This is the 2021 motto for celebrating World Environment Day, which is celebrated on June 5th. Since the commemoration began in 1972, people in many countries have hosted thousands of activities, from cleaning around their homes, planting trees, to fighting wildlife crime. Over the years, thousands of people from different countries and social sectors have taken part in special events to protect the environment. UNEP has published a practical guide to ecosystem restoration. Interestingly, this guide has practical advice for everyone from schoolchildren to academics. The Russian manual can be found here:  https://unenvironment.widen.net/s/s969sxwqm2/ecosystem-restoration-playbook-russianv4  

One of the sections of the guide focuses on ocean and coastal restoration. For example, the recommendations for clean-up are: mobilize people of all ages to pick up the vast amounts of household waste and abandoned fishing gear that are washed up on our beaches and coasts. Utilize the plastic and other materials to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Stop using unnecessary plastic products. Beware of microgranules and microplastics hidden in food! The more people take part in this, the greater the awareness of the need to reduce the amount of waste and dispose of it correctly.

Young residents of the village of Nikolskoye and the reserve staff collect garbage at a test site in Kitovaya Bay on Bering Island. Photo by Oksana Solovanyuk

The emergence of COVID-19 has shown how catastrophic the consequences of ecosystem loss can be. By reducing the natural habitat of animals, we have created ideal conditions for the spread of pathogens, including coronaviruses.

 Ecosystem restoration  is the prevention, cessation and elimination of this damage, it is the path from the exploitation of nature to its healing. World Environment Day this year marks the start of the  United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration  - a worldwide mission to revitalize billions of hectares - from forests and agricultural lands to mountaintops and the depths of the sea.