Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in a message that the Earth Day on April 22 seeks to promote awareness on ecology and the consequence of our actions on the earth.
“It aims to gain support for respecting life on the planet as well as to encourage awareness about the growing problems due to air, water and soil pollution. More importantly, it is a day to galvanize action at the individual-level,” he said.
Pointing out the global theme for Earth Day 2013 as ‘The Face of Climate Change’, the Chief Minister said that this theme had been chosen to highlight the mounting impact of climate change on individuals around the world. “Fortunately, the other face of climate change has the individuals who step up action to address the threats of climate change that helps mitigate impacts.
For Earth Day to be effective, Chandy said that actions were required at the individual level.
It is about what an individual can do to lessen the effects of climate change on the planet.
As part of Earth Day observance, the Kerala Forest Department has scheduled several programmes across the state that aims to raise awareness and initiate action at the individual-level through collaborative action.
In Thiruvananthapuram, the Social Forestry wing of the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department and the NCC will begin its collaborative partnership programme- observing the year 2013 as the Year of Eco-Conservation.
The NCC, that had declared 2013 as the Year of eco-conservation, will collaborate with the Forest Department in afforestation, conservation of water bodies, waste management, and energy conservation.
The ACF (Social Forestry) of each district will work with local NCC units and undertake programmes in each of the four areas identified to make the year of eco-conservation meaningful and effective.
The Earth Day 2013 celebrations will commence at 10.30 a m at the NCC Headquarters in Cotton Hill, which will be followed by a cycle rally. The cycle rally will culminate at the museum where there a street play will be staged by the NCC cadets which conveys the message of this year’s theme: ‘The Face of Climate Change’.
The Earth Day will be celebrated at the InfoPark campus in Ernakulam where a seminar- ‘Collaborative Partnerships- A Strategy for Climate Change Mitigation’ is proposed on April 22 at 3 p m .
This initiative would offer a unique opportunity to Infotech companies to act at multiple levels and to develop a long term partnership with the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department,to take meaningful action, that would help make our world a better place to live in.
