Pakistan has announced that it will host World Environment Day 2021 in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) with the theme of 'ecosystem restoration' and focus on resetting relations with nature. It will also mark the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

World Environment Day takes place every year on June 5. It is the United Nations' flagship day for promoting worldwide awareness and action for the environment.

Over the years, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

Making the announcement on the margins of the virtual Fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) on Monday, Pakistan's Adviser to Prime Minister and Minister of Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, joined UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen to acknowledge the urgency of preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.

Led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government of Pakistan -- in one of the world's most ambitious afforestation efforts -- plans to expand and restore the country's forests through a 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative spread over five years.

The campaign includes restoring mangroves and forests, as well as planting trees in urban settings, including schools, colleges, public parks and green belts. Pakistan has launched an Ecosystem Restoration Fund to support nature-based solutions to climate change and facilitate the transition towards environmentally resilient, ecologically targeted initiatives covering afforestation and biodiversity conservation.

Recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan launched the Protected Area Initiative to develop 15 model protected areas across the country to conserve over 7,300 sq km of land area and create over 5,500 green jobs.

"The government of Pakistan is fully committed to playing a leadership role in addressing the issue of climate change, including through the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative, which will restore and enhance over one million hectares of forest across the country," said Minister Aslam.

"We are honoured to host this year's World Environment Day and lend our support to global restoration efforts."

As host of World Environment Day, Pakistan will highlight environmental issues and showcase the country's own initiatives and its role in global efforts. The day will be celebrated across the world through various events and activities, in line with latest Covid-19 regulations.

"2020 was a year of reckoning, facing multiple crises, including a global pandemic and the continued crises of climate, nature and pollution," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

"In 2021, we must take deliberate steps to move from crisis to healing: and in so doing, we must recognize that the restoration of nature is imperative to the survival of our planet and the human race."

"Pakistan has shown real leadership in efforts to restore the country's forests; we are grateful for their commitment to host World Environment Day 2021 and lead the charge for all nations to restore our damaged ecosystems through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration," she added.

 (IANS)