Today marks the celebration of the UN’s World Wildlife Day alongside Africa Environment Day and Wangari Maathai Day. The 2020 theme for World Wildlife Day is “Sustaining all life on Earth”.
Taking inspiration from World Wildlife Day, Africa Environment Day was established by the Organisation of African Unity in 2002 as a way of raising awareness of the pressing environmental challenges facing the continent.
Since 2012, Wangari Maathai Day has also been celebrated on the day as a tribute to the late Nobel Laureate’s green legacy.
Today is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the importance of biodiversity and the impact that we have on the world around us. This year’s theme of sustaining all life on Earth brings attention to the many people in Africa, and globally, who’s livelihoods depend upon the flora and fauna around them.
Not only is it important to protect and conserve the wildlife around us but biodiversity results in an abundance of ecosystem services provided to us in return.
Take the example of Mangroves. According to the Blue Carbon Initiative, in the last 50 years between 30-50% of global mangroves have been lost and the current rate of loss is 2% per year. Mangroves provide vital ecosystem services such as providing spawning grounds for commercial species and protecting coastal communities against storms, floods and erosion.
Starting in 2020, CO2balance will partner with mangrove charities in Kenya to plant around 30,000 mangroves in coastal Kilifi County. This project aims to rehabilitate heavily degraded land in Kilifi County which was previously forested with mangroves. In keeping with the theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day and with Africa Environment Day, the mangrove project will benefit both people and the environment around them.
To view more of our projects, click here.