Hon. Josephine Napwon, Minister of Environment. |File Photo.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is appealing to the general public to take environmental action and embrace nature-friendly habits, as the country celebrates World Environment Day.

In a press statement over the weekend, the Ministry said conserving the environment is the only way to healthy living and the existence of life on planet earth.

South Sudan joints the world every 5th of June to celebrate the event, and the local theme of this year is; “Save Environment Save Lives.”

“Our country is experiencing massive deforestation, plastic pollution in our towns, streams, and rivers, unsustainable solid and liquid waste management, and oil pollution in the oil-producing areas,” reads the statement.

The Sudd region in South Sudan is one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world, with an estimated area of approximately 57,000 square kilometers.

The wetland is however, said to be under threat from drainage projects like the proposed Jonglei canal, the planned dredging on the Naam and the Bahr El Ghazal Basin as well as unsustainable fishing, logging, and illegal poaching of wildlife.

The press release notes that the environment plays important role in healthy ecosystems, which is manifested by clean water, purified air, maintaining soil quality, regulating the climate, and recycling nutrients.

“Earth is a home for different living species and we all, are dependent on the environment for food, air, water, and other needs, therefore, it is important for every individual to save and protect our environment,” it said.

World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

The first United Nations Conference on Human Environment was held in Stockholm in 1972 under the slogan; “Only One Earth.”

This year, Sweden celebrates the historic event, and the hashtag #OnlyOneEarth is trending online around the world.

The national Ministry of Environment and Forestry says it will commemorate the event with massive cleaning campaigns, planting of trees and awareness-raising talk shows.

According to the statement, there will be a celebration and the launching of several documents such as the National Determined Contributions, the National Adaptation Plan, and the Rapid Assessment of the State of the Sudd Wetlands report on June 30^th, 2022.

The government of South Sudan is embarking on a project to clear some tributaries of the Nile River as a way of reducing the magnitude of the devastating seasonal floods.

However, some members of the public have raised concerns that the process may harm the ecosystem inside the Nile.