‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS THE KEY TO A HEALTHIER PLANET’

Actor Dia Mirza has been continuously working to increase awareness about choices that all of us need to make at the macro and micro levels, collectively and individually, to preserve, protect and if possible, restore the environment. On World Environment Day, Mirza, who is the United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador and UN Secretary-General’s Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals, and Global Ambassador, International Fund for Animal Welfare, feels the connection between sustainable development and collective well-being has been undeniably established by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Sustainable development is the key to a healthier planet. Environmental degradation and climate change impact each of us. The challenge is not just that subjects like eco-fragility and environmental degradation do not engage enough of us, but that even a pandemic seems not to have woken us up to the urgency of climate change,” she explains.

Perhaps most people think climate issues are too overwhelming to tackle, feels Mirza, adding, all of us can start small. She suggests, “Something as small as segregating your waste, cutting down on singleuse plastic, carrying your own water bottle and choosing green products can make a huge difference. We need to not look away from the problem when it is in plain sight. Unless we turn the clock back on climate change, we are headed towards devastation.”

However, while signs of the damage are already visible all around, she says it’s heartening that many people are waking up to the danger. “According to new research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people concerned about the environment in the past five years, especially after Covid-19 hit. More people are willing to make choices that demonstrate our commitment to restoring the balance of nature,” Mirza adds.

While there has been a significant reduction in air pollution due to a series of lockdowns over the last one year, plastic pollution has risen since 2020 with disposable cutlery, plastic wrappings and disposable masks being discarded. Talking about how can we help, Mirza says, “It is common sense not to create a problem in response to a problem. We don’t need to be a botanist, biologist, a scientist or an environmentalist to make well-informed choices. So use washable/reusable masks and reduce the usage of plastic wherever you can,” adding, “Last year, I used washable/reusable masks, unless I was travelling. We shopped for vegetables and fruits without plastic packaging, refused plastic bags, carried our own metal water bottles and refused all disposable single-time plastics.”