KARACHI: Experts on Friday called for conservation of earth’s natural resources and protection of wildlife and its habitats to help sustain human life on this planet.
“The past 14 months have been challenging for millions of individuals across the world,” they told a virtual conference, which WWF-Pakistan organised in collaboration with ACCA titled: “The Earth Day Conversation”.
They said that connecting with and preserving nature is not only essential for the survival of human life but also is imperative in sustaining all life on earth. “To achieve this goal, we need to conserve the earth’s natural resources, protect wildlife and its habitat,” they urged. The event featured leaders from across the region by focusing on how finance professionals can help organisations become more sustainable. Eminent guest speakers including Rab Nawaz, Senior Director Programmes, WWF-Pakistan; Ayla Majid, Founder and CEO, Planetive; Eric Wikramanayake, Direcor Wildlife and Wetlands, WWF Hong Kong; Amruta Kshemkalyani, Founder of Sustainability Tribe and Jimmy Greer, Head of Sustainability, ACCA highlighted the threats faced by the planet and suggested ways to address them.
They also highlighted the climate action, the role of students, youth, corporate partners and communities, and more importantly finance professionals, in addressing these issues. Rab Nawaz shed light on “New Deal for Nature and People”. He shared that “we need to fix our broken relationship with nature and strive for protection of natural resources on which humanity depends for sustenance”.
He also added that it is time to make economies, greener, fairer and more resilient against future shocks. He mentioned that zoonotic diseases, like Covid-19, are linked to illegal trade in wildlife and human induced land-use changes.
He also shared that WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with various partners including academic and local communities is conserving critical habitats, protecting endangered and threatened wildlife and making efforts to ensure sustainable use of freshwater resources. He emphasised on the need for making nature based solutions which are more sustainable and have long term positive impacts.
Commenting on the significance of the day, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director-General, WWF-Pakistan highlighted the key threats that are significantly impacting our planet since the past few decades. He was of the view that disposal of untreated solid waste into water bodies, illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, deforestation and climate change are all adversely impacting the environment and causing unprecedented environmental degradation. He emphasised on the need for the youth to play an active role in the conservation of natural resources and encouraged them to come up with innovative solutions to resolve these lingering challenges. According to Khan, “these are exceptionally challenging times but by working together in unison, we can emerge stronger and tackle such global challenges better, including the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021