International Mother Earth Day Marked Across The World

The world marks International Mother Earth Day, established at the initiative of Bolivia at the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on April 22, 2009, on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2019) The world marks International Mother Earth Day, established at the initiative of Bolivia at the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on April 22, 2009, on Monday.

The resolution establishing International Mother Earth Day was co-sponsored by more than 50 UN member states. The resolution stresses that Earth and its ecosystems are our home, and that it is necessary to promote harmony with nature and the earth in order to achieve a fair balance between the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations.

The term "Mother Earth" is the common name for our planet in a number of countries and regions. It reflects the interdependence between humans and the planet.

The tradition of celebrating Mother Earth Day started in the United States at the initiative of environmental activist Gaylord Nelson. The date was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, by more than 20 million US citizens. The US Senate even decided to not hold meetings that day so that senators could partake in the celebrations.

Nelson was subsequently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, for his work in establishing the tradition of celebrating this day.

Since then, Earth Day has been celebrated annually in the United States, with the initiative later spreading to other countries.

The organizers of the first Earth Day event subsequently founded the international non-governmental organization Earth Day Network, which now works with more than 75,000 partners from 192 countries. The mission of the Earth Day Network is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement throughout the world.

More than 1 billion people take part in the actions dedicated to Earth Day every year.

These actions include scientific conferences, exhibitions, ground maintenance and tree planting.

This day also gives an opportunity to raise public awareness to the difficult tasks humankind needs to undertake to save the planet. Each year, Earth Day is dedicated to a particular theme � this year's theme is "Protect Our Species."

People irreversibly upset the balance of nature, which has resulted in the greatest rates of extinction of various plant and animal species to date. The reasons for this lie in climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, poaching, unsustainable agriculture, environmental pollution and many other things.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, three species of animals disappear from the face of the earth every hour, 70 species of flora and fauna disappear every day, and in the near future a quarter of all species of the planet's flora and fauna will cease to exist. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's biological diversity has decreased by one-third, and 34,000 plants and animals have become endangered.

According to environmentalists, about 5,000 species of plants and animals are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and under direct threat of extinction. Scientists' calculations have shown that the Red List significantly underestimates the total number of endangered species and that there are 600 more of them.

Earth Day Network claims that the rate of extinctions can still be slowed, and many of the endangered species can still recover if humanity makes an effort to do so.

Since 1992, public organizations in Russia have marked this day by holding various environment-related events and actions. Everyone wanting to participate can take part in landscaping and the planting of greenery in their courtyards and streets.