Environment Day 2024: Know the 11+ Fun Facts About Ecosystems

Environment Day 2024: World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 all over the world. It was established by the United Nations in 1972, as a powerful reminder of our dependence on a healthy planet and our responsibility to protect it. This year's theme, hosted by Saudi Arabia, focuses on land restoration, highlighting the urgent need to heal the Earth's wounded ecosystems and combat desertification and drought. Also, the World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” 

Environment Day 2024: Fun Facts About Ecosystems

• Almost 60 per cent of all species live in soil, making land the planet’s most biodiverse habitat. 
• Drylands generate 44 per cent of global crops, are the source of feed for half of the world’s livestock and support the lives and livelihoods of more than 2 billion people. 
• Only 0.5 per cent of the water on Earth is usable and available as freshwater. Climate change is dangerously affecting that supply.
• The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, spanning 9.4 million square kilometres, about the size of Canada.
• Over the past two decades, land-based water storage—including soil moisture, snow and ice has dropped at a rate of 1 centimetre per year, with severe ramifications for water security and food production.
• Forests are home to more than half of the world’s land-based species of animals, plants and insects.
• Soil microorganisms are important in producing antibiotics. Penicillin, for example, comes from a small fungus living in the soil.
• The Nile River is widely regarded as the world’s longest waterway. Starting in East Africa, it flows through 11 different countries and stretches 6,695 kilometres.
• Close to 75 per cent of the world’s fruit and seed crops depend, at least in part, on pollinators like bees. Pollinators contribute to 35 per cent of the world’s total crop production, pollinating 87 of 115 leading food crops worldwide.  
• Every five seconds, the equivalent of one football pitch of soil is eroded. Yet, it takes 1,000 years to generate 3 centimetres of topsoil.
• The world will need to raise its food production by 60–70 per cent to feed a projected human population of 9 billion by 2050, even as the current agricultural expansion continues to threaten forests and biodiversity.
• Globally, at least 2 billion people depend on the agriculture sector for their livelihoods, particularly poor and rural populations.
• Cities account for 75 per cent of global resource and energy use and produce more than half of global waste and at least 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. 
• Trees in urban areas can cool the air by up to 5°C, reducing air conditioning needs by 25 per cent. Urban trees provide multiple health benefits such as cleaner water. They also clean the air and reduce flooding among many other benefits.

In conclusion, World Environment Day is more than just a single day of awareness. Even small actions, multiplied by millions of people, can create a powerful wave of positive change for our planet. Let's pledge to be the generation that heals the Earth and ensures a sustainable future for all.