New Delhi: Wishing people on World Environment Day, marked annually on June 5, President Droupadi Murmu called for an eco-friendly approach to daily activities. In a World Environment Day 2023 message shared on social media, the President said, “On this World Environment Day, let us remind ourselves that we are the children of Mother Earth. It is our time to give back to the nature which always caters to our needs and demands.”
The President further talked about leaving a clean, green and healthy planet for the future generation and said, “Let’s re-dedicate ourselves to adopt an eco-friendly approach in our day-to-day activities and gift a clean, biodiversity rich and beautiful planet for the posterity. Let’s together build a green future!”
On this World Environment Day, let us remind ourselves that we are the children of Mother Earth. It is our time to give back to the Nature which always caters to our needs and demands. Let's re-dedicate ourselves to adopt an eco-friendly approach in our day-to-day activities and…
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) June 5, 2023
This year marks the 15th iteration of the annual celebration of the planet and is focused on the plastic pollution crisis, once again. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), humans produce more than 430 million tonnes of plastic annually. It further states that overall, 46 per cent of plastic waste is landfilled, while 22 per cent is mismanaged and becomes litter. The problem with plastic is that it is everywhere and unlike other materials, it does not biodegrade. As a result, it chokes marine wildlife, damages soil and poisons groundwater, and can cause serious health impacts.
To bring back the focus on solutions to plastic pollution, this year World Environment Day will be marked with the theme #BeatPlasticPollution. The day is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matter.
This year, World Environment Day 2023 is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire and supported by the Netherlands.
Also Read: Agenda For World Environment Day 2023: Our Planet Is Choking On Plastic, It’s Time For A Change
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
