Today, 5 June, marks the annual World Environment Day, UN’s official awareness day dedicated to educating the world’s population on environmental issues. This year, the focus is on ecosystems, and more specifically, to revive our damaged ecosystems. Today is also the beginning of the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement aiming to prevent and reverse ecosystem degradation. Healthy ecosystems are vital if we are going to meet climate goals such as those part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Climate Agreement, and time is running out. We have to act now, before it is too late. 

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Ecosystems keep our planet healthy - alive. The entirety of the Earth’s surface is covered and connected by ecosystems, as big as the ocean or small as a puddle. Ecosystems are interdependent, meaning every plant, animal, insect and other organisms which are a part of one ecosystem, all depend on each other. A slight change from an outside factor, such as a change of temperature or a new species moving in, will have an effect on the ecosystem as a whole. Many ecosystems are connected to a larger biome, a general area classified by the flora and fauna inhabiting it, such as a forest, reef or desert. However, even though we place certain areas of the planet into these general biomes, each area is unique and filled with that specific area’s unique biodiversity. For example, a rainforest, consisting of tropical forest ecosystems, is very different to a boreal forest filled with pine trees. 

Having healthy ecosystems is vital to avoid mass extinction, as well as for our own species to thrive. Our ecosystems help clean our water, provide us with healthy soil to grow our crops and other sources of food, they purify the air and regulate the climate. We simply would not survive without the help of the ecosystems, they are the foundation of all life. But our modern lifestyles are having a detrimental effect on the Earth’s ecosystems. Forests are being cut down, coral reefs are dying, animals around the world are getting trapped in or choked by plastic. The damage caused by humanity is on its way to become irreversible.

2030 is a year to look out for. By this time, we would have to halve our greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent devastating climate change, according to the UN. But there is still hope, we can achieve this if we work together. Most ecosystems can still be restored if we act quickly, and that is why the UN has dedicated this next decade to exactly that. If 350 million hectares of degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are restored between now and 2030, up to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases could be removed from the atmosphere, which would be an immense help to combat global warming. 

So, what can we as individuals, inhabitants of the Earth, do to restore our damaged ecosystems and prevent thriving ones from getting destroyed in the first place? There are many ways you and I can do our part, from making small, more sustainable changes in your household, to organising cleanup days in your local park or advocating for change in big businesses and politically on regional, national or even global scales. It is easiest to start with your own life, your own choices. What choices are you making in your everyday life that could be improved for you to live more sustainably? Examples of this could be walking or riding a bike on shorter trips where you usually would have taken the car for convenience, including more whole foods and plant based meals in your diet and taking a look at your consumer choices and whether you actually need that new t-shirt. You can also take action to restore or create your own mini ecosystem by planting new flowers in your garden or balcony and starting to compost. Then, look around you. What type of ecosystems are dominant in your area? What condition are they in? Are there anyone organising cleanup days or other events in your community you could volunteer at, or could you organise your own? If you have some money to spare, could you donate to an organisation working on restoring ecosystems or combat climate change? 

Lastly, a very important thing you could do is to simply spread the message. Once you have made some sustainable swaps in your own life, encourage your friends and family to do the same. Use the digital age we live in to your advantage and take to social media to share your new compost bin!

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As we just explored, the theme for this year’s World Environment Day is ecosystem restoration, and the official event has been streamed online from the host country, Pakistan, which, if you missed it, you can watch back on the official World Environment Day website here. Also it’s worth checking out the UN's booklet with a practical guide to ecosystem restoration here. Together we can save the ecosystems!