Biodiversity and Ecosystem Protection Highlighted on Mother Earth Day

New York (United Nations) – Marking International Mother Earth Day, UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid urged on Friday, for collective action to safeguard biodiversity and protect ecosystems.

“Nature is suffering. Oceans are filling with plastic and turning more acidic; extreme heat, wildfires and floods have affected millions; and we are still facing COVID-19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem”, he warned in an interactive dialogue on Harmony with Nature.

He encouraged the international community to accept responsibility for its reckless behavior, noting that science has shown that “our continued and careless encroachment into the world’s ecosystems” has damaged biodiversity and endangered human health and well-being.

Referencing this year’s theme of “Harmony with Nature and Biodiversity: Ecological economics and Earth-centered law”, President Shahid called for a shift to green economies.

“Let us embrace education, technology, and science that helps safeguard a healthy planet for everyone, including the young people who will inherit this planet,” he underscored.

The senior UN official said that the international community needs to use the tools and targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as blueprints for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19.