WRITTEN BY MICHAEL OKONKWO
As the global community celebrates the World Environment Day tomorrow, individuals, groups and communities are charged to take necessary actions for the protection of our environment.
The world environment day is celebrated on the fifth of June every year to encourage a worldwide understanding of the need to entrench a sustainable environment that can continually support life on earth, on air, under the water and on the land.
The global celebration of the World Environment Day, established by the United Nations since 1974, is now marked in over one hundred countries of the world, including Nigeria. The day is to celebrate the earth and the totality of the environment from which humans receive sustenance of their lives.
The theme for this year’s celebration, to be hosted by INDIA, is: “Beating Plastic Pollution”. This theme draws the attention of the global community on the negative effect of single use of plastics and the manner of polluting the planet earth with plastic wastes. Actions to be taken to reduce plastic pollution include recycling of plastics used in food packaging, and other products that are packaged with plastics, which are dumped indiscriminately everywhere.
The global concern for environmental protection also explains the sustainable development goals concern for the earth. Most of the goals are targeted at sustainable environment and the theme, ‘Beating Plastic Pollution’, is another step towards realizing the global goal of a cleaner and greener environment for man’s sustenance.
Consequently, governments, industries, countries, communities and individuals have a role to explore other options on how to produce, manage and recycle the plastics we use. They should also become more critical on how they pollute the seas, oceans and rivers with plastic wastes which can threaten marine life and human health.
In Anambra state, Governor Willie Obiano has already domesticated the global goal of a cleaner and greener earth in his policy of bequeathing a clean and healthy state to Ndi Anambra. To achieve the set goal, the State Ministry of Environment has embarked on reclaiming the lands, which are scarce in Anambra state.
The waterways are being opened and de-silted, while unauthorized structures sitting on drainage channels are being demolished to ensure a free flow of water when it rains and to avoid flood menace that can cause erosion to our lands.
Therefore as the world celebrates the World Environment Day tomorrow, Ndi Anambra are enjoined to be actively involved in protecting and promoting a clean and healthy Anambra by keeping their homes and surroundings clean, bagging their garbage and dumping them at designated places for onward evacuation by relevant authorities. Ndi Anambra should desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse or littering the streets with plastics and cellophane bags.
While the state government explores new means of turning our wastes to wealth as well as how to recycle our used plastics, everyone is enjoined to take ownership of his or her environment because the environment we abuse today, will take revenge on us tomorrow.
Consequently, the state government, in collaboration with other MDAs, Local Governments, Trade Unions, Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade and Security Services are presently cleaning up our urban streets of projections, unauthorized structures, display of goods on road surfaces, and on top of drainages and pedestrian walkways. The whole essence is to achieve the state government’s goal of a clean and healthy Anambra state. Anambra: Better today, Greater Tomorrow.
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