GOAL 15- TIPS FOR LIFE ON LAND
A healthy ecosystem is vital for our planet. Our Forests and mountains, our land and the soil are far more valuable than we realize and they deserve a lot more of our attention than what we actually give them. Could you even imagine what Earth would look like without the biodiversity it has?
Unfortunately, this is something we are about to face in the near future. Climate change is on the rise and practices like deforestation or land degradation don’t help sustain what our planet has, but rather contribute to the loss of proper living opportunities.
So, this is where we come in to let you all know some facts about life on land in order to understand what it really means, but also provide you with some tips on what we can do to achieve the targets that will help us ensure the long-term survival of our planet.
Forests cover a big part of the global land area, and also give sanctuary to small but significant amount of the world’s population. It is really important to understand that over half of all wood produced in the world is used for energy and a third of all households use wood as their main fuel for cooking. What we aspire to promote is the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
There are also some things you can very easily do like stopping paper bank statements and pay your bills online or via mobile. No paper, no need for forest destruction. Also, there is no need to print. If you see something online that you need to remember just write it down in a notebook or better yet a digital post-it note and spare the paper.
Mountains also are a huge part of the global land area. They are also the main depository of the freshwater that sustains life on earth. We really want to ensure a future with the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
What is your role in all of the above? Easy! Take short showers. Bathtubs require gallons more water than a 5-10 minute shower. Also, if you only use a dishwasher, stop rinsing your plates before you run the machine. Lastly, one of the most impactful things you can do is eat less meat, poultry, and fish. More resources are used to provide meat than plants.
It is a fact that a large amount of grasslands around the world are degraded and we should all keep in mind that grassland cover can potentially capture a lot more water compared to uncovered soils, reducing the risk of drought and floods. Also, we should not forget something very important. The biodiversity of rangelands is rich and we want to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. As we want to ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
You can show how much you want that to happen by donating to organizations that work for that cause or you can be a volunteer and join a team that physically is making a change!
Last but not least let’s talk about soils. They contain nearly three times as much carbon as is stored in all terrestrial plants but a third of the planet’s soils are degraded. We as humans don’t really help much either as we affect a large amount of land worldwide by inducing salinity as we mostly work in large-scale irrigation projects.
You can easily help us achieve our targets by doing a bit of online research and start buying only from companies that you know have sustainable practices and don’t harm the environment. Also, you can share the things that you see in social media and find interesting about climate change. Let’s help ensure the long-term survival of our planet!!! We can do it!!!
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