Answer Detail: An estimated 1.6 billion people, or 25% of the global population, rely on forests for their subsistence needs, livelihoods, employment, and income.

Answer Detail: According to the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service, up to 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by nearly 20%, since 1900.

Answer Detail: Humanity’s expansion on the terrestrial earth surface means that, today, human activity has altered almost 75% of the surface of the earth, pushing wildlife and nature into an increasingly smaller corner of the planet.

Answer Detail: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2016, identified the issue of zoonotic diseases as a key emerging issue of global concern in its Frontiers publication series. Specifically the chapter on zoonoses, diseases that can be passed on from animals to humans, illustrates how the emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases are closely interlinked with the health of ecosystems.

Answer Detail: This day is a reminder for all of us to take action to protect the earth. Issues such as oceans filling with plastic and turning more acidic, extreme heat, wildfires and floods etc. which affect millions of people, require redressal.