World Environment Day: WATER AS A LUXURY
05. Jun 2024.
Under the slogan "Our Land, Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration," this year's campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. Strengthening resistance to increasingly frequent droughts due to climate change, and the importance of preserving wetlands and biodiversity are global imperatives in environmental protection. On the territory of Serbia, the frequency of droughts has increased from 10% between 1961 and 1990 to 50% between 2011 and 2020. Predictions indicate that droughts will occur every year between 2041 to 2060 will experience dry conditions.
World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5th of June, coinciding with the first day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. This conference was a turning point in global environmental policy, leading to the adoption of 26 basic principles of environmental protection and the establishment of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), under whose auspices World Environment Day is celebrated.
One year after the Stockholm Conference, the United Nations began encouraging international environmental protection cooperation. On the same occasion, the first Day of Environmental Protection was marked under the slogan "Only One Earth" (#OnlyOneEarth). The message has not lost its relevance. On the contrary, the world today is facing three major environmental crises: climate change, loss of biodiversity, and increasing pollution and waste. People, their activities and unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are responsible for all of this.
Half a Century Later
Since the 1970s, environmental protection has gained significant prominence on the EU's agenda, recognized as a policy area where most Europeans believe solutions are more effectively addressed at the EU level rather than nationally.1 This has led to the establishment of a unified EU environmental protection policy.
Public interest in environmental protection was articulated through the election of green political parties in the national legislative bodies of most EU member states. Increased public awareness of the environment's importance resulted in the adoption of the first Environmental Action Program (EAP) in 1973, which established the structure of the European Union's environmental protection policy. The first two EAPs aimed at harmonizing national policies to remove barriers during the formation of the EU single market. The third EAP emphasized environmental planning as the basis of economic and social development, which for the first time consciously considered environmental issues, while the fifth EAP introduced the concept of sustainable development into EU development policies. The latest, the eighth EAP, which entered into force in 2022, underlined the importance of the active engagement of all stakeholders at all levels of governance to ensure the effective implementation of EU climate and environmental laws, as well as the promotion of their positive impact on society and economic growth.
#GenerationRestoration
Under the slogan "Our Land, Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration", this year's World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has dedicated 30 years to addressing the critical issue of desertification, underscoring its significant importance. Enhancing resilience against more frequent droughts due to climate change and preserving wetlands and biodiversity are essential global imperatives in environmental conservation. On the territory of Serbia, an increase in the frequency of years with droughts has been observed, which have a negative impact on the flora and fauna. The frequency of droughts has increased from 10% between 1961 and 1990 to 50% between 2011 and 2020. Predictions indicate that droughts will occur every year between 2041 to 2060 and will experience dry conditions.2
The protection of existing wet ecosystems is crucial for maintaining ecological balance on Earth. These habitats include wetlands, ponds, floodplains of rivers and lakes, backwaters, floodplain meadows, salt flats, reefs, mangroves, peatlands, ponds, and rice paddies. One of their most important ecosystem services is climate regulation by storing large amounts of carbon in soil and vegetation. Also, during heavy rainfall and flooding, wetlands absorb excess water, preventing natural disasters, as each hectare can absorb over 5.5 million liters of water.
Wetland vegetation improves water quality by filtering pollutants. These habitats are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems, as they provide home to many plant and animal species. As many as 40% of species live and breed in wet habitats, and every year 200 new species of fish are discovered in freshwater wetlands alone. Wetlands are also important for many waterfowl and wetland birds, as they provide a place for nesting, resting during migration, and feeding.
More than half a century since the first EU Environmental Protection Action Program, we are still seeking for the best solutions and practices in environmental protection and preservation at all levels of management - from local, national, and regional to global. Although progress may seem small and slow like a turtle, any steps to further protect and improve the environment and limit negative anthropogenic impacts are important so that we can continue to live in the comforts we are used to. The intense increase in the number of consecutive dry days puts the entire living world in a very unenviable position. In addition to the need for drinking water, the human population uses water for practically all production processes. Although water is essential for life, water resources are becoming a luxury that we must carefully manage to ensure the survival of generations of all kinds of living species.
To Save the Pond Turtle
One of the most recognizable wet habitats in Serbia is the Special Nature Reserve "Kraljevac", which is home to the pond turtle - the only species of freshwater turtle found in Serbia. Emys orbicularis is a strictly protected species according to data from 1996. To ensure the survival of one of the four species of turtles in Serbia through conservation protection measures, it is necessary to revise the protection status. According to the 2015 Red Book of Reptiles (a scientific database of endangered species), the status was − Data Deficient.
Biological-ecological research is currently ongoing to evaluate the population size and endangerment status of pond turtles on a national scale. Through habitat mapping at five selected localities, among which is Kraljevac lake, priority locations for the application of active protection measures are determined. Approximately between 170 and 260 pond turtles are estimated to inhabit the central part of Kraljevac. However, several more years of research will be needed to arrive at precise data. To help in the long-term preservation of the pond turtle, the Young Researchers of Serbia and the Belgrade Open School launched a crowdfunding campaign "Kornjaca spornjaca". Research activities will not only guide conservation efforts for the survival of pond turtle populations in Kraljvac but will also indirectly enhance the value of this unique natural reserve.
Authors: Jovana Jovic, Janko Jacovic
Photo author: BOS