Adopting these 15 New Technologies and Innovations for improving our Environment
- Say no to single-use plastics and also anything that contains micro-plastics.
- Making your homes more environmental friendly by following the tips given here 15 Easy Ways To Make Your Home Environmental Friendly/Green.
- Try to be environment conscious, learn more about environment and how we can protect and restore it, and help other learn about it too!
- By following these 10 Easy and Practical Ways to Help Save the Environment
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