Every year on the third Saturday of April in Ukraine, environmental conservation takes center stage in national and local campaigns, joint initiatives, and informational events. Today’s date serves as an opportunity to once again highlight the impact of human activity on nature and the fact that without a healthy and high-quality environment, there can be no healthy and high-quality life.
Environment Day has been celebrated in Ukraine since 1999. The holiday was established in honor of the Stockholm Conference on the Environment. It became a significant milestone for the development of the environmental movement worldwide, as the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) was founded on this day. This UN environmental program is now the primary organizer and driving force behind World Environment Day.
EcoPolitic reminds us of the importance of treating nature responsibly and shares some facts about the world we live in today.
- Over 80% of freshwater fish species on the planet have already disappeared, while 97% of migratory fish species are already under threat of extinction. The cause is river pollution and artificial barriers in the form of dams and other hydro-engineering structures.
- In Ukraine, around 2.7 million tonnes of products and food waste are sent for disposal every year. The problem is that a significant portion of them is still fit for consumption at the time of disposal.
- In the European Union alone, each person in 2024 generated 517 kg of household waste, which is 6 kg more than the previous year. Only 48.1% of the waste produced is recycled.
- The richer the country, the more waste it produces. The largest share of waste is organic matter (38%), while another 12.5% is plastic. At the same time, waste management is worst in poorer countries, where under 3% of household waste is processed.
- Plastic, due to its impact throughout its entire “life” cycle-from raw material extraction to decomposition-costs humanity millions of years of healthy life.
- If humanity does not slow down the pace of plastic production, then within 15 years its amount in the environment will double, and the negative impact on human health will increase by 75%.
- Liquid crystals from gadget screens alter the DNA of marine animals. Specifically, changes were observed in the “code” for cell division and DNA repair.
- Even in the environmentally-minded European Union, only 13.5% of the population has access to quality green spaces.
- In 2026, the United Nations declared that the world had been struck by complete water bankruptcy. Irreversible consequences are already being felt by billions of people on Earth.
