Restoring the Natural Environment

Nengjalhai Guite *

Tree sapling as seen in June 2010 :: Pix - Jinendra Maibam

Ecological restoration is the way to recover an ecosystem that has been disturbed, degraded, damaged and destroyed. It is the way of returning an ecosystem as closely as possible to pre-disturbance conditions and functions.

The health of the national environment has been deteriorating sharply due to human activities such as pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, urbanisation, industrialisation, etc.

These environment problems cause global warming and climate change. Air pollution, poor management of waste, growing of water scarcity, falling groundwater tables, water pollution, bio-diversity loss and land degradation are some of the major environmental issues today.

Our mother earth is facing problems which also includes acid rain, air pollution and ozone layer depletion.

Healthy environment supports healthy wildlife. On the contrary, the homes of the animals have been continuously destroyed causing the extinction of different species in the past and will continue to extinct in the near future if no action against environmental harm is taken up.

Some animals are now becoming rare species, about to be extinct if not preserved. Loss of habitat, climate change and lack of biodiversity can all make ecosystem unhealthy , putting wildlife, both animals and plants at a greater risk.

Forest provides us foods, water, and many products but over exploitation of the forest is a threat to the entire existence of humanity.

Forests are living sources for many tribal groups around the world. In fact, everyone, directly or indirectly, draws their lives from the forest -it is the basic component of the nature that makes life possible.

Therefore, further depletion of the forests (Ecosystem) should now be stopped. The depletion of the natural environment cause lots of harms to human beings. So the restoration of the forest and environment after we have destroyed is now very important for our present as well as for our future.

So, to restore an environment, some steps can be taken up which includes recycling of materials such as papers and plastics, reduce the harvest of the raw materials used to create products, save petroleum, careful use of water, and most importantly “afforestation”, beneficial for both humans and animals.

We have to look for ways to restore the natural environment. To do so, we must first educate the people of the urgency of taking a step now to curb environmental degradation.

We must identify the challenges that we have been facing due to pollution and deforestation. Landslides, floods, air pollution, are results of incessant environmental damage that are in turn affecting the lives of the people.

It is prudent that the people as well as the government must cooperate and find ways to effectively deal with the problem.

Meanwhile, we should also explore for practical ways and develop workable plans in order to save the environment.

It must also, at the same time, be cautiously noted that, the environment in its current state now not only needs preservation but healing. Afforestation and reforestation is the dire need of the hour in order to address the various challenges poised by environmental pollution.

Therefore, after the above discussion and knowing the importance of the forest, it is now high time to restore the natural beauty of mother earth for better, healthier and safer lives.

SAVE TREES, SAVE LIVES.