AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has said it is committed to addressing challenges of climate change in the community and minimizing its effects in the economy.
The Minister in the Vice-President Office, Union and Environment, Mussa Azan Zungu said Tanzania like any other country in the world is facing a big challenge of environmental destruction due to lack of sustainable use of natural resources.
“Some of the challenges are namely land degradation, deforestation, destruction of water sources, water creatures and loss of biodiversity,” he said.
Last Friday, Tanzania joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Environment Day with a strong call to the public take responsibility to address the big challenges, which trigger environmental degradation.
He said Tanzania like other nation is reminded to conserve its environment, and actively educate its people on environmental conservation, because that in turn will minimize impacts of the destruction.
The government in collaboration with key stakeholders has been taking measures to protect the country from catastrophes caused by environmental destruction using one of the platforms of the World Environmental Day.
According to him, this year’s commemoration them nationally was Environmental Conservation: Encountering Climate Change.
In recent year, the country has witnessed increased incidences of droughts and floods which have been contributing to damaging infrastructures, people’s residences and at time causing deaths.
For example, the recent floods in Lindi Region where 16 villages were severely hit rendered some 15,000 people homeless and left 19 dead. Other effects caused by floods are hunger and waterborne diseases.
However, according to the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), Director General, Dr Samuel Mafwenga, people should continue conserving the environment for further socio-economic growth.
“Let’s continue conserving our environment including water sources, avoid cutting down trees,” he said.
As nations of the world strive to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s World Environment Day brings into sharp focus the importance of fundamentally shifting humanity’s relationship with nature to preserve societies and prevent future pandemics.
Celebrated annually on 5 June, World Environment Day is the United Nations’ biggest event advocating for environmental action and the need to protect our planet. Since it was first observed in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for public outreach on the environment in over 100 countries.
