Eco-Apocalypse : Prevent the collapse with Green Education for sustainability

Ashem Regina *

Manipur lost 877 sq kms of forest cover from 1987 to 2021 :: Pix - TSE

Eco-apocalypse is the phenomenon of destruction of earth’s ecosystem that experience widespread collapse to both human society and environment due to anthropogenic activities such as deforestation, over consumption of resources, pollution, climate change, global warming or other forms of environmental degradation.

It was in 1972 that the UN General Assembly declared June 5th as the World Environment Day where the first observation took place in 1973 under the slogan ‘Only One Earth’. The objective of celebrating June 5th as the World Environment Day this year on the theme ‘Land Restoration, desertification and drought resilience’ was not only meant to be celebrated for the theme purpose but to celebrate it in an action oriented manner.

2024 is confirmed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) to be the warmest year on record globally, and the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5 degree celsius above its pre industrial level.

Human induced climate change remains the primary driver of extreme air and sea surface temperatures; while other factors such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), also contributed to the unusual temperature observed during the year.

One way that we could mitigate the problem of eco-apocalypse is the prevention of the collapse by green education for sustainability. Some of the actions that we as a responsible citizen could perform regarding green education for sustainability are as follows:-

a) The Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle (5 R’s) ideology should be prioritized

If the five R’s of the environment are successfully taught to students and applied in their education, they will develop social awareness of practices that can significantly reduce waste production, such as using less packaging and energy to maintain the sustainability of our environment. We need to instill moral values in our entire generation if we hope to preserve our future.

Schools play a significant role in socialization within our community. For example, we can gently decline plastic bag offers if we have a reusable jute bag with us. This helps to cut down on single-use plastic waste by allowing materials to be reused and serving as a means of recycling repeatedly.

b) The requirement for improving Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of the tools available with the planners to achieve the goal of harmonizing development activities with the environmental concerns. Streng- thening the EIA is necessary since the administrator requires this kind of training in order to integrate mitigation strategies and environmental considerations into project develop- ments.

The EIA was started in 1976-77 when the Planning Commission asked the then Department of Science and Technology to examine the river valley projects from an environmental angle.

We might be able to lessen the likelihood of the eco-apocalypse if the people who created the policies have educational information about the potential environmental repercussions of building a dam or a big shopping mall in a sensitive area through the use of environmental impact assessments.

c) Establishment of Green Belt areas

Green belt land is designated open space preserved for environmental protection in the urban areas. It was first introduced in the United Kingdom to serve as a strategic plantation of trees aimed at reducing pollution by effectively absorbing both gaseous and particulate pollutants thereby purifying the surrounding atmosphere.

Green belt areas are carefully planned open spaces deliberately protected from any form of developmental activities, such as the construction of buildings or infrastructural undertakings thereby preserving the urban ecological health. There is no exclusive green belt development policy in India; instead, we chop down trees that obstruct the path of our urban development initiatives. By implementing such a policy, this will be avoided.

d) Improvement of eco tourism.

Eco tourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well- being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education. If we adopt eco tourism then we can provide public transport that is solely dependent on biofuels from a particular place to the destination thus improving the local economy of the people by acting as a tourist guide and by providing home stay.

For instance, if the government puts more efforts in other eco tourism spot and organized eco tourism festivals such as Loktak Lake Festival, Chakhao festival (since Manipur had also received the GI tag for Black rice), Rubber festival in the Jiribam district and so others then we can improve the economy at the same time measures will be taken up to prevent eco-apocalypse.

The above measures thus provided a lens to prevent the collapse with green education for sustainability however if we don’t execute it then it would be very late to reverse the process. There is a saying ‘We must brush our teeth twice a day daily’ to prevent cavities in our teeth, but it is not just to write it down on a piece of paper for good handwriting purposes.

Likewise action to be taken up for the environment degradation should be a mandatory obligation to every citizen. While we go outside we should be considering, ‘Less Ride, More Walk’, ‘Switch to Bicycle’, ‘Throw Less Food’, ‘Protect Nature, Secure Future’, ‘Act Now for Tomorrow’, ‘Conserve to Preserve’, ‘Think Global, Act Local’, ‘Small Steps, Big Impact’ etc for a sustainable future.

Last year, Manipur suffered from harsh hailstorm and again devastated by the flood due to cyclone Remal. Thus, for a long term vision achievement to prevent eco-apocalypse through green education we can encourage our students to participate in Science Exhibition programmes, model exhibiting competitions to develop their insights and creativity on green planet.

This is the baby step to take a big leap for our environment protection. Also, organizing a community programme such as social service campaign, clean environment competition, plastic free competition etc by the Municipal Corporation, Town Planning Committee or voluntary volunteers from Eco Clubs can be developed to increase their know-how among the commoners and illiterate civilians regarding environmental issues and to promote a sustainable future.

In summary, in order to avert an ecological catastrophe, we must strictly adhere to the environmental preservation tactics that have already been established, such as utilizing renewable energy sources, recycling, conserving resources, preventing overuse, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, etc. The apocalyptic state of the environment could be easily avoided if we had truly realized such pre-existing safeguards.

‘We just need to be accountable to ourselves of taking care of our mother Earth to prevent Eco-apocalypse, otherwise we may invent thousands of innovative ways but we won’t be able to retain the loss of our Nature’.