Challenges facing the community in conserving the environment

Challenges facing the community in conserving the environment

Any community should be aware of the importance of the environment and should protect it all the time. Environmental conservation needs regular assessment so as to overcome various challenges. Some of the challenges include the following:

1. Poverty: It is the state of being materially poor. The poverty of income influences people to engage in various activities that lead to environmental destruction. Examples of such activities are cutting down trees for charcoal and firewood, illegal animal hunting, establishment of unplanned settlements, and doing agricultural activities that do not involve environmental conservation. Cutting down trees carelessly leads to inadequate water supply, rivers drying up, soil erosion, and eventually drought and desertification.

2. Disregard of environmental education: Disregard of environmental education in doing activities such as mining, livestock keeping, and agriculture leads to deforestation and soil erosion. These affect the environment and living things.

3. High costs of renewable energy: High costs of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind energy, and natural gas cause communities to rely highly on the use of charcoal and firewood.

4. Unplanned settlements: In some urban areas, houses or buildings are built without any plans. Squatter areas do not have good transport infrastructure, which would facilitate garbage collection from such areas. Furthermore, some people build their houses along water sources and direct the sewage into rivers or other water bodies. This causes water pollution and the spread of epidemic diseases such as cholera and bilharzia.

5. Poor infrastructure: Inadequate and worn-out sewage systems can cause wastes to spread somewhere, pollute the environment, and lead to the eruption of epidemic diseases.

6. Lack of stakeholders' involvement: Some leaders do not involve community members in assessing environmental conservation plans and strategies. This situation makes community members feel that they are alienated and thus fail to see the importance of taking part in environmental conservation. Because of this alienation, some people argue that environmental conservation is the responsibility of the government. This is the wrong perception.

The importance of natural and planted trees to our environment

Our environment provides us with all our needs, including food, water and trees. In order for us to be able to meet these needs sustainably, we must take care of and value our environment. Trees are the habitat of many things such as organisms like animals, birds and insects. They preserve water sources such as rivers and water springs. When you visit a forest, you will be entertained by birds' sounds. You will also see insects like butterflies flying around. Trees are also a source of rainfall and fresh air. Once the environment is destroyed because of cutting down trees carelessly, we should plant other trees in the area.