It’s important to be aware of our impact on the natural world, and World Wildlife Day brings awareness to threatened and endangered species across the globe.
I’m sorry to say that many of us in India behave rather poorly around wildlife. Having visited a number of wildlife sanctuaries, I’m always cringing when I observe people wearing bright colours and talking and laughing loudly. What’s worse is people trying their damndest to take pictures of the animals, throwing all caution to the winds!
We really must learn to behave better and teach our children to respect wildlife. (100 Words)
I’ve re-started the 100WordsOnSaturday since the start of 2021. The feature will be around social causes/ special days/special causes. If you’d like to join me, please leave a comment with your link on my post/s.
Forests and Livelihoods | World Wildlife Day 2021
World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2021 under the theme “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet“, as a way to highlight the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally, and particularly of Indigenous and local communities with historic ties to forested and forest-adjacent areas. This aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 13 and 15, and their wide-ranging commitments to alleviating poverty, ensuring sustainable use of resources, and on conserving life land.
Between 200 and 350 million people live within or adjacent to forested areas around the world, relying on the various ecosystem services provided by forest and forest species for their livelihoods and to cover their most basic needs, including food, shelter, energy and medicines.
Indigenous peoples and local communities are at the forefront of the symbiotic relationship between humans and forest, forest-dwelling wildlife species and the ecosystem services the provide. Roughly 28% of the world’s land surface is currently managed by indigenous peoples, including some of the most ecologically intact forests on the planet. These spaces are not only central to their economic and personal well-being, but also to their cultural identities.
Forests, forests species and the livelihoods that depend on them currently find themselves at the crossroads of the multiple planetary crises we currently face, from climate change, to biodiversity loss and the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 3 2021, World Wildlife Day will celebrate forest-based livelihoods and seek to promote forest and forest wildlife management models and practices that accommodate both human well-being and the long-term conservation of forests, forest-dwelling species of wild fauna and flora and the ecosystems they sustain, and promote the value of traditional practices and knowledge that contribute to establishing a more sustainable relationship with these crucial natural systems.
From the Official World Wildlife Day website
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