WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATIONS; JUNE 5, 2024

Almost every nation has its own distinct calendar of important days to mark its unique culture, festivals and freedom movements apart from birthdays of religious and national figures. Nonetheless, there are a few exceptional days like the World Environment Day which is celebrated universally on the same day all across the globe. It is the day wherein every global citizen remembers and cherishes the bounty of nature in its totality, a gift which has been bestowed upon all residents of this planet in equal measure. It was in 1972 that the United Nations General Assembly first designated June 5 as World Environment Day at the Stockholm Conference. Another resolution on that day led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

This year’s World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience under the slogan, “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population. The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 per cent since 2000. Furthermore, it is estimated that droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world's population by 2050. These shocking figures call for urgent action to prevent the loss of vegetation. Lands that were once covered with a carpet of perennial grasses, woody shrubs, and dense forests have reportedly turned to barren grounds. These are lands that were green a decade ago or so. The winds are now laden with dust and pollutants whereas rain water flows down concrete buildings and paved roads without enriching the soil below nor replenishing the aquifers. Our cities are now gasping for clean air and struggling for potable water supply.

Therefore, it is indeed a matter of great joy and pride for NIBM that our verdant campus spanning 62 acres has retained its green cover for the past four decades, and thus continues to be the lungs of the city with over hundred different endemic species of flora and fauna. The World Environment Day on June 5, 2024 provided another pleasant occasion for the faculty, management and students of the Institute to further enhance this urban forest and oasis of tranquility, with a mass tree plantation drive that was inaugurated by Prof. Partha Ray, Director - NIBM, who invited the children of the Institute's employees to be a part of the green drive as it is equally important to nurture a love for nature in young minds, for it is they who will inherit the towering trees that we plant as tiny saplings.

Prof. Partha Ray, Director - NIBM, initiating the mass tree plantation along with the children of NIBM employees.

NIBM faculty members planting the saplings [L-R: Prof. Kaushik Mukerjee - Dean (Training), Dr. Jiji Mathew, Dr. Elizabeth James and Dr. Sarita Bhatnagar - Convenor (Green Campus Programme Committee)].

NIBM staff members working in tandem to spread the greenery.