Let’s be nature friendly

Fiji is celebrating International Biodiversity Day tomorrow and there have been activities this week to build up to it. The emphasis is on nature, encompassing all forms of life on the Earth from plants to animals, fungi and micro-organisms, their communities and habitats.

It’s a broad definition, but in our context, indigenous or native species and foreign species introduced here, represent a microcosm of Fijian natural resources and assets.

Sometimes we take things for granted and lack the civic and national pride to protect them.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is proud to speak of our pristine environment to foreigners thinking or planning to visit us when the border reopens, and life returns to normal.

Global tourists today look for clean air and pristine environment. We have both here and it’s a great asset that we need to protect and preserve.

Our ocean that compromises our 200-kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone is a valuable asset because it’s the natural habitat for marine life and seabed mineral resources.

On land, most of it is covered in green - plants and trees. And that means clean air and a healthy stock of animals and birds that are important part of our ecosystem.

That is why border security and surveillance are essential in order to protect our local agricultural and livestock industry. Most importantly, the health and safety of people are at stake too. The border closure during COVID-19 is a perfect example.

The slipping through of a dangerous bug at the border through smuggling could have serious implications on our economy. That is why foreign plant and animal specimen must be declared at the border for scrutiny. We cannot afford to take any risks because of the danger they pose to us.

It’s a time to get friendly with nature. While fertilisers are still being used in commercial agricultural production, organic farming should be encouraged because of its health benefits.

This is a timely celebration because it happens during COVID-19 when the return to nature is being stressed. The resurgence in backyard gardening is part of this return to natural home-grown food that is nutritious and healthy.

The Government-organised week-long programme aims to create more awareness in our communities on the importance of protecting our natural environment through the use of nature-based solutions.

COVID-19 has proved to us that when cars stop running on our roads, the air gets cleaner. In New Zealand, asthma sufferers can tell the difference before and after COVID-19. They breathe a lot easier during the lockdown and use their asthma pump less. So, there is an apparent link there.

On this International Biodiversity Day, we need to be reminded that the key to the protection of our resources is a clean environment.

When we do this, we can have sustainable development. We must strike a balance between development and preserving our environment.

Upsetting this balance can bring upon us the wrath of Mother Nature through climate change disasters.