This month is dedicated to the environment. When the world designates a particular day towards a cause whether it’s women’s empowerment, the environment or human rights, HIV-AIDS, child labour etc., it means those subjects need special attention because they are either posing a serious threat to society or that society is posing a threat to them. HIV-AIDS is a threat to the well-being of society. With the environment it is humans that are posing a threat to its bio-diversity and sustainability. Hence June 6, is designated as World Environment Day. This year Meghalaya observed Environment Week which saw planting of hundreds of trees during the first week of June. The tree-plantation drives continue because this is the rainy season and trees have a higher survival rate during the monsoons.
Indeed, school and college children and individuals with a heart for the environment have planted trees this week and will be doing so through the month of June. The challenge is to revisit the plant that was put into the ground on a particular date to see if it is surviving. The environment requires a long term love affair with humans. A one off tree-plantation drive for photo-ops alone is a bad example. Each person who planted a tree must revisit the plant regularly to ensure its survival, to protect it from grazing animals and from enemies of the environment who delight in lighting up forests. School kids should be brain-washed with certain key information. An important one is that half of our oxygen needs comes from trees and the other half from oceans, seas, and rivers. Ocean and riverine plants produce oxygen through photosynthesis similar to trees. Forests contain 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity which is basically everything that is alive on land. This includes plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
Research shows that approximately 50 square miles of forests are lost each year due to human activities. This requires intensive re-afforestation and reducing the amount of resources used. One out of four medicines are sourced from rain forests. The North Eastern region is rich in medicinal herbs but at the rate at which forests are being cut, medicinal herbs are likely to disappear. Children should know that one tree removes 48 pounds of carbon every year. Trees recycle carbon dioxide into oxygen. But the carbon dioxide does not disappear. It continues to remain in the tree so when trees are cut down the carbon stored in them is released into the atmosphere. Hence as carbon levels continue to rise, the importance of planting trees cannot be over-emphasized. Trees are integral to life! Planting a tree is good but ensuring its survival is more crucial.
