World Environment Day: Marmara Sea

World Environment Day is a United Nations initiative that started in 1974. The day focuses on raising awareness and calls people to take action against climate and environment-related problems that humans faced and will face in the future. World Environment Day also creates an event for various organizations to discuss certain topics that change every year. This year’s event is hosted by Pakistan and the topic of the event is Global Restoration. This year’s event will also start the UN Decade on ecosystem restoration, an era that will focus on environmental restoration in the areas that humanity has harmed. As TEDGA association, we especially find this year’s environment day crucially important due to two reasons that concern the environment. First, this year's event is happening in an era that is marked by a global pandemic. That pandemic could be a small demonstration of what could happen if we ignore the nature and environment. Without proper precautions and actions, this pandemic could be the first of many global and local catastrophes. Secondly, as an association based in Turkey, the Marmara Sea’s condition is obvious and alarming. The sea that surrounds the interception point of Asia and Europe has been covered by sea snot due to contamination. That is a very serious situation that threatens the well-being and sustainability of marine life in Marmara.

With these grim events in mind, TEDGA hopefully and determinately celebrates the Environment Day of anyone who thinks and cares about how we can protect nature and the environment. We hope that the Restoration day and decade will give us the motivation that helps us to clean the Marmara Sea and the other places that need positive human intervention.