International Day of Plant Health


International Day of Plant Health: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated 12 May the International Day of Plant Health (IDPH) to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic development.

Key Points:

  • The Day is an important legacy of the International Year of Plant Health 2020, which took place between 2020 and 2021.
  • The observance was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in a resolution (A/RES/76/256) co-signed by Bolivia, Finland, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tanzania and Zambia in March 2022.

Significance:

  • The resolution states that healthy plants are essential for all life on Earth, as well as ecosystem services, food security, and nutrition, and that plant health is critical for agriculture's long-term sustainability in order to feed a growing global population by 2050.

Objectives of IDPH:

  • To raise awareness about the need of maintaining plant health in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
  • To reduce the risk of plant pests spreading through international travel and trade.
  • To protect plant health by strengthening early warning systems.
  • To ensure long-term pesticide management and plant health.
  • To encourage investment in plant health research and development.

Significance of Protection Plant Health:

  • Life on earth depends on plants as well as plant health as plants contribute to 80% of food needs and 98% of oxygen.
  • But, the plants are under threat as about 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases every year.
  • This is affecting both food security and agriculture, which is the primary source of income for rural populations.
  • Climate change and destructive human activities are also altering the plant ecosystems contributing to the loss of biodiversity while creating new niches for pests to thrive.
  • Pests and diseases are increasing as a result of increased international travel and trade, which has tripled in volume in the last decade.

Therefore, there is a need to take corrective action by all to protect plants both for people and the planet.

 


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