On December 15, 1972, the U. N. General Assembly adopted a resolution designating June 5 as World Environment Day, urging “Governments and the organizations in the United Nations system to undertake on that day every year world-wide activities reaffirming their concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment, with a view to deepening environmental awareness and to pursuing the determination expressed at the Conference.” On June 5, 1973, the world first commemorated this anchor day.
This year, as we celebrate it for the 50th time, it is imperative that we reflect on the state of the planet we call home and confront the cost of our inaction. This year’s theme, ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution,’ reminds us of the environmental negligence and disregard that impacts the natural world and our well-being.
Plastic pollution is a menace and has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. We feel its adverse effects in the air we breathe, our soil, our oceans, and declining flora and fauna. No one is spared by plastic pollution. It is a global issue that demands immediate attention and coordinated action.
During this year’s celebrations, I joined the Canadian High Commission in Kenya, CRAWN Trust, and Kamukunji Environment Conservation Champions (KECC) CBO at the Kamukunji Park Grounds. As we toured the area and the Nairobi River adjacent to the park, I could not help but compare it to the river I remember growing up. Fifty years ago, the Nairobi River was very clean and rich with aquatic biodiversity. Today, it chokes with plastic waste. This phenomenon did not occur overnight or in the span of a week. It probably started with a piece of plastic that turned into two pieces, that turned into 10, and eventually, the endless bed of plastic that we see today.
Our passivity on plastic pollution has a catastrophic impact on the ecosystem. According to the U.N. Environment Programme, chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other surrounding water sources, and the larger ecosystem. This can cause a range of potentially harmful effects on the species that drink the water.
Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) National Solid Waste Management Strategy, 2014, states that Nairobi produces an average of 2,400 tons of waste per day, 30 percent of which is plastic. Part of this waste ends up in the Nairobi River, threatening not only aquatic life but also human health by entering our food chain.
In 2017, Kenya banned single-use plastic bags in a move lauded as visionary. Again in 2020, single-use plastics were prohibited in Kenya’s protected areas. Despite the ban’s success, it has not been sufficient to end the nation’s pollution problems because it excluded numerous other plastic products, such as bottles, trash bags, and takeout containers. The pollution along the Nairobi River and other spaces reflects our cumulative inaction. Had we played our part in keeping it as clean as it was five decades ago, we would be proudly working on maintaining it.
However, despite this ugly reality, it is not all doom and gloom. This World Environment Day is a reminder to focus on finding solutions to the plastic nightmare our country faces. It reminds us that the power to reverse the damage we have caused to our environment lies in our hands.
Source: AWF
Post a Comment