On Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 8:30 p.m., we celebrate the 17th edition of Earth Hour™, the largest voluntary environmental action in history. People, institutions and companies from all over the globe will unite to turn off the light and give an hour of their time for the planet in more than 8,000 cities in 195 countries.
For #EarthTime2023, WWF is launching a new challenge, in addition to the symbolic gesture of turning off the lights between 20:30 and 21:30: it invites people to abandon their daily routine and spend an hour carrying out actions aimed at protecting nature.
“For Earth Hour 2023, we want to launch a new habit, that of giving an hour for the Earth, every month! An hour in which, alone or with family and friends, we do something related to the protection of nature: we can cook with local ingredients, swap clothes, plant or clean up natural areas Earth Hour 2023 is an opportunity to show our care for nature and help others understand its vital importance in our lives. If we awaken ecological consciousness in people, we have a chance to stop the degradation of nature, for our well-being and for future generations. Together, we can turn a single Earth Hour into thousands and millions of impactful actions for our common home. It is important to unite our efforts and be together for the creation of a sustainable future,” said Hanny Bratu, marketing director of WWF Romania.
WWF Romania celebrates Earth Hour 2023 through a volunteer action in the “Dimitrie Brandza” Botanical Garden in Bucharest. Thus, on Saturday, March 25, 2023, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., WWF Romania invites all biodiversity lovers to the Botanical Garden to (re)connect with nature. Participants will carry out maintenance activities including cutting the shoots, raking leaves and sanitation. Volunteers can register on the official website of the campaign in Romania.
Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate, and the world economy is dependent on nature. More than 50% of global GDP depends on the goods and services that natural ecosystems generate. Globally, one million species are threatened with extinction, and the health of the ecosystems we depend on is deteriorating faster than ever.
At European level, the situation is similar, 81% of protected habitats and 63% of species have a poor conservation status. To limit the degradation of nature, the protection of natural areas is not enough, it is important to invest in large-scale ecological reconstruction.
“The solutions to many of our society’s problems can be found in nature, in the way nature works. If we want not to suffer from floods we must be aware that from time to time, rivers overflow into their natural meadows and where they overflow they form ponds from where we get our fish and we should not live where there is a risk of flooding is high. If we want to avoid suffering from too little water, we must be aware that water is often a limited resource and we do not have the luxury of using it excessively, limiting access to water for other users or risking the drying up of lakes. The actions we should take to protect and restore degraded ecosystems are not only for nature, but also to ensure adequate resources and conditions for our future,” said Camelia Ionescu, WWF Romania Water Program manager.
To help protect and restore nature, in June 2022, the European Commission launched a legislative proposal that should support the ecological reconstruction of degraded ecosystems in all European Union states.