It is unfortunate that, as per a recent UN report, countries are set to miss all of the targets they set themselves a decade ago to preserve nature and save the planet’s vital biodiversity.
Humanity has always treated nature, and non-human living organisms callously but the treatment over the past five decades has been nothing short of horrifying -- since 1970, close to 70% of wild animals, birds, and fish have vanished, according to a WWF assessment.
For Bangladesh as well, we have noticed this alarming trend of abusing our natural environment. Be it the dismal state of our network of rivers -- countless rivers have dried up while major ones such as the Buriganga are essentially lifeless, devoid of any living organisms -- to the gradual disappearance of both flora and fauna in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh too has been guilty of not treating the natural world right.
In addition, mistreatment of the natural world has an immediate effect on climate change -- deforestation, the rampant use of fossil fuels, and encroaching upon natural habitats have all contributed to the growing threat of climate change. If we are to seriously combat climate change, we must do a better job of protecting nature.
Therefore, it is about time the entire world addresses this egregious issue. We only have one planet, and we share it with countless other lifeforms. Continuing with how we are treating the planet currently will slowly but surely eradicate these lifeforms, and if this continues, in the end, we will only end up victimizing ourselves, because after all, we are a part of nature.
