clean and green earth essay

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8 Ways to Keep the Earth Clean

By: Amanda Laverty, Knauss fellow with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program

April 18, 2017 — Here at the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Earth Day is every day and we are always encouraging others to get involved and support efforts working toward a clean environment and healthy planet.

Our oceans are filled with items that do not belong there. Huge amounts of consumer plastics, metals, rubber, paper, textiles, derelict fishing gear, vessels, and other lost or discarded items enter the marine environment every day, making marine debris one of the most widespread pollution problems facing the world's ocean and waterways.The ultimate solution to the problem lies with every single one of us—preventing marine debris in the first place.

First, consider how you might personally contribute to marine debris and follow the “4Rs” whenever possible. Refuse unnecessary single-use items, like plastic straws or cutlery when possible. Reduce the amount of waste you produce by choosing products with less packaging. Reuse items when you can and choose reusable items over disposable ones. And, Recycle as much as possible — bottles, cell phones, ink cartridges, and many other items can be recycled.

Next, spread the word to others! Tell your family, friends, community, and more about this important issue and what they can do to help.

Here are a few easy and effective ways you can choose to reduce your daily impact and make a world of difference:

• Bring a bag. Remember to bring reusable bags to the grocery store or for any other shopping activities to reduce consumption of disposable bags.
• Invest in a reusable water bottle. Acquiring a reusable water bottle would not only greatly reduce the amount of single-use plastic you use, but it would also save you money in the long run! If you’re concerned about the quality of your tap water, consider using a water filter.
• Bring your own reusable cup. Think about how many disposable cups are used every day in just your local coffee shop. Bringing a mug for your morning coffee can reduce the amount of waste you produce annually. Imagine how much waste we could reduce if we all made this simple daily change!
• Refuse single-use items. Take note on how often you rely on single-use items and choose to replace them with more sustainable versions. Refusing plastic straws and disposable cutlery when you go out and bringing your own containers for leftovers are a few ways you can start today.
• Avoid products with microbeads. Facial scrubs and beauty products containing plastic microbeads were banned in the United States in 2015, but won’t be fully phased out until 2019. Read the labels when purchasing products and opt for ones that contain natural scrubbing ingredients like salt or sugar.
• Shop in bulk. Consider the product-to-packaging ratio when purchasing items and choose larger containers instead of multiple smaller ones. When you have the option, also consider purchasing package-free foods and household goods.
• Make sure your waste goes to the right place. Do your best to ensure that the waste you dispose of ends up where it should. Recycle the materials that are recyclable in your area and make sure to reduce the likelihood of your garbage ending up in the environment by keeping a lid on your trash can when it’s outside.
• Compost. Composting at home reduces the volume of garbage sent to landfills and reduces the chance of some products becoming marine debris.

These are just a few ways that we can incorporate taking care of our ocean and Great lakes into our everyday lives. By doing our part to work toward a sustainable and debris-free planet, we’ll also be providing others with inspiration and a good example to follow. As individuals we have the potential to make a big difference and together we can change the world.  

Learn more about NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and its mission to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris.

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How I Would Clean the Earth Analytical Essay

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Issues facing the world

Involving the youth, how to clean the earth, recommendation, works cited.

The world is continually advancing in technology and other areas of life such as businesses, and e-commerce, among others. However, this does not reflect on its steps towards being eco-friendly.

Instead, the world is becoming polluted at an alarming rate, which in turn contributes to various health problems. In addition, the world is suffering from the effects of global warming, which is increasingly causing unpredictable weather. This has contributed to various devastating calamities such as global warming, famine, among others, on the world population.

This raises the need to save our world by trying to solve these challenges. Various organizations around the world have credited global warming with a series of devastating calamities throughout the world. For instance, The Pentagon believes that pollution and its effects in global warming, famine, among other calamities are the destabilizing force in the world as people seek for limited resources.

This is mainly because a polluted world leads to climatic changes, which are closely linked to economic stability as well as security of energy. This paper will try to explore ways of cleaning the earth to make it a better place for the present and future generations (Cleanuptheworld.org. 1).

The world is faced with several issues that need immediate attention. These range from global warming, famine, earthquakes, inadequate drinking water, drought, overcrowding, and increased spread of diseases, among others. Most of these issues have been attributed to our way of living. In fact, some of these issues can be avoided if we could take care of our world.

In essence cleaning our world is an instrumental step towards saving it from harsh calamities such as tornadoes and spread of diseases. To do this, every party needs to be involved. This includes the society, to ensure that their aspirations of a green earth are met. Cleaning the world is a collective responsibility that should encompass every group of people.

This should include the youth, organizations, government institutions, universities, schools, corporate businesses, private sectors, among others. When this is done effectively, pollution of our environment would be greatly reduced, in the process helping in reducing transmission of waterborne diseases, natural calamities, and conflicts, among others.

For, this reason, it is important that cleaning of our world be done regularly to help save it for future generations. Moreover, for this to succeed, youths should be involved. This is mainly because they will suffer from the symptoms of emerging calamities named above. Furthermore, their children will also be affected, and they have the energy to make these changes (VanderMey 58).

Youths are usually instrumental in almost every activity of the society. This is mainly because they posses the energy and numbers required to perform this cause. Educating the youth on how to ensure cleanliness of their environs is critical to survival of future generations. The bible states clearly that cleanliness is next to godliness. This phrase has had a great impact in our society as people try to explore its significance.

In essence, even as we move forward in technologies, social development as well as in our steps with Christ. It is our responsibility to care for the environment. The youth, especially, have a mandate to ensure our world is clean. In this regard, it is important not only to clean the earth during the earth-cleaning day, but also to be aware of our environment and keep it safe.

Another reason why we need to save our environment and clean our world is to protect the lives of endangered species. The changing climates are posing great danger to animals and plants as famine and drought ravage them respectively (Cleanuptheworld.org. 1).

For all the advances that have been made, the worlds still suffers greatly from pollution and careless disposal of wastes that now threaten our very survival. Some of these problems are avoidable, if care can be taken to ensure safe disposal of wastes as well as regular cleaning of our environment.

This will mitigate spread of diseases, effects of global warming, drought and instead improve lives of inhabitants of the earth. There are many ways through which, individuals and organizations can clean up the world. These include buying recyclable products, preparing vegetarian meals fewer times a week.

Others include wise disposal of wastes, cleaning our compounds, among others. This paper will focus mainly on those that affect our youths and that require changes. These include, cleaning our compounds, disposing both recyclable and unrecyclable wastes wisely and safely.

Buying recycled products to help clean our world. Ensuring that we completely use up our clothes before buying new ones and other related materials. In addition, youths need to participate in eco-friendly projects such as tree planting programs, sensitization of the society on importance of conserving our environment as well as cleaning it (VanderMey 58).

These programs are very important in helping to cleanup the world. Moreover, youths should take a significant step to educate the world on health risks and calamities associated with a dirty world.

They should also ensure that they take the initiative to clean streets and other environs during earth clean up day, which usually takes place every third weekend of September. In addition, they should also be proactive to initiating other projects aimed at cleaning the world wherever they are regularly.

This is a call to all the youths in the world, because the repercussions of our mistakes will affect all living things on earth. Every group of individuals has a responsibility of saving our world from pollution. In fact, every organization as well as businesses should adopt eco-friendly methods of production, and waste disposal.

For instance, use of recyclable papers to print in offices and other departments should be adopted to save our trees. In all these, the youth, who form the majority of populations in the world, need to be actively involved in cleaning our world. If this is achieved, then most of the world’s goals will be achieved (VanderMey 58).

Most people keep blaming our governments for global warming due to release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. However, even though this is true and should be condemned, our people also need to save their environs from destruction. Cleaning the world is for everyone and should therefore a collective responsibility.

As much as this may be difficult, everyone should do something to clean the world. This starts from simple disposal of wastes to e-commerce, paperless banking, buying of recycled products and reducing carbon emissions, among others. Polluted environment poses hazardous risks to life on earth.

In fact, some calamities have been attributed to a polluted world. These include global warming, drought, famine, economic instability, conflicts among other problems. Countries should therefore ensure that such problems are mitigated on, to promote a better world for the present and future generations (Cleanuptheworld.org. 1).

The modern world is currently faced with various environmental issues that need immediate attention. These range from global warming, famine, earthquakes, inadequate drinking water, drought, and overcrowding, increased spread of diseases, among others. Most of these issues have been attributed to our way of living.

In fact, some of these issues can be avoided if we could take care of our world. This cannot be achieved fully, if everyone looks on governments to reduce fuel emissions. In fact, as much as the governments work towards reducing environmental pollution, steps should be taken by the society to clean their environment.

As has been stated above, this should be done through, among others, actively involving the youth in cleaning our world, buying of recycled and recyclable products such as printing papers, and computers. Other methods include using electronic mails, to save our trees, paperless banking, participating in regular tree planting programs, among others (Parashar 1).

More Youths should be actively involved in cleaning the world since they form the majority of the earth’s population and are strong agents of change. Institutions should also adopt paperless banking as well as e-messages and learning to save our trees. In addition, more people should participate in world earth day to clean the world. It should also be noted that even without waiting for earth cleaning day, people should ensure that their environs are clean (Mika Community Development 1).

Cleanuptheworld.org. “Put Your Group on the 2011 Global Environmental Map!” Cleanuptheworld. 2011. Web.

Mika Community Development. “Youth Development”. mikacdc. 2011. Web.

Parashar, Utpal. “Nepal: Cleaning the world’s highest garbage dump”. Hindustan Times . 2011. Web.

VanderMey, Randall, et al., eds. “The College Writer: A Guide to Thinking, Writing, and Researching. 2nd ed”. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

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IvyPanda. (2018, June 5). How I Would Clean the Earth. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-i-would-clean-the-earth/

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1. IvyPanda . "How I Would Clean the Earth." June 5, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-i-would-clean-the-earth/.

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Essay on Save Earth for Students and Children

500+ words essay on save earth.

Earth and the resources of earth make life possible on it. If we were to imagine our lives without these resources, that would not be possible. As life cannot function without sunshine , air, vegetation , and water . However, this is soon going to be our reality if we do not save the earth now.

The resources earth provides us with are limited. They are blessings which we do not count. Human has become selfish and is utilizing the earth’s resources at a rapid rate. We need to protect them in order to protect our lives. This is so because man and all living organisms depend on the earth for their survival.

It is The Need of the Hour

To say that saving the earth is the need of the hour would be an understatement. All the activities of humans driven by greed and selfishness have caused immense damage to the earth. It is degraded it beyond repair. Almost all the natural resources are now polluted due to these activities.

When all these resources will be under threat, naturally lives of all living organisms will be under peril. This is why we need to save the earth at all costs. All the other issues are secondary and saving the earth is the main concern. For when the earth will not remain, the other issues will go away automatically.

Earth is the only planet which can sustain life on it. We do not have a planet B which we can move onto. This makes it all the more serious to save the earth and save our lives. If we do not take strict actions now, we will lose the chance of seeing our future generations flourish forever. Everyone must come together for the same causes, as we are inhabitants of this planet firstly and then anything else.

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How to Save Earth

As all human activities are impacting the lives of other organisms, humans only need to take steps to protect the earth and its resources. A little effort will go a long way on everyone’s end. Each action will make a difference. For instance, if one man decides to stop drinking bottled water, thousands of plastic can be saved from consuming.

Furthermore, we can start by planting more trees to make up for the deforestation that is happening these days at a rapid rate. When we plant more trees, ecological balance can be restored and we can improve the quality of life.

Similarly, we must stop wasting water. When done on individual levels, this will create a huge impact on conserving water. We must not pollute our water bodies by dumping waste in it. It is essential to save water most importantly as it is running out rapidly.

In short, the government and individuals must come together to save the earth. We can make people aware of the consequences of not saving the earth. They can be taught ways and how they can contribute to saving the earth. If all this collective effort starts happening, we can surely save our planet earth and make brighter earth.

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Conserving Earth

Earth’s natural resources include air, water, soil, minerals, plants, and animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geography, Geology, Conservation

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Earth ’s natural resources include air , water , soil , minerals , fuels , plants, and animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future. All the things we need to survive , such as food , water, air, and shelter , come from natural resources. Some of these resources, like small plants, can be replaced quickly after they are used. Others, like large trees, take a long time to replace. These are renewable resources . Other resources, such as fossil fuels , cannot be replaced at all. Once they are used up, they are gone f orever . These are nonrenewable resources . People often waste natural resources. Animals are overhunted . Forests are cleared, exposing land to wind and water damage. Fertile soil is exhausted and lost to erosion because of poor farming practices. Fuel supplies are depleted . Water and air are polluted . If resources are carelessly managed, many will be used up. If used wisely and efficiently , however, renewable resources will last much longer. Through conservation, people can reduce waste and manage natural resources wisely. The population of human beings has grown enormously in the past two centuries. Billions of people use up resources quickly as they eat food, build houses, produce goods, and burn fuel for transportation and electricity . The continuation of life as we know it depends on the careful use of natural resources. The need to conserve resources often conflicts with other needs. For some people, a wooded area may be a good place to put a farm. A timber company may want to harvest the area’s trees for construction materials. A business may want to build a factory or shopping mall on the land. All these needs are valid, but sometimes the plants and animals that live in the area are forgotten. The benefits of development need to be weighed against the harm to animals that may be forced to find new habitats , the depletion of resources we may want in the future (such as water or timber), or damage to resources we use today. Development and conservation can coexist in harmony. When we use the environment in ways that ensure we have resources for the future, it is called sustainable development . There are many different resources we need to conserve in order to live sustainably. Forests A forest is a large area covered with trees grouped so their foliage shades the ground. Every continent except Antarctica has forests, from the evergreen -filled boreal forests of the north to mangrove forests in tropical wetlands . Forests are home to more than two-thirds of all known land species . Tropical rainforests are especially rich in biodiversity . Forests provide habitats for animals and plants. They store carbon , helping reduce global warming . They protect soil by reducing runoff . They add nutrients to the soil through leaf litter . They provide people with lumber and firewood. Deforestation is the process of clearing away forests by cutting them down or burning them. People clear forests to use the wood, or to make way for farming or development. Each year, Earth loses about 14.6 million hectares (36 million acres) of forest to deforestation—an area about the size of the U.S. state of New York. Deforestation destroys wildlife habitats and increases soil erosion. It also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere , contributing to global warming. Deforestation accounts for 15 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation also harms the people who rely on forests for their survival, hunting and gathering, harvesting forest products, or using the timber for firewood. About half of all the forests on Earth are in the tropics —an area that circles the globe near the Equator . Although tropical forests cover fewer than 6 percent of the world’s land area, they are home to about 80 percent of the world’s documented species. For example, more than 500 different species of trees live in the forests on the small U.S. island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. Tropical forests give us many valuable products, including woods like mahogany and teak , rubber , fruits, nuts, and flowers. Many of the medicines we use today come from plants found only in tropical rainforests. These include quinine , a malaria drug; curare , an anesthetic used in surgery; and rosy periwinkle , which is used to treat certain types of cancer . Sustainable forestry practices are critical for ensuring we have these resources well into the future. One of these practices is leaving some trees to die and decay naturally in the forest. This “ deadwood ” builds up soil. Other sustainable forestry methods include using low-impact logging practices, harvesting with natural regeneration in mind, and avoiding certain logging techniques , such as removing all the high-value trees or all the largest trees from a forest. Trees can also be conserved if consumers recycle . People in China and Mexico, for example, reuse much of their wastepaper, including writing paper, wrapping paper, and cardboard. If half the world’s paper were recycled, much of the worldwide demand for new paper would be fulfilled, saving many of Earth’s trees. We can also replace some wood products with alternatives like bamboo , which is actually a type of grass. Soil Soil is vital to food production. We need high-quality soil to grow the crops that we eat and feed to livestock . Soil is also important to plants that grow in the wild. Many other types of conservation efforts, such as plant conservation and animal conservation, depend on soil conservation. Poor farming methods, such as repeatedly planting the same crop in the same place, called monoculture , deplete nutrients in the soil. Soil erosion by water and wind increases when farmers plow up and down hills. One soil conservation method is called contour strip cropping . Several crops, such as corn, wheat, and clover , are planted in alternating strips across a slope or across the path of the prevailing wind . Different crops, with different root systems and leaves, help slow erosion.

Harvesting all the trees from a large area, a practice called clearcutting , increases the chances of losing productive topsoil to wind and water erosion. Selective harvesting —the practice of removing individual trees or small groups of trees—leaves other trees standing to anchor the soil. Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variety of living things that populate Earth. The products and benefits we get from nature rely on biodiversity. We need a rich mixture of living things to provide foods, building materials, and medicines, as well as to maintain a clean and healthy landscape . When a species becomes extinct , it is lost to the world forever. Scientists estimate that the current rate of extinction is 1,000 times the natural rate. Through hunting, pollution , habitat destruction, and contribution to global warming, people are speeding up the loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate. It’s hard to know how many species are going extinct because the total number of species is unknown. Scientists discover thousands of new species every year. For example, after looking at just 19 trees in Panama, scientists found 1,200 different species of beetles—80 percent of them unknown to science at the time. Based on various estimates of the number of species on Earth, we could be losing anywhere from 200 to 100,000 species each year. We need to protect biodiversity to ensure we have plentiful and varied food sources. This is true even if we don’t eat a species threatened with extinction because something we do eat may depend on that species for survival. Some predators are useful for keeping the populations of other animals at manageable levels. The extinction of a major predator might mean there are more herbivores looking for food in people’s gardens and farms. Biodiversity is important for more than just food. For instance, we use between 50,000 to 70,000 plant species for medicines worldwide. The Great Barrier Reef , a coral reef off the coast of northeastern Australia, contributes about $6 billion to the nation’s economy through commercial fishing , tourism , and other recreational activities. If the coral reef dies, many of the fish, shellfish , marine mammals , and plants will die, too. Some governments have established parks and preserves to protect wildlife and their habitats. They are also working to abolish hunting and fishing practices that may cause the extinction of some species. Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are fuels produced from the remains of ancient plants and animals. They include coal , petroleum (oil), and natural gas . People rely on fossil fuels to power vehicles like cars and airplanes, to produce electricity, and to cook and provide heat. In addition, many of the products we use today are made from petroleum. These include plastics , synthetic rubber, fabrics like nylon , medicines, cosmetics , waxes, cleaning products, medical devices, and even bubblegum.

Fossil fuels formed over millions of years. Once we use them up, we cannot replace them. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource. We need to conserve fossil fuels so we don’t run out. However, there are other good reasons to limit our fossil fuel use. These fuels pollute the air when they are burned. Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Global warming is changing ecosystems . The oceans are becoming warmer and more acidic , which threatens sea life. Sea levels are rising, posing risks to coastal communities. Many areas are experiencing more droughts , while others suffer from flooding . Scientists are exploring alternatives to fossil fuels. They are trying to produce renewable biofuels to power cars and trucks. They are looking to produce electricity using the sun, wind, water, and geothermal energy — Earth’s natural heat. Everyone can help conserve fossil fuels by using them carefully. Turn off lights and other electronics when you are not using them. Purchase energy-efficient appliances and weatherproof your home. Walk, ride a bike, carpool , and use public transportation whenever possible. Minerals Earth’s supply of raw mineral resources is in danger. Many mineral deposits that have been located and mapped have been depleted. As the ores for minerals like aluminum and iron become harder to find and extract , their prices skyrocket . This makes tools and machinery more expensive to purchase and operate. Many mining methods, such as mountaintop removal mining (MTR) , devastate the environment. They destroy soil, plants, and animal habitats. Many mining methods also pollute water and air, as toxic chemicals leak into the surrounding ecosystem. Conservation efforts in areas like Chile and the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States often promote more sustainable mining methods. Less wasteful mining methods and the recycling of materials will help conserve mineral resources. In Japan, for example, car manufacturers recycle many raw materials used in making automobiles. In the United States, nearly one-third of the iron produced comes from recycled automobiles. Electronic devices present a big problem for conservation because technology changes so quickly. For example, consumers typically replace their cell phones every 18 months. Computers, televisions, and mp3 players are other products contributing to “ e-waste .” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans generated more than three million tons of e-waste in 2007. Electronic products contain minerals as well as petroleum-based plastics. Many of them also contain hazardous materials that can leach out of landfills into the soil and water supply. Many governments are passing laws requiring manufacturers to recycle used electronics. Recycling not only keeps materials out of landfills, but it also reduces the energy used to produce new products. For instance, recycling aluminum saves 90 percent of the energy that would be required to mine new aluminum.

Water Water is a renewable resource. We will not run out of water the way we might run out of fossil fuels. The amount of water on Earth always remains the same. However, most of the planet’s water is unavailable for human use. While more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is freshwater . Out of that freshwater, almost 70 percent is permanently frozen in the ice caps covering Antarctica and Greenland. Only about 1 percent of the freshwater on Earth is available for people to use for drinking, bathing, and irrigating crops. People in many regions of the world suffer water shortages . These are caused by depletion of underground water sources known as aquifers , a lack of rainfall due to drought, or pollution of water supplies. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 billion people lack adequate water sanitation . More than five million people die each year from diseases caused by using polluted water for drinking, cooking, or washing. About one-third of Earth’s population lives in areas that are experiencing water stress . Most of these areas are in developing countries. Polluted water hurts the environment as well as people. For instance, agricultural runoff—the water that runs off of farmland—can contain fertilizers and pesticides . When this water gets into streams , rivers , and oceans, it can harm the organisms that live in or drink from those water sources. People can conserve and protect water supplies in many ways. Individuals can limit water use by fixing leaky faucets, taking shorter showers, planting drought-resistant plants, and buying low-water-use appliances. Governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can help developing countries build sanitation facilities. Farmers can change some of their practices to reduce polluted runoff. This includes limiting overgrazing , avoiding over-irrigation, and using alternatives to chemical pesticides whenever possible. Conservation Groups Businesses, international organizations , and some governments are involved in conservation efforts. The United Nations (UN) encourages the creation of national parks around the world. The UN also established World Water Day, an event to raise awareness and promote water conservation. Governments enact laws defining how land should be used and which areas should be set aside as parks and wildlife preserves. Governments also enforce laws designed to protect the environment from pollution, such as requiring factories to install pollution-control devices. Finally, governments often provide incentives for conserving resources, using clean technologies, and recycling used goods. Many international organizations are dedicated to conservation. Members support causes such as saving rain forests, protecting threatened animals, and cleaning up the air. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an alliance of governments and private groups founded in 1948. The IUCN works to protect wildlife and habitats. In 1980, the group proposed a world conservation strategy . Many governments have used the IUCN model to develop their own conservation plans. In addition, the IUCN monitors the status of endangered wildlife, threatened national parks and preserves, and other environments around the world. Zoos and botanical gardens also work to protect wildlife. Many zoos raise and breed endangered animals to increase their populations. They conduct research and help educate the public about endangered species . For instance, the San Diego Zoo in the U.S. state of California runs a variety of research programs on topics ranging from disease control in amphibians to heart-healthy diets for gorillas. Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, England, work to protect plant life around the world. Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank , for example, works with partners in 54 countries to protect biodiversity through seed collection. Kew researchers are also exploring how DNA technology can help restore damaged habitats. Individuals can do many things to help conserve resources. Turning off lights, repairing leaky faucets, and recycling paper, aluminum cans, glass, and plastic are just a few examples. Riding bikes, walking, carpooling, and using public transportation all help conserve fuel and reduce the amount of pollutants released into the environment. Individuals can plant trees to create homes for birds and squirrels. At grocery stores, people can bring their own reusable bags. And people can carry reusable water bottles and coffee mugs rather than using disposable containers. If each of us would conserve in small ways, the result would be a major conservation effort.

Tree Huggers The Chipko Movement, which is dedicated to saving trees, was started by villagers in Uttar Pradesh, India. Chipko means hold fast or embrace. The villagers flung their arms around trees to keep loggers from cutting them down. The villagers won, and Uttar Pradesh banned the felling of trees in the Himalayan foothills. The movement has since expanded to other parts of India.

Thirsty Food People require about 2 to 4 liters of drinking water each day. However, a day's worth of food requires 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce. It takes more water to produce meat than to produce plant-based foods.

Tiger, Tiger Tigers are dangerous animals, but they have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. Today there are only about 3,200 tigers living in the wild. Three tiger subspecies the Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers have gone extinct in the past century. Many organizations are working hard to protect the remaining tigers from illegal hunting and habitat loss.

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My Earth, My Responsibility

Earth is a beautiful living planet in the Universe and the common habitat of more than 7 billion human population and millions of species of biodiversity. Our Earth provides us with food, shelter and most of our requirements.

Despite unavoidable free services provided by the earth to humans, we are not able to pay off her kindness to us. Rather we humans are being cruel to our Earth with our selfish activities. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

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Every day we produce tons of degradable and non-degradable waste, and throw it anywhere recklessly. Smoke and harmful gases from our homes, vehicles and industries are suffocating her. We are disposing of dirty sewage, drainage and even chemicals recklessly, although we know that more than 7 billion humans, along with all plants and animals in this world, rely on water for their lives. If we aren’t concentrating on saving those water resources, then in near future water may be as expensive as PETROL or one-day people may die due to thirst. Despite huge noise by our jumbo population itself, we use loudspeakers for our entertainment & industries, airplanes or other noisy vehicles for our luxury. We destroy forests for agriculture & settlement. We build huge buildings, roads & factories beyond her carrying capacity. The establishment of nuclear reactors vastly affects the environment & human lives.

Harmful gases emitted by ACs, refrigerators, industries & vehicles are depleting ozone layer & increasing our exposure to very harmful UV rays of sun leading us towards various skin diseases, eye cataract & even cancer. Wastes like plastics & other non-degradable wastes like insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers etc. highly degrade soil quality & decrease agricultural products & kills soil microorganisms & decomposers. Water pollution increases the risk of water-borne diseases like cholera, dysentery etc. and lead & arsenic highly degrade our mental ability & causes the extinction of many aquatic animals. Air pollution causes airborne diseases like asthma in humans & animals and disturbs whole metabolism process in plants. Noise pollution causes insomnia & heart diseases in humans. Deforestation is leading to natural calamities like floods, soil erosion etc, temperature increase and changed rainfall distribution, drought, loss of valuable biodiversity, decreased oxygen density etc. The burning issues in the world at present are “Climate Change & Greenhouse Effect”.

Solutions to environmental problems are not impossible for superior creatures like humans, if they are committed. As a youth & global citizen, I too have the responsibilities to my mother earth. My first role in nature is to reduce my own carbon footprint via eco-friendly activities. Then, I can form a GREEN ORGANIZATION along with some other energetic youths to raise awareness in my peer circle, neighbourhood & the community about environment sanitation by changing degradable wastes into compost manure & by 3R principle (reduce, reuse & recycle) of non-degradable wastes. I can create workshops with local people that air pollution can be controlled by replacing household energy sources like coal, firewood etc. by biogas, electricity or solar energy & we can negotiate with factory owners & vehicle owners to use dust & smoke purification systems in industries & vehicles & we can encourage them to use solar-energy based industries & vehicles.

We can organize environment sanitation programs & afforestation programs in barren lands. We youths can appeal the government to bring eco-friendly development policies & proper planning of cities. We can organize orientation programs about climate change, its causes, and effects & mitigation measures in schools & colleges to induce other youths towards conservation of nature. Youths can initiate the concept of “Payment of Ecosystem services (PES)” in society & emphasize homestay tourism in the villages. As a student of the forestry sector, I have the responsibility to aware local people about the importance of forests & effects of deforestation along with the new concept of carbon trade via REDD++ programs.

Thus, for the sustainability of our planet, I promise to fulfil my responsibilities towards Mother Nature as a global citizen so as to protect my living planet from deterioration & to handover clean & green planet to our future generations. Maybe our single efforts may seem small but if thousands of youths can unite together towards nature conservation then one day our efforts will be a drastic step to protect our motherland Earth from destruction.

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Essay on Cleanliness of Environment for Kids

Kids nowadays are growing up in a world where they are constantly exposed to germs. They go to school, play outside and come into contact with people and things that can cause infections. The best way to protect themselves from getting sick is by being clean. Here is an essay on how you can help your kids stay clean and healthy by teaching them the importance of keeping their environment clean. When we think about the environment, the first thing that comes to mind is the pollution humans create. In reality, the cleanliness of our surroundings is just as important as our environmental responsibility . Read BYJU’S essay on cleanliness of the environment to learn the significance of keeping the environment clean.

The health of people and other living beings depends on a healthy environment. Clean air and water are essential for human health, while plants need clean soil to grow healthy. Keeping our surroundings clean can help protect our health and the environment. There is a famous saying, “ Cleanliness is Godliness ”, and we must follow some basic hygiene steps to maintain the same. Encourage your kids to participate in environmental education programmes. These programmes teach kids about the importance of conserving resources and keeping our planet clean. In addition, we have briefly explained the top five ways to keep our environment clean in this short essay on cleanliness of the environment.

Table of Contents

How to encourage good hygiene in kids, top 5 ways to keep the environment clean, importance of cleanliness.

Cleanliness is one of the most important things to maintain in our environment. It is not only good for the environment but also for all living beings. We need to encourage good hygiene in our kids if we want them to be responsible stewards of their surroundings. We have provided some ways to maintain the cleanliness of the environment here in BYJU’S essay on cleanliness of environment in English.

Set a good example yourself and keep your home clean. This will help your kids see that it is vital to take care of their environment. Help your kids learn about the importance of taking care of their bodies. Talk about how dirty our hands and feet can be, and show them how easy it is to clean them up.

There is no denying that maintaining a clean environment is something that we need to always keep in mind. It improves the overall look and feel of our surroundings, and it also helps protect the health of ourselves and the animals that reside in our ecosystem. This cleanliness of environment essay will discuss the top five ways to clean up our environment that positively impact both the quality of life and the environment itself.

• There are many ways that you can help keep the environment clean. The first way to keep the environment clean is by maintaining a healthy ecosystem and reducing the usage of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
• Keeping the environment clean is essential for everyone. Children are the future of the world, and they need to learn how to care for the environment.
• Using less energy can save a lot of money in the long run. For example, if we use electricity to power our lights instead of a light bulb, we can save a lot of money.
• Recycling can also save money. If we recycle materials, such as paper, plastic, and metals, we will save a lot of money in the long run.
• Finally, using public transportation is one of the best ways to conserve energy and protect the environment. Public transit uses less fuel than driving in cars. It also reduces traffic congestion and air pollution.

Pollution is a problem any time it enters the environment. Across the world, pollution comes from several sources, including automobiles and factories. Pollution also comes from natural sources, such as rain, sea salt, volcanoes etc. Here are two reasons why it is vital to keep our environment clean:

• Good for our health : Pollution can cause respiratory problems, heart disease, and even cancer. By keeping our environment clean, we can reduce the risk of these illnesses. It protects our resources. Polluting our environment harms natural resources such as water and air. We can save environment and these resources for future generations by cleaning up our act.
• It preserves our heritage : When improperly disposed waste ends up in rivers and oceans, it can harm fish populations and contaminate marine habitats. By keeping our environment clean, we can prevent pollution and preserve all the species in aquatic habitats as well as other living beings on Earth.

It is now commonly acknowledged that the health of our environment is linked to our own. We must take measures to clean up our act and preserve the natural resources we depend on. However, many people continue to put their convenience above all else, leading to an increasingly polluted world. We need to reduce the cause and make a difference. We can create a cleaner, healthier future for ourselves and for generations to come by doing so. For more kids learning activities, like essays , worksheets and stories , visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions on Essay on Cleanliness of Environment

What are some ways to clean the environment.

There are many ways to clean the environment. Some of the ways are recycling, composting and using green energy. Each of these methods has its pros and cons, so it is important to choose the one that best suits our needs.

What is the importance of a clean environment?

A clean environment is vital because it can help improve health and well-being because it reduces the exposure people have to harmful chemicals. It can also reduce the risk of accidents because it makes it easier to see and avoid obstacles. Finally, a clean environment is less likely to produce harmful emissions that can impact the environment and human health.

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Essay on Save Earth: Samples in 100, 150 and 200 Words

• Updated on  
• Nov 11, 2023

There is a popular saying that goes, ’You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Well, then why harm the planet that is providing for you?’ We all should know that our planet Earth is the only planet where life can exist. Our planet provides us with basic necessities such as water, air, food to eat, and much more. So if you want to save our planet Earth for yourself and for the coming future generations then do give this blog a read. Today we will be talking about how you can save your planet Earth by taking all the required measures. We have also listed some sample essay on Save Earth which will help you to talk about the same in public. 

Table of Contents

• 1 Why is Saving Earth so Important?
• 2 Essay on Save Earth in 100 Words
• 3 Essay on Save Earth in 150 Words
• 4 Essay on Save Earth in 200 Words

Why is Saving Earth so Important?

Our planet Earth is the only planet that provides us with raw materials, oxygen, food which we need for fuel, and other essential materials.  

There are a number of reasons why saving the Earth is so important:

• Our Earth is the only planet that supports life. Despite signs of organic molecules and water on other planets and moons, life is only known to exist on Earth. There would be nowhere else for us to go if not Earth.
• Our Earth provides us with basic necessities such as medicine, food, clean water, and air to breathe. 
• The combustion of fossil fuels releases harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which traps heat and warms the earth. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and more extreme weather events are just a few of the negative effects of climate change that are already being felt.

Also Read: Essay on Social Issues

Essay on Save Earth in 100 Words

The only planet in the cosmos that is known to sustain life is Earth. Since it is our home, we must take care of it.

There are numerous reasons why protecting the planet is crucial. To begin with, it is our only place of residence. There won’t be somewhere else for us to go if we destroy Earth. Second, Earth gives us food, water, air, and shelter—everything we require to survive. Third, a wide variety of biodiversity exists on Earth, which is vital to human health.

Unfortunately, the health of Earth is being threatened by human activity. Among the difficulties we confront are deforestation, pollution, and climate change.

To save the Earth, we can all do our part. Here are some actions you may take:

• Cut back on the use of fossil fuels. Make more of an effort to walk or bike, drive less, and take public transit wherever you can.
• Make the switch to alternative energy sources like wind and solar energy.
• At home, use less energy and water.
• Reduce trash via composting and recycling.
• Encourage companies and groups that are engaged in environmental protection.

Both our own life and the survival of future generations depend on saving the planet. We can contribute to ensuring that our planet is healthy and habitable for many years to come by acting now.

Also Read: Essay on Save Environment: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Essay on Save Earth in 150 Words

Since the Earth is our home, it is up to us to preserve it. However, the health of the planet is in danger due to human activity. Among the difficulties we confront are deforestation, pollution, and climate change.

The most important environmental issue of our day is climate change. Greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, which causes the earth to warm. Among the detrimental repercussions of climate change that are already being felt are rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and an increase in extreme weather occurrences.

Pollution poses a serious threat to Earth as well. Among the materials we use to damage the air, water, and land are chemicals, plastics, and trash. Not only can pollution harm humans and wildlife, but it can also ruin ecosystems.

Deforestation is another issue. In this, the trees are removed and instead, buildings are constructed.  Forests filter water in addition to providing habitat for species and regulating the climate. Deforestation is one of the primary causes of both climate change and biodiversity loss.

We must take action to safeguard Earth from these threats. We can potentially reduce our carbon footprint by switching to renewable energy sources and consuming less energy. We can also reduce pollution by using less plastic, recycling, and composting. We can also safeguard forests by planting trees and promoting sustainable forestry practices.

Preserving the planet is essential for our own existence as well as that of future generations. To keep our world safe, each of us has a responsibility.

Also Read: Essay on Unity in Diversity in 100 to 200 Words

Also Read: How to Prepare for UPSC in 6 Months?

Essay on Save Earth in 200 Words

The only planet in the solar system where humanity can survive is Earth. Since our planet gives us access to fundamental essentials like clean water, fresh air, and food to eat, it is our duty as humans to make sure that it is habitable for future generations.

We can see that, among all the urgent problems, one of the most significant ones that affect humanity is climate change. Among the detrimental repercussions of climate change that are already being felt are rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and an increase in extreme weather occurrences.

Pollution is another major problem. The majority of the materials that are key to pollution of the air, water, and land are harmful chemicals, plastics that are carelessly thrown away, and other materials. This is not only harmful to humans and wildlife but also to the environment. 

Deforestation is the third main issue; it is the removal of trees for construction or other purposes, like agriculture. One of the main contributors to both climate change and biodiversity loss is deforestation. Consequently, we need to act to defend Earth from these dangers. 

We hope this essay on Save Earth helped you with some knowledge of some of the pressing issues we face on a daily basis and what we can do to save our planet. 

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We can conserve the globe by avoiding contamination of the Earth and its natural resources, including the air and water.

Reducing carbon emissions is the first step towards saving our planet. This can be done by using environmentally friendly resources, conserving water and following the Reduce, Reuse and Recycling practices.

Clearing forest areas for agricultural, human settlement or any other commercial activities is known as deforestation.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay-writing page and follow Leverage Edu ! 

Malvika Chawla

Malvika is a content writer cum news freak who comes with a strong background in Journalism and has worked with renowned news websites such as News 9 and The Financial Express to name a few. When not writing, she can be found bringing life to the canvasses by painting on them.

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Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 100 to 300 Words

• Post author: Grammar Library
• Post category: Paragraph

Our Earth is facing a big problem – it’s getting filled with trash and losing its greenery. Everywhere we look, there are signs that our beautiful planet is struggling to keep up with the waste we produce and the trees we cut down. This isn’t just bad for the Earth; it’s bad for us too. Animals lose their homes, and we lose the clean air and water we need to be healthy. But what can we do about it? It might seem like a huge challenge, but the solution starts with us, the younger generation. By learning about and practicing ways to keep our Earth clean and green, we can make a big difference. Let’s explore how we can all contribute to a healthier planet.

Table of Contents

Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 100 words

Maintaining a clean and green Earth is crucial for our health and the planet’s future. To achieve this, we can start by planting trees, which provide oxygen and reduce pollution. Recycling is another vital step; it helps manage waste and conserves natural resources. Everyone can contribute by using fewer plastic items and opting for eco-friendly products. Schools in India often organize cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns to educate students about environmental preservation. By taking small steps at home and in our communities, we can make a significant impact. Let’s work together for a cleaner, greener Earth.

Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 150 words

A clean and green Earth is essential for our well-being and the survival of future generations. Actions like planting more trees can significantly improve air quality by absorbing pollutants and producing oxygen. Additionally, recycling materials like paper, plastic, and metal reduces waste and saves natural resources.

Simple habits, such as using reusable bags instead of plastic ones, and participating in local clean-up drives, can make a big difference. In India, several schools incorporate environmental studies into their curriculum to teach students the importance of conserving nature. These initiatives encourage young minds to develop a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

Moreover, adopting renewable energy sources like solar and wind power can drastically reduce carbon emissions. By taking collective and individual steps, we can ensure a healthier planet for ourselves and future generations.

Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 200 words

A clean and green Earth is fundamental to sustaining life and ensuring the health of our planet. Planting trees is a powerful action that not only beautifies our surroundings but also combats climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Recycling plays a crucial role in managing waste effectively, conserving precious resources, and reducing pollution.

Simple everyday choices, such as using eco-friendly products, minimizing the use of plastics, and conserving water, contribute significantly to our environmental efforts. In India, educational institutions play a key role in fostering environmental awareness among students. They organize tree plantation drives, recycling projects, and educational workshops to highlight the importance of maintaining a clean and green environment. These initiatives not only enrich students’ knowledge but also empower them to become proactive environmental stewards.

Furthermore, community involvement in cleanliness campaigns and the adoption of sustainable practices like using renewable energy sources can greatly amplify our impact on preserving the Earth. By embracing these actions, we can create a healthier, more sustainable world for ourselves and future generations, demonstrating that every small step can lead to significant positive change.

Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 250 words

A clean and green earth is essential for the survival of all living beings. It means having a planet with abundant trees, clear skies, and pollution-free water bodies. In India, various initiatives and campaigns have been launched to promote environmental conservation. For example, the government has introduced projects like the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which focuses on cleaning streets, roads, and improving sanitation facilities. Schools across the country participate in tree plantation drives and educate students about the importance of recycling and reducing waste. These efforts are aimed at instilling a sense of responsibility towards the environment from a young age.

Furthermore, the use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power is being encouraged to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which are harmful to the planet. Communities are also coming together to clean up local rivers and lakes, showing that collective action can make a significant difference. By taking small steps in our daily lives, such as using cloth bags instead of plastic ones, conserving water, and planting more trees, we can contribute to making our earth cleaner and greener. It is crucial for everyone to understand the impact of their actions on the environment and work towards sustainable living to ensure a healthy planet for future generations.

Paragraph on the clean and green earth in 300 words

Maintaining a clean and green earth is vital for the well-being of our planet and the health of its inhabitants. This concept encourages us to live in harmony with nature by protecting forests, rivers, and wildlife, and by reducing pollution. In India, environmental education has been integrated into the school curriculum to teach students about the significance of a sustainable lifestyle. Through activities like nature walks, eco-clubs, and science projects, children learn about biodiversity and the importance of conserving natural resources.

One of the major steps towards achieving a cleaner environment is the reduction of air and water pollution. Industries are being encouraged to adopt cleaner technologies, and there is a growing emphasis on waste management through recycling and composting. The government has also implemented stricter regulations to ensure that industries and individuals adhere to environmental standards. These measures are complemented by public awareness campaigns that encourage citizens to participate in environmental conservation efforts.

Moreover, the promotion of green technology, such as electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. Urban areas are focusing on developing green spaces, like parks and gardens, which not only provide a habitat for various species but also help in cooling down cities, thereby reducing the urban heat island effect. Additionally, traditional practices like rainwater harvesting are being revived to conserve water.

Every individual has a role to play in making our earth cleaner and greener. By adopting eco-friendly habits, such as minimizing the use of plastic, conserving energy, and supporting sustainable agriculture, we can make a significant impact. It is imperative for us to act now to preserve the beauty and resources of our planet for ourselves and future generations.

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13 ways to save the Earth from pollution

You might use plastic water bottles, yogurt cups, and straws for just a day, but they can remain in the environment for years. And that pollution can harm habitats and the animals that live there. Cut down Earth’s trash with these tips. 

Bust the balloons

Balloons eventually fall back down to Earth … and can end up in the ocean, entangling animals or being mistaken for food. Skip the balloons at your next party, and ask friends to do the same. Make pom-pom decorations instead!

Bin for the win

Always throw trash in the can. Garbage left outside might harm wildlife and end up in the ocean. Trash that’s properly brought to a landfill is kept out of the sea.

Fish responsibly

If you go fishing, don’t leave nets or lines in the water. Animals can become entangled in the trash.

Scientists estimate that about half the world’s sea turtles accidentally eat plastic and other trash. Keep the ocean clean by never leaving toys or trash at the beach.

Dump plastic

According to one study, over eight million tons of plastic pollution end up in the ocean each year. Drink from a refillable water bottle, place your sandwich in cloth or a reusable container, and use bar soap instead of bottled.

Garbage club

Form a club in your classroom to reduce your waste at school . Monitor what’s thrown away each week, and think about ways to cut down on those items.

Trash trooper

Participate in a community cleanup . The groups that host the events sometimes weigh the collected trash, which helps leaders make decisions about laws that encourage people to waste less.

Recycle right

People in the United States recycle only about 35 percent of their waste, so recycle what you can. Ask for help to create a paper and plastic recycling program in your classroom.

Business talk

Does your favorite ice-cream shop use plastic spoons? Ask an adult to help you talk to the owner about switching to a non-plastic option. Some kinds of spoons are even edible!

Do-good goodie bag

Don’t fill your birthday goodie bags with plastic yo-yos and other trinkets for your friends. Instead, give them homemade treats or coupons to a local bakery.

Straw sense

Experts estimate that Americans use about 500 million plastic straws a day, and they’re one of the top 10 trash items found during ocean cleanups. If you must use a straw, find a reusable metal straw or a paper version or make your own.

Pest Friends

Ask your parents to buy food and clothes that are made without pesticides—chemicals sprayed on crops to kill bad bugs. The problem? Pesticides also can kill critters like bees that are eco-friendly.

Stuffed with stuff

Items shipped to your home often come wrapped in plastic packaging; toys bought at the store are covered in it. Think about what can be bought secondhand, what can be shared, and what doesn’t need to be purchased at all.

explore more

Learn about plastic and how to reduce your use., save the earth, save the earth tips, endangered species act.

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Repeaters Course for NEET 2022 - 23

Essay on Green Environment

Students are often asked to write an essay on Green Environment in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Green Environment

What is a green environment.

A green environment means a clean and healthy environment. It’s a place where plants grow, animals live, and humans thrive.

Importance of a Green Environment

A green environment is important for all life on Earth. It provides us with fresh air, clean water, and food.

Threats to a Green Environment

Sadly, activities like deforestation, pollution, and climate change are harming our green environment.

We can help by reducing waste, planting trees, and using renewable energy. Let’s all work together to protect our green environment.

250 Words Essay on Green Environment

Introduction, the significance of a green environment.

A green environment is integral to the survival and prosperity of every living being. It involves the conservation of natural resources, reduction of pollution, and promotion of biodiversity. It’s not just about the aesthetic appeal of lush green landscapes; it’s about the balance of the ecosystem.

Green Environment and Climate Change

The green environment plays a pivotal role in combating climate change. The preservation of forests, for instance, helps in reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Additionally, green spaces in urban areas can mitigate the urban heat island effect, contributing to a cooler city environment.

Our Role in Promoting a Green Environment

As inhabitants of this planet, we have a significant role to play in promoting a green environment. This can be achieved through simple actions like recycling, reducing waste, conserving water, and planting trees. Moreover, we can advocate for policies that promote renewable energy sources, sustainable agriculture, and responsible consumption.

A green environment is not just a luxury; it is a necessity for our survival. As the stewards of our planet, we must strive to create and maintain a green environment that can sustain future generations. The task may seem daunting, but with collective efforts and sustainable practices, it is achievable.

500 Words Essay on Green Environment

The concept of a green environment refers to a sustainable living space that respects and supports the natural ecological balance. It emphasizes the reduction of environmental damage and the promotion of biodiversity. A green environment is not just a concept, but a necessity in the contemporary world. It is the key to the sustainability of life on earth, a lifeline that future generations depend on.

The Essence of a Green Environment

The importance of a green environment cannot be overstated. It plays a crucial role in maintaining the earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. The green environment is a rich source of food, medicine, and raw materials. It also provides recreational and spiritual benefits. However, the most significant aspect of a green environment is its contribution to biodiversity. A diverse array of species is vital for the health of ecosystems, as each species plays a unique role in maintaining ecological balance.

Threats to the Green Environment

Despite its importance, the green environment is under severe threat due to human activities. Deforestation, pollution, overpopulation, and climate change are the major threats. These activities disrupt the balance of the ecosystem, leading to biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. The consequences of these actions are severe and include global warming, species extinction, and a decline in human health.

Steps Towards a Green Environment

In conclusion, a green environment is not just a concept, but a necessity for the survival of life on earth. It is a shared responsibility that requires collective action. By understanding the importance of a green environment and the threats it faces, we can take steps towards achieving a sustainable future. The journey towards a green environment may be challenging, but it is a path we must take for the sake of our planet and future generations.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

Happy studying!

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Modern Compact Cities: How Much Greenery Do We Need?

Alessio russo.

1 Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, RUDN University, 117198 Moscow, Russia; [email protected]

2 Polo Centre of Sustainability, 18100 Imperia, Italy

Giuseppe T. Cirella

3 Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland

The modern compact city is identified as a high-density and mixed-use pattern. Its features are believed to contribute to a form of functional urban design that supports sustainability and, restresses, the importance of ecosystem services. Urban green space (UGS) plays a vital role in the design and impact on how compact cities have developed and triggered a scientific discord on the amount of greenery individuals require and to what extent contemporary approaches address the question. Research points to at least 9 m 2 of green space per individual with an ideal UGS value of 50 m 2 per capita. An examination on the perception, use, quality, accessibility and health risks of urban green and blue spaces is explored, alongside the availability of novel UGS and greenery-related approaches that investigate compact city design and planning for health and wellbeing. The amount of ‘green’ and relating UGS availability in cities indicates vital knowledge modern compact cities must consider.

1. Introduction

At present, cities are facing a number of environmental issues which influence the wellbeing and livelihood of millions worldwide. The consequences of urban sprawl have resulted in pollution, consumption of resources and energy and various types of dumping grounds [ 1 ]. Urbanisation and densification processes have led to a loss of urban green space (UGS) and biodiversity within cities, particularly within Asia and Australia and to a lesser extent Europe and North America [ 2 ]. With the increasing frequency and severity of environmental hazards and climate change such as heat, urban design strategies will play an important role in reducing vulnerability, promoting health and building resilience [ 3 ]. In response to these environmental hazards and urban densification (i.e., via rapid population growth and rural to urban migration), there is a growing need to innovate healthier designs and planned sustainability for resilient urban environments.

The compact city is identified as a high-density and mixed-use pattern which leaves space for the countryside, husbandry, nature and recreation. It includes a well-ordered distinction between the city and countryside (i.e., a ‘counterbalance’) in physical appearance and land use functions to city-dwellers [ 4 ]. This type of practice is believed to restrain urban sprawl by intensifying activity in urban dense regions, reducing personal vehicle trips and providing diverse services through mixed land use and revitalisation of old urban areas (i.e., discouraging infill development) [ 5 , 6 ]. These features are believed to contribute to a form of functional urban design that, in turn, would support a more sustainable living relationship within such environments [ 6 ]; however, compact cities that have an overall lower percentage of UGS demonstrate to lack ecosystem services [ 7 ]. Moreover, such cities are the most impacted by the heat island effect [ 8 ] and the resulting consequences from urban densification. Densification has shown to be largely unhealthy within these urban neighbourhoods affecting mostly local residents; the permanence of urban built structures makes it likely future residents’ health will also be affected by conditions resulting from today’s urban planning which is not restricted to the short term [ 9 , 10 ]. In order to contrast the urban heat island and effectively provide ecosystem services, sufficient and high-quality UGS and or other greenery elements should be readily made available to urban residents. Improving public health through urban development and greenery renewal of compact cities is an important part of the sustainable development concept [ 9 ].

Local authorities, increasingly, are in search of new, adaptive and flexible forms of urban gardening, characterised by high accessibility and hybrid functions [ 11 ]. As a result, a number of relating inferences have been made regarding urban allotment garden space and newly implemented urban gardening infrastructure [ 12 ]. Research indicates urban gardening practices that are desirable, smart and compact in form and function support sustainable practices, increase liveability and higher urbanised standards of development [ 11 , 12 ]. Tappert et al. [ 11 ] state traditional forms such as urban allotment gardens have been problematised as seemingly incompatible with the requirements of UGS provision in the overall platform of compact cities. In this paper, we elaborate upon this discussion by examining quality, accessibility, health risks of UGS, attitudes toward UGS and how landscape architects and urban planners can incorporate greenery via the delivery system of ecosystem services to inhabitants for more resilient and healthy compact cities. Furthermore, it highlights the amount of greenery needed by interconnecting concepts within a compact city garden approach.

2. Urban Green and Blue Space: Perception, Use, Quality, Accessibility and Health Risks

With the maturation of modern compact cities, urban green and blue space (UGBS) inquiries has become an integral part of urban green infrastructure (UGI) [ 13 ]; nonetheless, there is evidence UGBS benefits are not equitably distributed across diverse cities and urban populations [ 14 ]. Understanding the relationship between urban population and quality and amount of green space is vital in terms of sustainability, health and resilience of urban areas. According to Hunter and Luck [ 15 ], UGBS offer a variety of social qualities that focalise on anthropogenic attributes directly influencing its ‘green’ status in terms of accessibility, recreational use (i.e., visitation rates and leisure activities), management as well as political and financial benefits.

In terms of the ecological quality of UGBS, the natural attributes of green space comprise of plant and animal diversity and abundance, flower density and tree canopy cover [ 15 ]. Blue space adaptation and infrastructure are associated with new and existing mixed-use urban development and specifications relating to urban heat-stress and spatial- and scenario-based planning. It has been shown that visitor perception can influence city patterns (i.e., its urban layout) and inform planners and management of effective urban designs [ 16 ]. Good quality UGBS improves quality of city life via the enhancement of their attractiveness to residents, employees, tourists, investors and firms [ 17 ]. From a social perspective, UGBS has an impact on a wide range of issues ranging from community involvement and empowerment, including matters of safety, inclusion, equality, civic pride, health, education and recreation. Well managed and maintained UGBS can contribute to social inclusion and social justice and provide cultural links and opportunities for community events and outdoor activities [ 18 ]. However, the majority of UGBS are limited in size, occluded within the built-up matrix and separated from each other by harsh and often inhospitable developed areas [ 19 ]. People who find UGBS attractive, pleasant and safe are more likely to use them, whereas those, especially females, who feel unsafe will tend to avoid them entirely [ 16 ]. While there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that contact with nature, often referred to as UGBS is associated with multiple health benefits and wellbeing impacts [ 20 ], it may also have potentially negative effects (i.e., ecosystem disservices) and health risks [ 13 , 21 ]. Thus, lack of planning in the design and management of urban spaces and in the choice of ornamental species has been among the factors triggering pollen allergy which is one of the most widespread diseases in urban populations [ 22 ]. The selection of species is very important for the quality of the air in our cities, for examples high Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) emitter trees might contribute to ozone formation [ 23 ]. Moreover, when BVOCs from UGBS occur in urban areas with high human population densities (e.g., compact cities), they can have much greater health damages than those from natural forests [ 24 ].

Additionally, people using UGBS could potentially come into contact with Borrelia infected ticks [ 25 ]. Without research-based knowledge and public support, UGBS could fail to meet community needs and attract undesirable elements or activities and, in extreme cases, be utterly abandoned by users [ 26 , 27 ]. Poor design of UGBS can produce several significant social costs and setbacks [ 28 ] ( Table 1 ).

Types of urban space and their effect and social costs due to poorly designed UGBS (urban green and blue space) [ 28 ].

Scientific literature has mostly focused on approaches that examine ecosystem services provision, perception, use and quality of UGBS. Three Eurocentric perspectives illustrate notable examples. First, Bertram and Rehdanz [ 29 ] analysed cultural ecosystem services provided by urban parks in four European cities. They compared attitudes toward ecosystem services provision, perception and use of urban parks by investigating park visitors. Results indicated similarities between cities and the importance of different park characteristics. Second, Arnberger and Eder [ 30 ] developed a conceptual framework of integrating physical and social characteristics of different green spaces throughout Vienna, Austria by examining preferences of 692 on-site visitors. They found visitors, generally, preferred green space when seeking stress relief. Third, Natural England [ 31 ] developed the ‘Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard’ for England which recommends everyone, wherever they live, should have accessible green space. These guidelines point out the amount of accessible green space for each individual. On the other hand, ‘formal greenspaces’ (e.g., parks and residential gardens or yards) may not be sufficient to meet some residents’ needs, especially in denser environments [ 32 , 33 ]. To this end, Rupprecht et al. [ 33 ] have examined how residents perceived and used informal green spaces (IGS) (i.e., vacant lots, street or railway verges and riverbanks) in Brisbane, Australia and Sapporo, Japan. They found that respondents in both cities knew, appreciated and used IGS in their neighbourhood and were attracted by its proximity, natural features and absence of use restrictions but also valued a certain level of human influence. In terms of accessibility, it was found that Brisbane’s IGS levels were 78 % accessible, 7 % partially accessible and 15 % not accessible, while in Sapporo it was slightly different with 68 %, 21 % and 11 %, respectively [ 34 ].

We have determined that perception, use, quality and accessibility of UGBS and also IGS play a dynamic part in educating planners and intelligentsia by way of knowledge and fruitful design of modern compact cities. Ensuring human comfort, by designers and landscape architects alike, the use of green areas and a cyclic process of rethinking via the exemplification of reinvention, transformation, perception and evaluation is required.

3. Green Space Availability and Novel Approaches for the Design and Planning of Compact Cities

UGS availability, to date, historically relates to the chronology of events and activities that have occurred and decisions that have been formulated over the past few centuries; from a historical perspective, urban complexities have spotlighted a number of key indicators that have propelled improvements in human health, wellbeing and socio-ecological interactions within urban environments (e.g., urban centres providing a per-capita threshold value for UGS or implementing a minimum distance to available green space) [ 35 ]. The World Health Organization [ 36 ] recommended the availability of a minimum of 9 m 2 of green space per individual with an ideal UGS value of 50 m 2 per capita. These statistical values correlate with a number of UGS standards, including: (1) linkages between sustainable cities and better health, (2) core health indicators to monitor progress and identify success, (3) expanding indicators values (e.g., governance indicators, access to health and sanitation services, food markets and urban infrastructure for social, recreation and livelihoods), (4) adding value to health indicators and (5) feasibility of data reporting via cross-cutting issues (e.g., equity, governance and climate change). In retrospect to the amount of greenery and relating UGS availability in cities and urban areas we delineate a linkage between the World Health Organization’s UGS values with a reduced amount of social and environmental discontent [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].

An example of an ideal compact city is Ljubljana, Slovenia, awarded the 2016 European Green Capital, in which almost 560 m 2 of UGS is available per inhabitant and virtually all its residential zones lie within a 300 m radius from public green space [ 41 ]. Over the past two decades, Ljubljana’s transformation—via urban planning, landscape architectural provision and sustainability thinking—has significantly propelled it from its Socialist past toward a modern ‘green,’ compact city ( Figure 1 ). This emphasis on UGS policy has focalised the city on restorative and conservation-leaning development. Urban development, in the context of sustaining city compactness, is directed primarily on regeneration and renewal of existing developed areas and the rehabilitation of degraded ones [ 42 ]. At present, Ljubljana’s high level of environmental awareness has it as one of the world's most sustainable cities, ranking in the top 100 for the third time.

Ljubljana, Slovenia 2016 European Green Capital: ( 1 ) Panoramic view of the city’s vegetation, ( 2 ) Vegetation along canals, ( 3 ) Large trees and canopy cover (Photographs taken by G. T. Cirella, 22 October 2017).

Correspondingly, Badiu et al. [ 43 ] maintain UGS per capita is not the target but the process, in which urban green planners can focus on developing UGI-related models that are adaptable to varying urban areas. A major challenge in urban design and urban planning approaches to health promotion is the difficulties associated with modifying existing environments (e.g., limited spaces for tree plantation) [ 44 ]. However, based on the literature, there is a growing amount of information that supports alternative planning and planning-based approaches that detail compact urban centres that exclusively advocate habitat-friendly areas. Example concepts for contemporary city planning include: UGI, nature-based solutions, biophilic urbanism, sponge cities (e.g., Shanghai and Wuhan in China) [ 45 ], forest cities, edible green infrastructure, eco-urbanism and landscape urbanism.

UGI and nature-based solutions are terms that are frequently applied interchangeably; they both integrate natural systems with build systems and are often reported as having a key role in achieving a future-oriented compact city framework—both for liveability and sustainability [ 7 , 46 ]. The city of Singapore is often reported as an example of successful biophilic urbanism in which a shift in vision from a ‘garden city’ to a ‘city in a garden’ has slowly been developed over the past few decades [ 47 , 48 ]. An example of this development is the visionary project, with estimated costs of USD 750 million, in and around the Marina Bay Sands area—referred to as the ‘Gardens by the Bay.’ It features extraordinary nature-based systems built with a regenerative design of reclaiming foreshore and natural aesthetic beauty [ 47 ]. The project brings to life Singapore’s National Parks Board Service of creating a ‘city in a garden’ approach with iconic features, including the landmark ‘Supertree Grove’ in which tree-like vertical gardens, measuring between 25 and 50 meters tall, have been designed with large canopies that provide shade in the day and come alive with an exhilarating display of light and sound at night ( Figure 2 ) [ 49 ].

Singapore ‘Gardens by the Bay’: ( 1 ) Close up of the ‘Supertree Grove’, ( 2 ) Panoramic sunset view of the elevated walkway called OCBC Skyway, ( 3 ) Walking environment and scale of the gardens (Photographs taken by Mark Chan, 2014–2015).

Another example is Chicago, due to a billion-dollar investment since 2001, in which a wide range of projects, including the creation of new gardens and natural areas like Millennium Park and Palmisano Nature Park (i.e., a twenty-seven acre park created from an old stone quarry in the South Side Bridgeport neighbourhood) have revamped the greenery and UGS city-wide [ 50 ]. Conversely, biophilic urbanism takes into account the integration of building systems that focus on sustainable vegetation practices (e.g., by managing water and energy consumption) as well as design, installation and maintenance costs [ 51 ]. The re-naturing processes of cities with non-native species often can have a damaging effect (i.e., ecosystem disservices) and, correspondingly, high management costs. An example of this unsustainable course of action is the city of Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates), a water scarce area, which fronts exceedingly high maintenance costs and irrigation requirements ( Figure 3 ). A policy intervention that considers alternative ecologically oriented design is urgently required in much of the Middle East. One failed example, is a lack of policy for landscape designers in utilising native plant species [ 52 ]. To our knowledge, Abu Dhabi, UAE, is the only major Middle Eastern city focalising on such regulations by way of its innovative green standards. Its design methodology, named ‘Estidama,’ the Arabic word for sustainability, constructs and operates buildings and communities by imposing building codes that are green-friendly, while still recognising its unique regional needs and expansive demands [ 53 ].

Dubai, UAE: ( 1 ) Dubai Miracle Garden with surrounding ‘green’ wall barrier in background, ( 2 ) Dubai Miracle Garden with integrated shading structures, ( 3 ) Dubai Marina with high-rise buildings and green rooftops, ( 4 ) Dubai Streetscape (Photographs taken by A. Russo, 13 November 2015).

Using a combination of approaches and information (e.g., sustainable design guidelines, biophilic design approach, IUCN (International Union For Conservation Of Nature) Best Practices Guidelines, UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific And Cultural Organization) Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) and healing garden design approach [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]), cities can be regenerated by fashioning the thesis of ‘city in a garden’ to enrich ecosystem services, wellbeing and mental health ( Figure 4 ).

Landscape architectural designs and features of compact cities, promoting ecosystem services, biodiversity, mental health and wellbeing, include: ( 1 ) urban forest/urban parks, ( 2 ) allotment gardens, ( 3 ) vegetable raingardens, ( 4 ) edible green roofs, ( 5 ) detention and retention ponds/wildlife ponds, ( 6 ) street trees, ( 7 ) bioswales, ( 8 ) domestic/rain gardens, ( 9 ) building integrated vegetation (e.g., biodiverse green roofs, green walls and climbing plants).

For example, the IUCN Best Practices Guidelines help to infuse nature into the built environment and break down the cultural barriers between ‘nature’ and ‘urban.’ According to these guidelines, there are three different ways of incorporating nature into the larger urban picture, this can be done via: (1) comprehensive, interdisciplinary scientific studies; (2) comprehensive local biodiversity strategies (e.g., Cape Town Biodiversity Strategy and Connecting with London’s Nature: The Mayor’s Biodiversity Strategy); and (3) region-wide coalitions (e.g., Chicago Wilderness and the London Biodiversity Partnership) [ 54 ]. The ecosystem approach, developed by UNESCO MAB, defines a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources; it promotes conservation and sustainable use of resources in an equitable way [ 58 , 59 ]. In the Asia-Pacific, the principles of the ecosystem approach has been applied to a green rooftop in Seoul, Korea which (1) created a set of goals in securing green areas and biotopes in the downtown area, (2) created an urban eco-network, (3) procured a base for urban ecosystem study and environmental education and (4) disseminated ideas of coexistence between nature and a variety of subsets (i.e., humankind, wetlands, meadows, scrubs and woodlands, wall revegetation and a vegetable field) [ 59 ]. The UNESCO MAB working group identified four different categories of urban biosphere reserves ( Figure 5 ) [ 58 ], in which Dogse [ 57 ] characterised it as “important urban areas within or adjacent to its boundaries where the natural, socioeconomic and cultural environments are shaped by urban influences and pressures and set up and managed to mitigate these pressures for improved urban and regional sustainability”.

Types of biosphere reserves (Source: adapted from the 2018 UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme, city image designed using ikatod|Freepik).

Dogse [ 57 ] is describing Category 1: Urban green belt biosphere reserve in Figure 4 in which a circular ring around a central urban area is depicted; some example cities include: Lucca, Italy; Capalaba, Australia; Munster, Germany; and Cracow’s Old Town, Poland ( Figure 6 ). The remaining three categories in Figure 5 exemplify the varying options researched via UNESCO MAB and illustrate the capacious possibilities of UGS integration and approaches for the design and planning of compact cities.

Examples of urban green belt biosphere reserves: ( 1 ) Lucca, Italy; ( 2 ) Capalaba, Australia; ( 3 ) Munster, Germany; ( 4 ) Cracow’s Old Town, Poland (Source: aerial views from Google Earth).

Future compact cities should also consider food insecurity and hunger. To this end, edible green infrastructure is a novel approach for the design of “edible cities” that have the potential to improve resilience and quality of life in cities as well as prevent food insecurity. Edible green infrastructure is a sustainable planned network of edible food components and structures within the urban ecosystem which are managed and designed to provide primarily provisioning ecosystem services. Typologies are based upon one macro category (i.e., edible green infrastructure and urban agriculture) as well as eight sub-classifications: (1) edible urban forests and edible urban greening, (2) edible forest gardens, (3) historic gardens and parks and botanic gardens, (4) school gardens, (5) allotment gardens and community gardens, (6) domestic and home gardens, (7) edible green roofs and vegetable rain gardens and (8) edible green walls and facades [ 13 ].

A new concept of vertical forests is gaining popularity as it promotes the coexistence of architecture and nature in urban areas [ 60 , 61 ]. Recently in the Asia-Pacific, a futuristic approach of forest cities has been proposed to deal with air pollution problems in China, the prototype of a new generation of small, compact and green cities, composed by dozens of tall and middle size buildings—the so called “Vertical Forests”—all surrounded by the leaves of trees (ranging from 3–9 m in height), shrubs and flowering plants [ 62 ]. Moreover, the vertical forests concept promotes biodiversity in cities since buildings are designed to be inhabited not only by humans but also by birds and insects. This regenerative practice takes place without the implication of expanding the city upon territory [ 61 ].

Again, the Asia-Pacific region has developed a notable project that is under development this year Tengah, Singapore; it is the first “Forest Town” that is fully integrated with its surrounding ecosystem with greenery formations as the main structural foundation of the town. Tengah will offer 42,000 residential dwelling units within five distinct districts: (1) Garden District, (2) Park District, (3) Brickland District, (4) Forest Hill and (5) Plantation District (i.e., home for the community farming). The key attraction will be an approximately 100 meter-wide forest corridor which will provide ample space for residents to enjoy nature and relating nature-based services. A large central park will serve as the ‘green lung’ for Tengah. The park will be integrated with ponds and canals, providing lush greenery and recreational promenades [ 63 ].

Another novel concept is the healing garden design approach used by Lau and Yang [ 64 ] in which a compact university campus in Hong Kong was built; its design enhanced health benefits and has produced a healthier university environment. A healing garden is ‘‘a garden in a healing setting designed to make people feel better’’ [ 65 ]. This approach can also be applied at the city-scale. The applicability of the SITES Rating System and specifically its site-specific performance benchmarks support the application of this approach, on the basis of: (1) using the concept of ecosystem services; (2) understanding natural processes; (3) uniting interdisciplinary best practices in landscape architecture, ecological restoration and related fields; and (4) acquiring knowledge-base through scientific literature, case-study precedents and SITES pilot projects [ 56 , 66 ]. Table 2 includes several strategies for the design of a ‘city in a garden,’ which takes into consideration ecosystem disservices [ 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ].

Compact cities site-specific performance benchmarks and design strategies and measures.

BVOC: Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds.

By achieving these benchmarks, UGS site-specific performance in collaboration with the maintenance, support and enhancement of natural systems has proven to be an emerging indicator-based approach for the design and planning of compact cities. Well planned, maintained and designed compact cities have the potential to be both an environmentally sustainable and a liveable option [ 5 ]. However, the modern green city vision seems to make room only for park space, waterfront cafes and luxury ‘Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’ certified buildings, prompting fear that there is no space for “sustainable” urban centres inclusive of industrial usages and the working class [ 74 ]. This modern vision can lead to negative social effects, for example, eco-gentrification can arise even when the primary motive in UGS provision addresses environmental injustice in its distribution [ 75 ]. Hence, the use of IGS has been proposed as an anti-gentrification strategy [ 76 ]. Furthermore, IGS is an emerging topic in urban greening research and plays a valuable role in providing a number of ecological and sociological benefits for urban residents [ 77 , 78 ]. IGS has no monetary cost of plant establishment or persistence and has the potential to improve human health and wellbeing and connect residents with nature [ 78 ].

Recently, South et al. [ 79 ] found the greening of vacant urban land, which includes the cleaning and greening of vacant lots via a standard, reproducible process of removing trash and debris, grading the land, planting new grass and a small number of trees, installing a low wooden perimeter fence with openings and performing regular maintenance, reduce self-reported poor mental health in community dwelling adults. In reference with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, “Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, UGS harmonises this by augmenting urban productivity, social development and liveability—directly affecting people and their ability to advance socially and economically. Consequentially, the cyclic relationship socioeconomics and sustainable practices live up to is reflective of societal advancement and willingness to pay attention to the quality of urban development and the environment. A multiplicity of sustainability initiatives that are key to this advancement include: poverty reduction, social capital formation, good governance processes and partnerships, effective planning and management and equitable distribution of resources [ 80 ]. As a result, advanced societies are more inclined to consider these initiatives when considering and developing UGS-oriented city practices.

4. Conclusions

Provisional designs of modern compact cities reported positive integration of UGS due to socio-perception and -behavioural attributes by green space users [ 81 , 82 ]. Much of the data relates to the dose-response conceptual framework that unravels the intricacies between UGS and health [ 83 , 84 ]. We deem this framework as a positive, forward thinking pathway for the modernisation of smart, compact cities throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Cities can be compact as well as ‘green,’ with meticulous attention paid to every aspect of the urban greening complex [ 85 ]. Urban planners, landscape architects and policy makers need to pay more attention to the quality of UGS and not only to the quantity [ 17 ]. Daily, people need to be in contact with nature; UGS can supply this need. For urban inhabitants, UGS is often the only source of nature-based interaction readily available within any reasonable distance; hence, the question of how much greenery a person needs is very relevant. The determined minimums by the World Health Organization conclude that, at a societal level, urban dwellers are happier and healthier when those minimums are exceeded [ 36 ]. This paper, as well as previous literature, indicates that planning practices for densification and the creation of compact cities needs to permit inclusion of UGS by way of close proximity, coherent design and sufficient size, variation, maintenance and person-to-person engagement (e.g., gardening or participatory processes) [ 86 ]. There has been recent talk of revitalising Ruskin [ 87 ] and Howard’s [ 88 ] dream of garden city living; this can be done if ecologists, landscape planners and designers smartly and attractively design high-density urban environments to include high-quality, biodiverse green space and achieve multiple functions for both people and wildlife [ 89 ]. Our underlying theme has been to develop and maintain ecologically resilient urbanisation in correlation with its rapid development. This premise has steered us toward understanding the modern compact city and, specifically, the ‘city in a garden’ approach; future best practices will need to ask how UGI requirements are being met and what UGS requirements are needed by planners and designers alike when considering future city designs. We have touched upon a variety of novel approaches and stress the importance of further research and expertise within this interdisciplinary field. Intrinsically, cities are multi-dimensional in character, rather than single. They contain the intersection of interacting components and interdependent parts of urban development and the informal urban activities that influence urban infrastructure provision and services. These provisions and services are a part of a cyclic socioeconomic relationship in which sustainability-oriented thinking is future-oriented. Such multiple interdependencies to developing UGS is a topic of further research, as it examines potential advancement of welfare and wellbeing of city dwellers as well as the adaptability for future generations. Our hope is to expand knowledge-base and work toward modernising compact cities in a sound, sustainable and vibrant manner.

Acknowledgments

Sincere thank you to Ayob Bin Ismail and Mark Chan for helping us with professional images of the ‘Gardens by the Bay’ in Singapore.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation and Resources, A.R.; Validation, Formal Analysis and Investigation, A.R. and G.T.C.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, A.R.; Writing—Review & Editing, A.R. and G.T.C.; Visualisation and Project Administration, A.R.; Supervision, G.T.C.; Funding Acquisition, A.R. and G.T.C.

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Environmental Activism in Russia: Strategies and Prospects

Photo: OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary by Angelina Davydova

Published March 3, 2021

Despite growing pressure on civil society activists and opposition leaders, grassroots environmental activism is on the rise in Russia. How have these movements evolved and adapted? What forms do they take now? And what is the future of environmental activism in Russia?

The last few years have witnessed growing environmental awareness across Russia’s regions, both according to polls and the number of observed protest movements and campaigns. (A good mapping of such protests can be found on crowd-sourcing platform Activatica .) These campaigns aim to tackle regional, local, or hyper-local problems and address a range of concerns: locally polluting enterprises, new and potentially hazardous factories and waste incinerators, the expansion of coal mines, a lack of access to trustworthy data about environmental pollution, the destruction of green spaces in urban areas, illegal logging, and the water pollution. 

A number of factors contribute to this growing environmental awareness and activism. For one, the international “green” agenda has brought environmental concerns to the forefront of domestic political, societal, and media discussions. Research increasingly draws a link between high income levels and environmental awareness (even as the increased consumption of high earners raises their carbon footprint ). Although Russians’ real disposable incomes have mostly declined since 2014, the country’s GDP per capita has nearly doubled since 2000. Russians now find that it has become “normal” to care about environmental issues, demand access to environmental data, and worry about potential health hazards from environmental pollution. Indeed, 35 percent of Russians are ready to take part in environmental protests, according to a survey conducted by a number of sociological centers in the fall of 2020, with particular concern over industrial water pollution, illegal logging, illegal or mismanaged waste landfills, and urban water pollution. Another study from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VSIOM) published in August 2020 revealed one in four Russians has begun to think more about environmental issues during the pandemic due to overall increased attention to health. The Levada Center, an independent pollster, found that 84 percent of Russians are worried about environmental problems; of those, 25 percent expressed highest concern over air pollution, 15 percent over water pollution, and 11 percent over waste management.

This growth in environmental awareness in Russia has coincided with a growing concern that local natural resources—“our land” and  “our forests”—are exploited or mismanaged by multinational or domestic companies, and that profits from these resources are whisked away to Moscow or foreign capitals to the detriment of local communities. In this sense, heightened environmental awareness intermingles with Russia’s traditional center-region cultural and political divide and growing regional inequalities .

The landscape for environmental activism in Russia is more fluid and decentralized than in the West—but it has grown. New environmental groups in Russia are informal and frequently do not register as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Rather, they spring up around a particular issue and often dissolve once it has been addressed, only occasionally evolving into a larger and more permanent association. Despite their informal structures, many of these new civil society groups have managed to attract impressive levels of public attention and support, aptly utilizing both traditional and new media and building up capacity and involvement structures through online tools. One example is the successful campaign around the Shies settlement in the Archangelsk region of northern Russia, where for months local activists have sustained an encampment to block the construction of a landfill for household waste from Moscow.

These grassroots movements and groups provoke a range of reactions from state authorities. Some are tolerated and even brought into the policy process (e.g., “officially” invited into advisory councils). Occasionally, these campaigns also lead to real change. Such was the case in Bashkiria, where recent protests over limestone mining in a hillside viewed by local residents as sacred led to the cancellation of the project .

More often, however, campaigns butt up against political realities, leading to the prosecution of activists and even physical threats and abuse toward to them by state institutions, often on behalf of a private company. A case in point would be persecution of activists from the Voronezh region for fighting against copper and nickel exploration plans on agricultural lands, even though these plans have been put on hold. A recent report by the Russian Socio-Ecological Union highlights 169 episodes of pressure on 450 eco-activists in 26 regions of Russia in 2020. One activist was killed, 15 were injured or had their property damaged, and 14 criminal and 264 administrative cases were initiated against eco-activists. “Most cases of pressure on eco-activists are connected with the extraction of natural resources, waste management, polluting industries and construction projects,” the report says.

Types of Activism

Environmental activism in Russia falls into several categories.

Protest groups

The first category tends to work mostly on short-lived campaigns directed against a local source of pollution (i.e., a factory or an incineration plant) or against plans to erect new infrastructure on an existing green space, particularly in urban areas. Participants in this category tend to be residents of the region or neighborhood who organize through social networks and then dissolve once their cause is addressed. Occasionally, these groups form networks or associations based on common interests and causes, such as the Green Coalition of St. Petersburg , which aims to unite all grassroots groups fighting against demolition of parks and green zones, or the Association of Eco-Groups of Moscow and Moscow Region

Grassroots environmental groups

The second type of group tends to focus on issues that are absent from the governmental agenda: recycling , sustainable or ethical consumption , urban greening , and more. An example here would be the movement Razdelny Sbor (“Separate Selection”), which created a system of recycling points across many Russian cities. These types of groups rarely engage in protest activities and tend to focus their energies and resources on lobbying and engaging the general public though traditional and social media.

Environmental watchdogs

The third genre of environmental activism in Russia focuses on public monitoring and oversight of environmental and urban policy at the federal, regional, and municipal level, including project implementation and public funds spending. Watchdogs might also provide alternate estimations of environmental data (especially when data is not available or reliable) or initiate campaigns for access to environmental data, demanding transparency and accountability. Examples here include grassroots initiatives to create alternative, civic-based monitoring of air pollution in Krasnoyarsk , Chelyabinsk , and Moscow .

Activists also use a variety of tactics to achieve their goals.

Social media and informational technology

Social media platforms, including VK, Facebook, WhatsApp, and increasingly Telegram, are the lifeblood of new environmental groups. They are used to report news and provide updates on activities and achievements, publish statistics, mobilize public support, and raise awareness over the campaign’s cause. A number of activists from environmental campaigns have also launched their own personal blogs, which act as self-run media sources offering personal takes on recent changes in legislation and synchronizing campaign updates and news. Anna Garkusha of Razdelny Sbor, for example, runs a popular blog on recycling and waste policy.

Another distinct feature of the new wave of environmental movements in Russia is the use of information technology and open-source data tools, including mapping, organized hackathons, and web platforms, apps, and other user-friendly interfaces that facilitate wider communication and greater involvement of the general public. Several environmental groups cooperate closely with experts or activists from the tech industry. An interesting example here is Teplitsa Sozialnykh Technologiy (“A Greenhouse for Social Technologies”), an NGO resource center that helps activist groups better use online technologies and digital tools and solutions in their work and campaigns.

Engagement with authorities

Although civil groups face growing pressure in Russia, there are plenty of examples of environmental NGOs and activists working through more formal channels to achieve their political aims. For example, Moscow’s annual Russian Civil Forum provides a space for representatives of established environmental NGOs and new environmental groups to try to coordinate with each other and align their positions on environmental policy issues. In addition, the Russian Social Ecological Union’s annual conference convenes representatives of Russian civil society groups (both registered and grassroots groups) working on energy efficiency and renewable energy issues to develop positions in support of or against international and Russian climate policy. These position points are later shared with Russian decisionmakers on climate change policy and with the international community at UN climate conferences. However, productive engagement with authorities is not always politically feasible—in particular when the object of protest concerns an investment project or a corruption scheme involving both local authorities and companies. Here, too, there are no set rules. Citizens may organize protest campaigns and attempt to attract the attention of regional or federal authorities via media and popular mobilization; go to the courts with the backing of professional lawyers, many of whom are also supported by NGOs such as Bellona or Greenpeace; enter into a dialogue with the local authorities via the civic chamber or similar structures; or combine these tactics to build pressure at multiple levels. In some cases, activists are persecuted by regional authorities and forced to leave the region (and even the country).

Regional authorities must walk a fine line between effectively managing environmental grievances and avoiding the heavy-handed persecution of activists or suppression of public opinion that could potentially damage their reputation. Indeed, a number of regional governors have lost their positions following large-scale environmental protests that they failed to tackle properly, at least in Moscow’s view. With this in mind, some governors are more willing to initiate dialogue with local activists just to avoid escalation.

Overall, the landscape for environmental activism in Russia is becoming more decentralized and less formal. A growing number of new groups and movements choose to remain unregistered entities—with no office, no full-time staff, and little or no budget—for a variety of political and societal reasons. First, repressive foreign agent legislation has raised the stakes for established NGOs who receive part of their financing from outside of Russia; increasingly, new environmental groups in Russia try to avoid any direct financing from abroad. Second, new groups try to preemptively avoid pressure from the authorities in the form of tax audits and health and fire code inspections that can lead to legal charges, fines, and even closure. Third, by skirting typical organizational or foundational structures, these groups can also claim to be closer to the ground and more connected to the immediate interests and concerns of local communities—working on local as opposed to global issues. More and more often, activism takes the form of crowdfunding campaigns or private donations only in an attempt to remain transparent to donors and accountable to constituencies.

Global movements

Even as activist structures have become more local and decentralized, youth climate activism in Russia has begun to gain steam over the past two years, in part due to the global “Fridays For Our Future” (FFF) and “Extinction Rebellion” movements. The first youth climate protest in Russia took place in March 2019, and FFF has existed in digital form throughout the pandemic, organizing online protests and forming policy positions.

Though part of a global movement, these youth groups have attempted to formulate a Russia-specific agenda and apply global climate rhetoric to local environmental campaigns. These groups combine the experience, expertise, and technologies of Russia’s environmental tradition—honed in fights against new coal and gas infrastructure and for accountability over oil spills and landfill mismanagement—and the language of the global youth, emphasizing unsustainable economic and social developments and calling for major policy reforms in the energy, waste, and transportation sectors. At times, however, these structural demands can sound too radical and unrealistic for some of Russia’s more established green groups.

Principles of Successful Activism

The past and current experiences of grassroots movements illustrate a framework for subsequent campaigns to follow. For an environmental activist movement to be successful in Russia, a number of factors must be in place: 

• The campaign must be truly local, with limited foreign support (which would be described and promoted as “meddling” and lead to accusations of “foreign agent” involvement that might ruin the reputation of a campaign or its leaders). 
• The cause must have widespread public support (including people eager and ready to invest their time and money into the cause). 
• The cause must be supported by the expert community. Support from Russian Greenpeace and WWF Russia, as well as other expert centers, environmental lawyers, registered NGOs, think tanks, and scientists, can help to raise the problem to the federal level.
• There must be a professional media and social media campaign to build up a network of trusted supporters across the country.
• The campaign needs passionate and courageous leaders who are willing to dedicate their time and energy for a significant amount of time. 

The Future of Environmental Activism in Russia

The development of environmental and climate activism in Russia is gradually changing the political and societal landscape. “Green” topics are gaining importance within the overall political agenda, both at the federal and regional level. As public awareness of environmental issues grows in Russia, companies are beginning to pay more attention as well. So far, most of these movements are concentrated around the local environmental agenda, but youth are bringing a more international outlook to the focus and methods of Russian environmental activism. In many ways, this activism lays the groundwork for a new and more engaged civil society in Russia, one that resists easy categorization but appears in many forms across Russia’s diverse regions.

Angelina Davydova is a visiting fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Commentary is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

© 2021 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.

Angelina Davydova

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Why Moscow is the greenest city in the world

A house at Nezhinskaya street, Moscow

According to WorldAtlas, 54 percent of Moscow’s territory is covered by public parks and gardens, making it the greenest city in the world .

There are 20 square meters of trees and shrubs per inhabitant in Moscow – many times more than in Tokyo, London or Beijing. This happened because of the combination of two factors: first, Moscow was initially built amongst the forests of the North-Eastern Russia, second, landscaping and greening started in Moscow as early as the 18th century.

Fortress on a forest hill

Apollinaryi Vasnetsov. The Trubnaya Square in Moscow in the 17th century.

Borovitsky hill, upon which the Moscow Kremlin stands, is named after the word ‘bor’ – ‘forest’ in Russian. And indeed, in the 11th century there was an oak grove here, where the central streets of Moscow are now. Another example is the Church of St. John the Evangelist under the Elm Tree, now on Novaya Square, not far away from the Kremlin. Historian of Moscow Pyotr Sytin believed this church had its name in honor of the dense forest that protected the eastern part of the Kremlin until the 15th century.

Church of St. John the Evangelist under the Elm Tree

In these places, spruce and pine trees predominated, which were actively cut down and used by the city's population for construction. The city was expanding, and the forest was being cut down at its outskirts for building new houses. But these ‘outskirts’ were so close to the Kremlin that it’s now the very center of the city – even in the 17th century, places like Trubnaya Square (a 20 minute walk from the Kremlin) were still largely green, and until the early 19th century, bushes and trees grew right beside the Kremlin wall, in the now obsolete Aloisios’ Ravine, constructed in the 16th century under the supervision of Italian architect Aloisio the New. However, the city’s greenery wasn’t organized in a systematic way.

The Boulevard Ring

Tverskoy Boulevard in Moscow, early 19th century

Catherine the Great, who wanted to update the old capital, ordered the construction of the Boulevard Ring. It took the place of the obsolete Belyi Gorod (‘White City’) fortification wall.

“Moscow is encircled by boulevards – they are not only an ornament, but also an important benefit,” Vladimir Odoevsky, a 19th century Russian journalist, wrote. “When foreigners, looking at the plan of Moscow, see this green ring, we are proud to explain to them that in winter and summer, both sick and healthy, and the elderly, and children can walk around the city, walk between the trees and not be afraid of being hit by a carriage.”

The Kremlin ravine, the 1800s

After the fire of 1812, another green ring appeared – the Sadovoye (‘Garden’) ring, a wide street encircling the fast-growing center and covered in private houses’ gardens.

Greened by the Reds

Sokolniki Park, Moscow

Rapid urbanization starting after the 1917 revolution brought swarms of new inhabitants to Moscow, and the old city had to adjust to the needs of the industrial state. Unfortunately, with the 1930s Stalinist plan of Moscow reconstruction, many historical buildings were demolished, and main streets turned into highways.

Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, Garden Ring, Moscow, 1928

In the 1930s, the Garden Ring was paved, trees at many squares and streets were cut down, there even were plans to destroy the Boulevard Ring, but fortunately they were not carried out. Georgy Popov (1906-1968), a Moscow Communist Party official, remembered that after WWII, in 1947, Stalin personally supervised the plans for re-greening the city center: “I remember how quickly we were deployed. We planted greenery on Dzerzhinsky Square (now Lubyanka Square), and in Okhotny Ryad, restored the garden on Sverdlov Square (now – Teatralnaya Square), and planted on Bolotnaya Square. Gorky Street was preplanted from Manezhnaya Square to Belorussky railway station. This was the first step in the greening of the central part of the city,” Popov wrote.

Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, Garden Ring, Moscow, 1936

In 1951, the Moscow government chose from as many as 272 projects for re-greening Moscow. By 1961, forestry workers had planted over 500,000 trees and shrubs in the city. Small-leaved linden, blue spruce, fir, western thuja, irga, golden currant, barberry, and roses.

Gorky Park, Moscow, 1979

The 1950s-1960s also saw the reconstruction of Moscow’s biggest public parks. Gorky Park, transformed in the 1930s from Neskuchny (‘Merry’’) Garden, a 19th century public leisure space, has seen over 2,000 trees and 25,000 shrubs planted annually. The total space of the park expanded to 2.2 sq km, and the total length of the park’s alleys reached 30 km.

In the 20th century, more big parks were organized in Moscow: Sokolniki (5.16 sq km), Izmailovsky (16 sq km), Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo (2.22 sq km), Bitsevski Park (22 sq km), and, most importantly, Losiny Ostrov National Park (116 sq km), the largest urban park in Europe.

Felling a tree, planting two

Japanese garden in Main Botanical Garden in Moscow

Currently, Moscow’s green affairs are under strict control from the city’s government. In 2010-2016, 432,000 trees and 3.5 million shrubs were planted, and since 2013, a government initiative called “A Million Trees” has been implemented, meant to plant vegetation inside the inner yards of apartment buildings, with the plants being chosen on a digital app platform by locals.

Cutting down a tree in Moscow (for example, during a house construction) is very difficult, and if you still have to resort to such a measure, then the developer is obliged to compensate for this by planting two trees. However, these rules do not yet apply to other Russian regions, even in close proximity to the city – for example, the Moscow Oblast’. In 2007-2012 in Khimki, a suburb in Moscow Oblast’, a part of forest containing ancient oaks was being cut down for a road construction project. The project was eventually implemented, and a section of toll road was organized, causing air pollution near the highway, and in addition, noise pollution in the forest.

According to Moscow government’s official portal , by the end of the year, over 5,000 trees and 136,000 shrubs will be planted in Moscow, so the city is not going to lose its status as the greenest capital of the world any time soon. However, the indexes of the air pollution in Moscow are still unfortunately high – the city is still Russia’s largest trade and industrial center. The World Air Quality index places Moscow in 27th place in the air pollution ranking.

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