By: Mohnish Singh
It is no secret that Bollywood actress Dia Mirza’s heart beats for the environment. She has been using her celebrity status to help protect the environment for many, many years now, and is very involved with several environmental causes as the United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador.
Talking to an Indian publication, Mirza says that she believes that the younger generation is far more passionate about environmental causes than most others.
“I truly feel that the younger generation is far more environment conscious. We have seen unprecedented citizenship participation in many aspects, in the country and globally,” she shares.
On the occasion of International Day of Forests (March 21), the former beauty pageant winner hopes that the world realises the importance of ecological balance in order for us to survive.
“Days like World Forest Day is to remind people, global communities, politicians, and the governments about the emergency and the importance of saving these biodiversity havens. Now human beings have altered almost 70 percent of the earth's surface and I hope that now more than ever we realise that there is an ecological balance that helps the planet's health and our health. Everything we need for our survival comes from this ecosystem and that needs to thrive in order for us to survive,” she says.
She goes on to add, “There is good work happening. What we can do is question governments and ensure that policies on paper start reflecting on the ground. There is much more to be done to ensure that we are protecting our natural spaces, forest. We need to also question the fact that why is the budget being slashed for forest department at a time when we should be doing more to protect our forests,” she concludes.
