What Is the International Day of Plant Health?
The International Day of Plant Health reminds people every year on May 12 to do something about the health of plants and to focus on keeping them healthy. It was the United Nations that proposed this day to draw attention on how plant health influences food security, biodiversity, and the international economy.
🌍 Why Is Plant Health So Important?
Plants constitute 80% of the food we eat and provide 98% of the oxygen available in the atmosphere. Sadly, as with everything else, they receive much less focus than animals or humans.
Losses from plant pests constitute every year, 40% of total crops harvested. Such losses contribute to an increase in hunger, damage to the ecosystem and in addition to impoverishing farmers’ income especially in under developed countries.
Even more concerning, climate change and international trading are elevating the risks. Pests are becoming more mobile. Entire regions are now threatened by invasive species.
🛡️ Steps to Safeguard Plant Health
Everyone has the ability to protect plants, and here’s how:
- Do not cross international borders with plants without proper screening.
- Purchase local plants that are certified to be pest-free.
- Inform local authorities about unusual pests and damages to plants.
- Legislate campaigns aimed at improving plant health and support community gardens.
Governments also constitute a critical part of the equation. They set plant health regulations, sponsor foundational research, and develop educational programs for plant protection officers. In reality, national organizations responsible for plant protection have averted an enormous number of outbreaks which could have spread uncontrollably.
🌾 Its Relevance to Global objectives
The health of plants directly connects with many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include:
- Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
- Climate Action (SDG 13)
- Life on Land (SDG 15)
These goals cannot be achieved without healthy plants supporting them. This explains the need for a date such as May 12, which marks, on the one hand, the day to be commemorated, and on the other hand, serves an absolute example of a date to mobilize everyone from farmers to users around the world.
📣 Your Actions For Today
Celebrating this day does not take much. You can:
- Post on social media how a certain plant species is helpful.
- Cultivate a local species in your flowerbed.
- Explain to children how plants are essential to our daily lives.
- Choose to go organic which will reduce the use of pesticides.
All these actions combined will have a larger impact. Your actions can conserve plant life and help the planet achieve ecological balance.
🌍 Last Remarks
International Day of Plant Health is a clear reminder that people’s health is in the hands of plants. On May 12, let’s spare some thought to the ‘invisible’ green towers that prop up our life and thank them.
A better world begins with plants and a stronger world is from healthy plants.
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