Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - From protecting agricultural soils against erosion in Kenya, to restoring some biodiversity hotspots in the Amazon, to converting former coal mines in the American Appalachians into carbon sinks, are some of the initiatives promoted on the occasion of the 47th World Environment Day which is celebrated today, June 5.
Among these, in Kenya, the Nairobi Recyclers (NAREC), an ecological non-profit organization, is ready to clean up part of the country's capital to help restore the ecosystem that has been destroyed. This was announced by the agency of the Association of Members of Bishops' Conferences in East Africa (AMECEA) in a note sent to Agenzia Fides. With the collaboration of youth groups, organizations, friends and community members, the NGO has organized itself to collect waste and transport it for disposal at designated sites.
"We have identified eight mini landfills in the western part of the city, where we will clean up collecting the garbage and disposing of it properly", explains the coordinator of the initiative and animator of the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM). "In addition to collecting garbage and protecting the environment from pollution, the NAREC team has identified 17 schools and 5 religious foster homes for children where they intend to plant more than 1,000 fruit trees and other tree species along the tributaries of the Nairobi River".
Celebrated annually since 1974, World Environment Day is a platform to promote the environmental progress of the Sustainable Development Goals in which more than 150 countries participate each year.
The commemoration of the 2021 Day, which this year will be hosted by Pakistan, also marks the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), together with the support of its partners, it is designed to prevent, stop and reverse loss and degradation of ecosystems around the world.
"Ecosystem restoration is a large-scale global enterprise", recall the United Nations. "It means repairing billions of hectares of land - an area larger than China or the United States - so that people have access to food, clean water and jobs". (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 5/6/2021)
