Page 21 - “GREENING” THE CONTENT IN CXC® SYLLABUSES

E-LEARNING MODULES AND LEARNING GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

1.2: Appreciating Sustainability.

Objective 3: Discuss the need for Sustainability.

Read to Learn!

The Earth is our only home, where survival and development

are dependent on its capacity to meet our needs, without

compromising the needs of future generations. Sadly, the

climate and other environmental crises are accelerating at an
unprecedented rate, and we are not ready for it. According

to the United Nations Secretary General:

Biodiversity is collapsing. One million species are at risk of

extinction. Ecosystems are disappearing before our eyes. Deserts are spreading. Wetlands are

being lost. Every year, we lose 10 million hectares of forests. Oceans are overfished -- and choking
with plastic waste. The carbon dioxide they absorb is acidifying the seas. Coral reefs are bleached

and dying. Air and water pollution are killing 9 million people annually – more than six times the

current toll of the pandemic. And with people and livestock encroaching further into animal

habitats and disrupting wild spaces, we could see more viruses and other disease-causing agents
jump from animals to humans. Let us not forget that 75 per cent of new and emerging human

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infectious diseases are zoonotic . Additionally, the World Economic Forum 2020 recognised that
the top five global risks in terms of likelihood for 2020 are all environmental – they include

extreme weather events, failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation, environmental

9 https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sgspeech-the-state-of-planet.pdf
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