UNITED Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for protection of forests, land, and seas to  ensure the conservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems.

Guterres made the call in his message to mark the 2026 World Environment Day, globally marked on June 5.

The global event is marked this year with the theme, “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.”

He, therefore, urged countries to help communities adapt to the devastating impacts of drought and desertification, which according to him, “is already here.”

“And it means fulfilling climate finance promises to developing countries – to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen economies. This is the moment to act – for our environment and for our future,’’ he said.

According to him, in this World Environment Day, warning signals are everywhere. Guterres said the past eleven years had been the eleven hottest on record.

“And the damage goes far beyond rising temperatures – from polluted air to degraded land, collapsing ecosystems, and vanishing biodiversity. Harming health, destroying homes and deepening hunger.

“The world is heading for a temporary overshoot above 1.5 degrees. Every fraction of a degree brings greater harm – especially to the most vulnerable,’’ he said.

The UN chief emphasised the need to keep the world temperature within the normal 1.5 degrees.

“Our task is to make that overshoot as small, as short, and as safe as possible, and rapidly bring temperatures back down.

“That means slashing emissions and accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables as the only sustainable path to lower costs and to real energy security.

“Cutting methane, one of the fastest, is also one of the cheapest ways to limit near-term warming,” he said. (NAN)