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International Day of Plant Health, 12 May 2022

Fujairah's Flora and Fauna: Aerva javanica, the kapok bush or desert cotton. Fujairah Flora. Fujairah Observer. Plants grown in Fujairah.

Photo taken at Fujairah Adventures Park Photo: Tania Rodrigues

Healthy plants can help to end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.

Both our health and the health of our planet depend on plants. Plants make up 80% of the food we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe and yet they are under threat.  Up to 40% of food crops are lost due to plant pests and diseases every year. This is affecting both food security and agriculture, the main source of income for vulnerable rural communities.

Climate change and human activities are altering ecosystems and damaging biodiversity while creating new niches for pests to thrive. International travel and trade, which has tripled in volume in the last decade, is also spreading pests and diseases. We need to protect plants both for people and the planet, and all of us have a role to play.

 

 

  • Minimize the risk of spreading pests and diseases through trade and travel by ensuring compliance with international plant health standards.
  • Keep plants healthy while protecting the environment through sustainable pests and pesticides management.
  •  Increase awareness of how plant health is fundamental to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2, Zero Hunger.

 

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