World Environment Day encourages all countries to play their part to protect the Planet

Jun 05, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Today, Guyana is observing World Environment Day under the theme ‘Only One Earth’.

A tourist goes bird watching on one of the islands nestled in the Essequibo River (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

A flower garden located at a village on the East Bank of Demerara (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

A passenger returns from a boat ride at the Charity Stelling (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

On standby for a beautiful sunset at Hurakabra island (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

One of Guyana’s majestic waterfalls, located in Region Eight (Photo Credit: Davina Bagot)

This year’s theme calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. It underscores the need for all countries and even individuals to take the decisions in the best interest of the environment. More so, it sends the clear signal that the planet on which we dwell is undergoing massive changes, mostly due to human activities and that we all are susceptible to the wrath of these changes.
Kaieteur News has been pushing for the protection of the environment, through organised protests, seeking full insurance coverage, for example, should an oil spill occur. As the fight continues, it must be noted that Guyana has been utilising its diverse forest cover, which helps to remove carbon-dioxide (CO2) from the air. In fact, the country has been raking in US millions every year to keep its forests intact. Currently, about 85 percent of Guyana remains covered by lush green trees, playing an essential part in the fight against climate change. However, Guyana has already been warned that its rich resources will not shield the country from the impacts of climate change which continues to take place on a global scale.Climate change, according to the United Nations (UN), refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, which produces heat-trapping gases.
The Government of Guyana, however, argues that most of the country’s land is covered by forests, making the country a carbon sink, meaning our forests sequester more carbon than the country’s human activity generates.
Even though this may be the case, it does not slow the progression of climate change locally nor does this fact shield Guyana from likely dangers associated with the impacts of climate change.