caring for the environment essay

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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Caring for the Environment: 7 Reasons to Protect & Sustain Earth

If the environment is destroyed, there’s nowhere to escape to, so here are seven reasons to start caring about the state of the earth.

Green Coast is supported by its readers. We may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through a link on this page . Learn more .

The environment has become a prominent but controversial talking point in modern times. We all understand that many of the natural resources we consume are not infinite, and problems like air pollution and waste management aren’t going to go away without taking action.

However, a lot of the headline discourse on environmental issues is going on at a political level, far away from the mundanities of everyday life. This means it’s easy to wonder why should we care for the environment, especially if you’re not glued to the news.

If you’re looking for the reasons why we should care for the environment, this article explores the seven key reasons why the environment and its care should matter to every person on the planet.

What do we mean when we refer to ‘the environment’?

Put plainly, the environment is the sum of all living and non-living things on Earth (including climate, radiation, electrical phenomena, and weather) and their non-artificial relationships and interactions. The natural environment exists on a continuum with environments that are artificial or at least heavily influenced by man.

The environment spans vast natural ecosystems, including rock, soil, water, and vegetation. Natural resources like fossil fuels and the atmosphere are also part. Constituent ecosystems within the environment consist of various forms of life, ranging from microorganisms to animals.

Of course, the environment we experience today has been shaped by the activity of man. Built environments are the opposite of natural environments and have been completely modified and developed to meet the requirements of man. Examples of built environments are farms and cities where the natural environment has been altered or effaced, and something else is in its place.

The environment has been impacted by the activity of mankind with contemporary challenges that include:

• Biodiversity loss
• Natural resource depletion
• Atmospheric and climatic changes

7 reasons why we should protect the environment?

1. environmental degradation is destroying our health.

The material benefits of the industrial revolution to much of the world are undeniable, but one of the major downsides of industrialization has been the massive amounts of pollution generated, with a catastrophic impact on human health.

Pollution generated by industrial processes such as mining, transportation, manufacturing, energy generation, and even food processing is incredibly pernicious, affecting almost every organ system in the body.

In many cases, such as the Dupont PFOA scandal , the DDT controversy, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the environment has been deliberately damaged through the dumping of industrial waste or negligent operational procedures.

Recognized effects of environmental pollution on human health include:

Respiratory disease

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental issues and has been suggested by the UN to cause over 7 million premature deaths each year. Urban areas are particularly affected by dense particulate pollution that can cause or exacerbate respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, and COPD.

In addition, indoor air pollution due to inadequately ventilated cooking or heating puts over a quarter of the world’s population at risk of developing cardiovascular or respiratory health problems.

Reproductive disorders

In many parts of the world, the environment has been polluted by the persistence of a variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These ubiquitous chemicals, which include pesticides, plastics, heavy metals, and the oral contraceptive pill, disrupt the hormone-controlled reproductive processes of humans and animals.

Reproductive disorders like infertility, subfertility, and menstrual disorders may be driven by the pernicious effects of endocrine disruptors in our environment. Sampled average male sperm counts have decreased significantly since the middle of the 20th century, and the downward trend is accelerating.

Environmental pollution has led to the widespread dissemination of cancer-causing chemicals called carcinogens. These substances are incredibly diverse and include byproducts of combustion, pesticides, hazardous waste, and ionizing radiation.

Prolonged exposure to these agents has been implicated in the development of cancers in people of all ages. For example, people living in environments with high levels of PM2.5 particulate pollution are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer.

2. Destruction of the environment puts the global food supply at risk

Environmental welfare is a distant thought when we buy our food from grocery stores and markets, but the effects of environmental damage are evident to the food producers who rely on clean water, fertile soil, and a supportive climate to grow and raise our food.

Agriculture is reliant on the environment but can also be one of the biggest polluters due to the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and the generation of agricultural waste. This essential sector is now being threatened by environmental damage in a variety of ways. Examples include:

• Decreasing biodiversity and soil degradation because of intensive farming techniques.
• Loss of viable agricultural land because of the physical presence of a landfill.
• Long-term land and water contamination from landfill leachate.
• Soil and water contamination due to the improper disposal of hazardous waste.
• Pesticides cause the loss of natural pollinators like bees, wasps, and other insects.
• Land loss because of desertification or flooding, driven by climate change. 
• Loss of farmland to construction to accommodate urban sprawl .

The effects of environmental changes may not be apparent in economically advanced countries because they can afford to import food. But poorer countries have a greater dependence on their domestic agricultural production to supply their food. These countries may also be food exporters, putting pressure on available land and compromising food security.

3. Caring for the environment helps us to live productive lives

The welfare of the environment is also important to our ability to work and the wider economy. Pollution has tangible human and economic costs that impact the lives of communities and nations.

According to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health pollution and environmental damage cost the global economy up to $4.6 trillion per year, more than 6% of the total economic output of the world! A large contribution to this sum is the loss of human productivity from health problems, polluted land, and population displacement due to environmental changes.

Human activity needs to be sustainable if we are to maintain our environment long-term and lead productive healthy lives. Developing sustainable ways of living and managing the Earth’s resources is, in fact, a major economic opportunity that could lift billions of people out of poverty.

For example, the $65 billion the United States has invested in air pollution control since the 1970s has yielded over $1.5 trillion in economic benefit. New and innovative solutions for the world’s most challenging environmental problems could lead to commercial sectors that every country can access and use profitably. 

4. Environmental integrity promotes peace

Though the causes of war are multifactorial, environmental degradation can be a significant stressor as nations and communities compete for dwindling natural resources. Over the last century, there have been numerous domestic and international conflicts as nations and people fight over water, land for agriculture and grazing, and natural resources.

Environmental changes like deforestation and desertification limit the natural resources available to communities. In pastoral or subsistence farming communities, the integrity and resilience of the environment can be the difference between life and death and increases the potential for struggles for the remaining land.

Wars damage and pollute the environment, exacerbating the scarcity surviving people experience. There needs to be a global effort to ensure that environmental conditions do not deteriorate in the poorest and most challenged regions so that people are less likely to resort to conflict.

5. Protecting the environment prevents the displacement of people 

Migration is a global issue that is heavily affected by environmental degradation. Pollution, drought, and local climate and weather changes are making parts of the earth uninhabitable for existing populations and leading to involuntary migration.

Environmentally displaced people

These people termed ‘Environmentally displaced people’, have no choice but to leave regions that have been degraded by environmental degradation or natural disasters, leaving them unable to pursue their livelihoods.

Large population shifts because of environmental change 

The neglect of environmental issues and subsequent stress and degradation could lead to upward of 200 million people being forced to leave their homeland and resettle by 2050. According to Oxford University’s Refugees Studies Center , countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, and Somalia as well as the Pacific island are already affected by this problem.

6. Future generations will have to survive on the Earth we leave behind 

We are responsible for the environmental legacy we leave to future generations. All human activity affects the environment in some way. Sustained negative impact on ecosystems, will lead to the depletion of natural resources and loss of biodiversity, leaving the next generation to inherit our contaminated land, water, and air.

Unrestrained consumption leads to loss of resources

We are currently in the midst of a massive loss of biodiversity, with 25% of wild species facing extinction. This leaves the world a poorer and ecologically scarcer place with the absence of species that may have performed vital but unrecognized roles.

Industry and governmental stakeholders are already aware that the current rate of consumption of natural resources like oil may become critically diminished as the decades roll on. Future generations may not be able to live a lifestyle similar to the ones we’re used to.

However, the outlook isn’t all negative. Recognizing the need to care for the environment returns us precious time to remedy current environmental problems and find new ways to live more sustainably . With effort and investment, we may be able to leave the Earth better than we found it.

7. We are all called to be stewards of the environment we have received

Whatever your belief system, there is an innate understanding of our sovereignty and the need for us to become stewards of the resources that are in our care. Over millennia, mankind has cultivated and tended to its immediate environment with plant and animal husbandry continuing to be a key means of survival to the present day.

But, the mass production of goods and services and careless consumer culture has robbed many people of the sense of responsibility and moral obligation by which efforts could be made to live in a way that is less environmentally damaging. Not caring for or about the environment often serves the agenda of corporate interests that want to sell products at all costs.

Environmental damage for profit

Much of the damage to the environment has not been committed by individuals but by corporations who have exploited environmental resources for profits and polluted carelessly. Great wealth has been generated and is now held by stakeholders who have taught populations the consumerism that is now condemned. 

Control of populations 

Since the early 20th century, urbanization has accelerated . At the start of the 20th century, half of Americans lived on farms . The number of farms in the US has steadily declined from 7 million in the 1930s to 2 million today.

The impact of this massive shift in how people live, and work is that vast populations are completely disconnected from the land and obligated to be consumers of food and goods with little choice or say in how they are produced. This alienation is often the root of indifference to environmental issues across the world.

Making the individual a stakeholder

Fostering engaged, self-determining communities that care for the environment would require whole populations to regain sovereignty that has been ceded to commercial and governmental interests, with critical thinking and reflection on how the present environmental challenges have arisen. 

Many governments espouse behavioral change, sustainability, and reduced resource consumption as the key solutions to the environmental challenges of the 21st century, but without the reclamation of personal responsibility and equitable access and ownership of land, these changes are likely to be cosmetic.

The environment affects everyone

For many people, their immediate environment in a city or town is completely removed from rainforests, rivers, deserts, and the natural disasters we hear about on the news.

Caring for their environment may involve picking up litter, recycling , or choosing to drive an electric car. It is hard to see how the daily activities of running a household and feeding oneself are connected to famines and droughts.

Many countries are geographically and economically shielded from the stark consequences of environmental degradation, but they cannot be indefinitely insulated. Famine, war, and migration are capable of reaching any shore, and decades of unrestrained pollution affect the health of everyone.

Caring for our environment is a must if we want to guarantee ourselves a healthy life, as well as a good life for future generations. Our environment is life-sustaining and must be preserved for all.

How can we save our Earth?

Across the world, people are rightly concerned about the state of the environment and want to take action to make things better. The are numerous initiatives and protest movements that are pressing for urgent changes to the way we live to mitigate environmental damage. 

However, the steps that need to be taken aren’t specific actions, behavioral or lifestyle changes. These are superficial as long as the stakeholders who undertake the most polluting activities for profit on an industrial scale can continue to do so without meaningful change.

In many countries, a significant amount of the waste the people diligently separate for recycling is landfilled because it costs ‘too much’ money to recycle. Electric vehicles run on electricity generated by cutting down trees and shipping them thousands of miles to be burnt, all for profit. Groceries clock up thousands of air miles when they could have been grown locally.

Here are some thoughts on how the environment can be helped:

Regain individual sovereignty

We’re only going to care for the environment when we cultivate personal responsibility and see ourselves as stakeholders in the environment we live in. We need to push back against the disenfranchisement that comes with consumerism and dig deeper.

Take time to learn about the state of our environment and its root causes, drawing information from a range of sources that you can critically evaluate. Think objectively about the way we live and the true cost of convenience in advanced economies.

Develop productive local communities

Armed with personal sovereignty, people can come together and reason to gain a collective, objective understanding of why environmental change has happened and what needs to be done. With cooperation, productivity can shift from taking place at a national or international level to a local scale so communities become resilient and truly sustainable.

Strengthen national sovereignty

With strong, locally productive communities, nations become better equipped to manage their environment by harnessing the skills and expertise of their population to develop strong domestic economies. 

Rather than selling out to supranational interests, lawmakers and governments can hold these corporate and financial entities to account so that they have to change their polluting activities at their own expense.

As Steve Cohen from the Columbia Climate School states;

“I believe that on a more crowded planet, with instant and inexpensive global communication, a company that engages in wanton acts of environmental destruction will not survive long in the marketplace.”

Develop a less opportunistic global economy

We live in societies that are dominated by the demands of economic systems rather than what is best for individuals, communities, and the environment. This has led to the prioritization of global economic agendas and profiteering at the expense of environmental welfare and authentic sustainability.

Not everything should be done because a profit can be made, but until countries regain their sovereignty, they and their citizens are largely captive to a way of living that damages the environment and generates vast profits for a small group of people.

A step in the right direction would be nations coming together to insist that the crippling debts that prevent poorer countries from developing basic infrastructure for sanitation, waste management, and other environmental problems are canceled.

So why should we care for the environment? Because we need change!

Caring for the environment is really caring for ourselves, but it needs to be done with understanding rather than superficial choices and activities that do not contend with the sources of large-scale environmental degradation.

By making the decision to become an engaged and informed citizen, you can start to build grassroots communities that are truly sustainable and hold the sovereignty and power to hold the corporate polluters to account.

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Essay on Environment: Examples & Tips

• Updated on  
• May 30, 2022

In the 21st century, the Environmental crisis is one of the biggest issues. The world has been potentially impacted by the resulting hindrance in the environmental balance, due to the rising in industrialization and urbanization. This led to several natural calamities which creates an everlasting severe impact on the environment for years. To familiarize students with the importance environment, the subject ‘Environmental Studies’ is part of the curriculum in primary, secondary as well as higher school education. To test the knowledge of the students related to Environment, a question related to the topic in the form of essay or article writing is included in the exam. This blog aims to focus on providing details to students on the way, they can draft a well-written essay on Environment.

Overview on Environment

To begin the essay on Environment, students must know what it is all about. Biotic (plants, animals, and microorganisms) and abiotic (non-living physical factors) components in our surroundings fall under the terminology of the environment. Everything that surrounds us is a part of the environment and facilitates our existence on the planet.

Tips on Writing an Effective Essay

Before writing an effective essay on Environment, another thing students need to ensure is to get familiarised with the structure of essay writing. The major tips which students need to keep in mind, while drafting the essay are:

• Research on the given topic thoroughly : The students must research the topic given in the essay, for example: while drafting an essay on the environment, students must mention the recent events, so to provide the reader with a view into their understanding of this concept.
• Jot down the important points: When the students research the topic, students must note down the points which need to be included in the essay.
• Quote down the important examples: Students must quote the important examples in the introductory paragraphs and the subsequent paragraphs as well.
• Revise the Essay: The student after finishing writing students must revise the content to locate any grammatical errors as well as other mistakes.

Essay on Environment: Format & Samples

Now that you are aware of the key elements of drafting an essay on Environment, take a look at the format of essay writing first:

Format (150 words)

Introduction

The student must begin the essay by, detailing an overview of the topic in a very simple way in around 30-40 words. In the introduction of the essay on Environment, the student can make it interesting by recent instances or adding questions.

Body of Content

The content after the introduction can be explained in around 80 words, on a given topic in detail. This part must contain maximum detail in this part of the Essay. For the Environment essay, students can describe ways the environment is hampered and different ways to prevent and protect it.

In the essay on Environment, students can focus on summing the essay in 30-40 words, by writing its aim, types, and purposes briefly. This section must swaddle up all the details which are explained in the body of the content.

Sample Essay on Environment

Below is a sample of an Essay on Environment to give you an idea of the way to write one:

Environment Essay (100 words)

The natural surroundings that enable life to thrive, nurture, and destroy on our planet called earth are referred to as an environment. The natural environment is vital to the survival of life on Earth, allowing humans, animals, and other living things to thrive and evolve naturally. However, our ecosystem is being harmed as a result of certain wicked and selfish human actions. It is the most essential issue, and everyone should understand how to safeguard our environment and maintain the natural balance on this planet for life to continue to exist.

Essay on Environment (200-250 words)

Environment essay (300 words).

Nature provides an environment that nourishes life on the planet. The environment encompasses everything humans need to live, including water, air, sunshine, land, plants, animals, forests, and other natural resources. Our surroundings play a critical role in enabling the existence of healthy life on the planet. However, due to man-made technical advancements in the current period, our environment is deteriorating day by day. As a result, environmental contamination has risen to the top of our priority list.

Environmental pollution has a detrimental impact on our everyday lives in a variety of ways, including socially, physically, economically, emotionally, and cognitively. Contamination of the environment causes a variety of ailments that can last a person’s entire life. It is not a problem of a neighborhood or a city; it is a global issue that cannot be handled by a single person’s efforts. It has the potential to end life in a day if it is not appropriately handled. Every ordinary citizen should participate in the government’s environmental protection effort.

World Environment Day

Between June 5 and June 16, World Environment Day is commemorated to raise awareness about the environment and to educate people about its importance. On this day, awareness initiatives are held in a variety of locations.

The environment is made up of plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fish, humans, trees, microbes, and many other things. Furthermore, they all contribute to the ecosystem.

The physical, social, and cultural environments are the three categories of environments. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environments.

1. Do not leave rubbish in public areas. 2. Minimize the use of plastic 3. Items should be reduced, reused, and recycled. 4. Prevent water and soil contamination

Hope the blog has given you an idea of how to write an essay on the Environment. If you are planning to study abroad and want help in writing your essays, then let Leverage Edu be your helping hand. Our experts will assist you in writing an excellent SOP for your study abroad consultant application. 

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

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Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change Essay

Introduction, works cited.

Human activities are the leading cause of climate change, such as irreversible global warming. Currently, people are already feeling the adverse effect such as the changing climatic patterns, extinction of some animal and plant species, desertification, and hunger, among others. As long as people continue to add greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, the situation will become worse for the present and future generations (Jackson par.1). Therefore, people should start making small changes in regard to the type and amount of fuel they consume, use and disposal of plastic bags, and type of agriculture. Although there are luxuries and some immediate economic progress for destructive activities, it is time to start protecting the environment to prevent further destruction of the ozone layer, extreme weather conditions, and pollution.

The destruction of the ozone layer, which helps in filtering the excessive ray of light and heat from the sun, expose people to some skin cancer and causes drought. Climate change is causing more sun rays to reach the earth, causing people to be at risk of skin cancer. In addition, it causes desertification which directly affects food production and disproportionately affects people at low socio-economic levels (“Climate Change par.3”). Moreover, animals that cannot contain excessive heat are endangered and may become extinct, disrupting the ecosystem. Thus, through caring for the environment, such effects may be reversed.

Extreme changes in weather patterns result in melting ice caps, warm and acidic oceans, and rising sea levels. Some regions are already experiencing the impact, such as heat waves, drought, floods, and intense rains (“Impacts of Climate par. 1”). The changes will likely change society in a few decades by causing things like tsunamis and reducing the land surface area (“Impacts of Climate par. 3”). Such changes negatively affect human health, especially for young infants and the elderly. The amount of agricultural land is significantly reduced due to the water increasing a larger surface area with a shallow surface. Therefore, climate change will force people to be crowded in only a few towns with conducive environments and leave other places bare.

Pollution of the environment is now a big problem due to climate change. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the environment continues to cause the earth to become warmer. The implication is that pathogens can breed faster and cause an increase in human diseases. The other effect is soil erosion due to the expansion of the ocean, flooding, and hot waves that carry the top fertile soil to the large water bodies. The rising acidity of seawater affects the aquatic life consumed by humans. The effect is systematic, interferes with the entire ecosystem, and reduces the quality of life. The solution is to have litigation policies that will hold companies accountable for their pollutant emissions (Okonkwo66). All factories must demonstrate adherence to corporate social responsibility.

In conclusion, it is vital for people to collectively start caring for the environment to combat the many adverse effects of climate change. People can start changing the amount of fuel they consume, adopt organic agricultural practices, and hold firms accountable for their practices. Making changes in protecting the environment will slow down the rate of agricultural degradation. The adverse effects that are already being realized can be reversed to save the current and protect the future generation.

“Climate change impacts.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Web.

“Impacts of Climate Change.” US EPA , 2022, Web.

Jackson, Randal. “The Effects of Climate Change.” Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet , 2 2022.

Okonkwo, Theodore. “Protecting the Environment and People from Climate Change through Climate Change Litigation.” Journal of Politics and Law , vol. 10, no. 5, 2017, p. 66.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, September 4). Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change. https://ivypanda.com/essays/protecting-the-environment-against-climate-change/

"Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change." IvyPanda , 4 Sept. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/protecting-the-environment-against-climate-change/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change'. 4 September.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change." September 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/protecting-the-environment-against-climate-change/.

1. IvyPanda . "Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change." September 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/protecting-the-environment-against-climate-change/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change." September 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/protecting-the-environment-against-climate-change/.

• The Kyoto Protocol and Desertification
• Bio Desertification and Environmental Issues in Eritrea
• The Effect of the Ozone Layer on the earth
• Desertification Effects on Ecosystems
• What we can do to protect Ozone layer
• Ozone Hole, Greenhouse Effect and Montreal Protocol
• Chemistry and Physics of Stratospheric Ozone
• Environmental Problems of UAE
• Efforts to Alleviate Ozone Depletion
• Ozone Depletion
• Climate Change and Immigration Issues
• The Role of Technology in Climate Change
• Impacts of Climate Change on Ocean
• Impact of Climate Change on the Mining Sector
• Climate Change: Historical Background and Social Values

Essay on Environment for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environment.

Essay on Environment – All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

Importance of Environment

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of the Environment

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Cause of Environmental Degradation

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth. To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

FAQs about Essay on Environment

Q.1 What is the true meaning of the environment?

A.1 The ecosystem that includes all the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fishes, human beings, trees, microorganisms and many more are part of the environment. Besides, all these constitute the environment.

Q.2 What is the three types of the environment?

A.2 The three types of environment includes the physical, social, and cultural environment. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environment.

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Caring for the environment

What does it mean to care for the environment?

The Earth has all the things we need to live, but we need to take care of the Earth so it can keep giving us what we need. Caring for the environment means doing things that will keep the Earth healthy , like recycling your plastic bottles instead of throwing them in the bin, and turning off lights when you don’t need them on anymore.

It’s up to us to do what we can to care for the environment. There are plenty of ways to be green and make choices that help our planet, and you don’t have to be a grown-up to make eco-friendly choices!

It’s important to conserve the Earth’s natural resources, like water, so people living decades after us can still enjoy living on our amazing planet.

Top 10 facts

• Just as we can help animals through conservation , we can help our planet through conservation too. We can do things that are good for the environment and that don’t cause pollution.
• Caring for the environment is also called ‘being green’ – this means doing things that keep green things growing, like grass, plants and trees.
• One reason to care for the environment is climate change, which means the air around us is warming up too much because of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air above us. CO2 is a gas that comes from places like engines in cars and airplanes, and machines that run power stations.
• Use less power by turning off lights when you leave a room, and unplugging the TV when you’re done watching it. Saving power is good for the planet.
• Over 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered in water, and everything that lives on the earth (including you!) needs water to survive. So, it’s important to think about ways to conserve water.
• It’s also important to keep our water clean. Water pollution happens when chemicals, rubbish and other nasty things make it dirty and dangerous for humans and animals to drink.
• One really big way to be green is by recycling – this means that things we don’t want anymore, like an empty drink bottle, can be re-made into a brand new drink bottle. All we need to do is throw it away in the right bin!
• Paper is made from trees, and it’s important that we keep planting new trees to make up for the ones that have been cut down to make paper. By recycling paper, paper makers don’t need to cut down so many trees.
• Something that breaks down into teeny tiny pieces over time is called ‘biodegradable’. Biodegradable things are better for the environment than non-biodegradable things.
• There are lots of green choices you can make every day to care for the environment!

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Did you know?

Doing things that are good for the environment is also called being green. How green are you? The three main things to remember when it comes to caring for the environment are:

• Reduce the amount of rubbish you throw away and the amount of water you use
• Reuse things where you can, like water bottles
• Recycle rubbish by sorting it out into bins for different materials like paper, plastic, tin and more.

Recycling means turning old, used-up products into something new. For example, you can make a new plastic bottle by collecting, cutting up and mixing together old plastic bottles; the old bottles don’t get thrown in the bin, and new plastic doesn’t have to be made for the new bottle. There are lots of things you use every day that can be recycled and turned into new things. How many of these have you recycled this week?

• Newspapers and magazines
• Cardboard boxes
• Wrapping paper
• Plastic bottles and tubs
• Glass bottles and jars

Over 70% of the surface of the Earth (the bits you can see when you look at a globe) is covered in water. That means there’s more water on the Earth than land! It’s important to save water to make sure everyone has enough. This doesn’t mean stashing it away under your bed! It just means not using more than you need. So, when you brush your teeth, don’t leave the tap running the whole time – turn it off when you don’t need it, then turn it back on when it’s time to rinse. You can also save more water if you take a shower instead of taking a bath!

Can you find the following in the gallery below:

• Rubbish in landfill
• Plastic rubbish
• A skip full of rubbish
• A power plant
• Water being polluted
• Water pollution: plastic bottles near the sea
• Recycling bins
• The recycling symbol
• Paper recycling
• Plastic bottle recycling

We didn’t always know about the best ways to care for the environment. People who lived a long time ago used to think it wasn’t a big deal to dump chemicals and rubbish in the water, or to let dirty smoke from factory chimneys fill the air. Sometimes it’s taken people getting sick to realise that pollution catches up with us eventually, and that it’s important to keep our planet clean . A drought is when there hasn’t been any rain for a while, and water reservoirs (where water is collected) are very low. It’s important to save all the water you can so when there is a drought, there will still be enough to go round to everyone who needs it. It’s also important to keep our water clean. Everyone and everything needs water to live, and dirty, polluted water can cause very serious diseases and can even suffocate fish. Causes of water pollution include:

• Using chemicals to kill plants and pests in gardens and farms
• Factories dumping chemicals into nearby rivers
• Oil spills in the ocean
• Waste that comes from sewer pipes
• Landfills where rubbish is dumped

We can do our bit to make sure water stays clean by:

• Not using chemicals in the garden to kill pests and weeds
• Not throwing rubbish in lakes, rivers and the ocean
• Using hand soap and washing up liquid that says it’s eco-friendly and biodegrades (meaning it doesn’t leave chemicals in the water or soil after it goes down the drain)
• Recycling, so less rubbish goes in landfills

Recycling is good for the land as well as the water. It means less rubbish is dumped in landfills, and that less energy is used to make something from recycled products than to make something that’s brand new. Everyone living in the UK produces 82,000 tonnes of rubbish every day – that’s a lot of rubbish to get buried in a landfill! The more we can recycle, the less we have to throw in the bin. Our climate is getting warmer. One reason for this is that there too much of a certain kind of gas in the air above us – this is called carbon dioxide (written as CO2). CO2 comes from lots of different places, but places that we can try to control are:

• Cars – cycle or walk instead
• Airplanes – take a bus or train instead
• Power stations (where we get electricity from) – use less electricity by turning off lights when you don’t need them anymore, and unplugging things like the Xbox when you’re done playing

Making choices like those is part of being green. They are positive things we can do to help our planet and care for the environment. Other green choices are:

• Using biodegradable products – these are things that will break up into lots of little pieces over a few years, and become part of the Earth again.
• Using less energy by turning off lights and unplugging things, and by using low-energy light bulbs
• Throwing away different kinds of rubbish in its proper bin to help recycling. For instance, Mum or Dad can help you find which bin throw away all the plastic bottles in, and which bin you should put cardboard that you don’t want anymore. This all gets taken to a recycling plant to make up into new plastic bottles and cardboard boxes.
• Thinking about how much water you’re using, and turning off the tap when you’re done.
• Carrying around a reusable bottle to drink water and juice from instead of buying new plastic bottles all the time.
• Reusing shopping bags instead of getting new ones every time you buy something.
• Making sure you use both sides of a piece of paper before throwing it away – and when you do throw it away, recycle it in the right bin (ask Mum or Dad for help).

Paper is made from trees. Trees are cut down, stripped of their bark, chopped into tiny pieces, and then soaked so the wood becomes soft. Just like the Ancient Egyptians made paper by soaking strips of papyrus to make them soft, we do that today with wood so it all mixes together and makes a smooth surface that’s easy to write on. After sheets of paper are made from the wet, soupy-looking wood, the water has to dry off and the sheets are flattened. It’s important that new trees are planted when grown trees are cut down to make paper, otherwise we’d run out of forests pretty quickly! It’s important to recycle paper where you can so fewer trees need to be cut down. This means that the animals who live in forests can keep their homes, too.

Words to know for the environment 

Biodegradable – something that can break down into teeny tiny parts that become part of the earth again Carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas that is found in all living things; it is also released into the air when fuels like coal and petrol are burned Climate change – the term used to explain how the earth is getting warmer, because of too much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere; this is mostly caused by too much carbon dioxide (CO2) Compost – turning things like food scraps and dead leaves into fertiliser for new plants by letting it all decompose into a kind of dirt that’s full of vitamins plants love  Conservation – a word we use a lot with being green; it means ways to keep the planet clean so we can protect parts of it that are already in good condition, and help parts of it that need to be tidied up Eco-friendly – a word used to describe something that is good for the environment Greenhouse gas – a type of gas in the atmosphere that keeps the earth warm Pollution – when something makes part of the environment dirty and dangerous for living things, like spilling oil into the ocean or having lots of petrol fumes in the air Recycling – the way that rubbish that we don’t want anymore can be turned into brand new products, meaning that less rubbish gets thrown into a landfill

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Lots of online, interactive recycling games to play
• Cook some delicious leftovers recipes
• Learn about water and water conservation with interactive games and quizzes
• Download the  Trash and Climate Change Activity Book
• Find out what happens in your compost bin
• Take some CBBC quizzes to prove you're a recycling expert and how much you know about recycling
• Make your own recycled paper
• Colour in some recycling-themed pictures
• Print out a game board for Generate: The Game of Energy Choices and explore energy choices and energy generation
• Calculate your carbon footprint
• In Beat the Uncertainty: Planning Climate-Resilient Cities you are the leader of a coastal city. Can you make the right decisions to increase the city’s resilience to climate change?
• Look through the Blue Peter Climate Hero Collection of quizzes, makes and top tips to help you become a Climate Hero
• Lifeboat to Mars is a biology simulation game in which you are tasked with piloting a spaceship with a cargo of microbes and a variety of plants and animals which you'll need to start an ecosystem
• Explore the digital Recycle City to see how its people reduce waste, use less energy, and save money
• Play Trash Smash : try to dispose of marine debris correctly and help clean up the environment
• Print Discover Your Changing World With NOAA , a free activity book about climate, the factors that drive and change it and the impacts of those changes
• Watch  Planet Defenders , the CBBC show about young conservationists who are protecting our planet and its amazing wildlife

Best kids' books about caring for the environment

Find out more about caring for the environment 

• NASA's Climate Kids website is packed with information for children
• A kids' recycling information page to read
• Look at CBBC's Newsround climate change page for videos and information
• Wastebusters is a fantastic kids' recycling resource that shows how changes in the way we learn, live, play, work, and travel can help us live happy and healthy lives with the resources available to us
• Look through BBC Bitesize KS1 The Regenerators environment lessons and KS2 The Regenerators environment lessons
• Read about how different materials are recycled  and find out how to dispose of different kinds of rubbish safely
• Watch kids' video guides to plastic bottle recycling , dealing with rubbish  and responsible buying
• Understand more about weather and climate change with information and games from the Met Office
• Find out more about plastic pollution and the climate emergency in TheSchoolRun's best environmental books for kids
• Find out more about the dangers of fatbergs and their impact on the environment and become a Fatberg Fighter, educating your family on the importance of keeping our drains healthy!
• Download "waste cards" that explain what happens to paper , glass , plastic and general rubbish after we recycle and throw them away
• In a series of short BBC films Ade Adepitan travels to places on the frontline of climate change and reports on the damage caused and how we can fight it with natural and technological fixes
• The Young People's Trust for the Environment offers hundreds of resources for kids, teachers and parents on environmental Issues
• Watch the Blue Planet Live Lesson and look through some video and audio resources about climate change and plastic pollution
• Find out about different ways to be environmentally friendly as a family

See for yourself

The Atmosphere gallery in the Science Museum in London explains the science of how the climate works, what it’s doing now and what it might do next Find out how  paper, glass and aluminium are recycled step-by-step and how how paper is made Watch lots of recycling videos

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How to save the planet: a kids’ guide!

Check out our top tips for becoming an eco-hero….

Here at National Geographic Kids, we know how much our readers want to make a positive difference to our world! So, read on to find out how to save the planet…

1. Be a habitat hero!

All over the world, wild places are in trouble . As the human population has increased , we’ve taken over more and more land for our homes, farms, factories and roads .

In the rainforest , around 80,000 acres of trees are cut down every day to make way for farming , or to provide wood for industry. In other countries, habitats like grasslands, underwater habitats, and wetlands are also at risk – and so are the animals and plants that live there.

Luckily, lots of people are working hard to protect these precious places, and you can be one of them!

• – Stand up against deforestation , by avoiding foods that contain unsustainable palm oil .
• – Keep your local habitats safe by sticking to the paths .
• – Make your garden wildlife-friendly by setting aside space for nature! You could build a bee hotel , have a log pile , or even create a pond .
• – If you own a cat that goes outdoors, put a bell on its collar so that vulnerable wildlife can hear it coming and make their escape!

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

We live in a ‘ throwaway culture ‘, where many of our things aren’t built to last. Each year, every house in the UK produces about 1 tonne of waste – that’s about the same weight as a great white shark !

What’s worse, is that 60% of what we throw away, is actually recyclable ! That’s why it’s super important to check the label on every piece of rubbish, to make sure you’re putting it in the right bin.

Check out our article on the circular economy to find out more about this wasteful culture…

Even better, you can avoid throwing things away altogether , by buying fewer things, taking better care of the things you have, and finding ways to repair or reuse things that are old or broken.

• – Before you throw something away, stop and think about what else it could be used for! For example, rather than using disposable paper towels to clean up in the kitchen, why not turn old clothes or bedsheets into cloths ? Then, you can use them over and over again!
• – Ask a grown-up if they can teach you to mend small rips in your clothes, so that they last longer! And if you really have to get rid of something, see if you can give it to charity instead.
• – Fight plastic pollution by using reusable water bottles , bringing reusable bags with you to the shops, and always taking your rubbish home with you.
• – Take your plastic prevention one step further by checking out our ten top tips , learning how to make plastic-free gifts , and reducing plastic waste in school too!

3. Be a green eater!

In the past, people thought that we could take whatever we wanted from the planet, without any consequences! Now, we know that’s not true. If we keep taking as much as we want, whenever we want, our planet’s resources could one day run out .

That’s why it’s important that we try to live sustainably. Issues like overfishing , water scarcity (when there’s not enough clean water to go around), and climate change are all affected by our lifestyle choices. Thankfully, there’s lots we can do to help.

Around the world, we eat a whopping total of 360 million tonnes of meat and 156 million tonnes of fish every year. That’s an astonishing amount!

If we could all cut down, just a little bit, it would take the pressure off natural ecosystems, and ensure that these animals – and their habitats – have a healthy future .

• – Talk to your family, and ask if you could all try some vegetarian or vegan meals . There are loads of meat-free and plant-based recipes available online, or you can try our veggie pasta bake !
• – Know where your food comes from! When you’re in the supermarket, ask a grown-up to help check things like tins of tuna for signs that they’ve been sustainably fished , like the blue MSC label . These will have been sourced responsibly , in a way that helps protect fish populations .

4. Keep an eye on what you use!

Our daily lives require an amazing amount of water and energy . In countries like the UK, Australia , or the USA , these things are available at the push of a button or turn of a tap – but sadly, that’s not the case for everyone…

Around the world, 2.5 billion people have no (or unreliable) access to electricity. Plus, 4.2 billion struggle to access clean water every day, which they need for drinking , bathing , washing , growing crops and rearing animals . That’s why those of us that have access to these precious resources should be careful not to waste them.

• – Go on a vampire hunt! Household appliances that are unnecessarily left on standby are known as ‘ vampire devices ‘ as they sneakily suck up lots of electricity! Make sure they’re all turned off at the wall , to stop them wasting power.
• – On a sunny day, hang things outside to dry ! This saves energy that would have been used on the dryer.
• – If you can, try cycling, walking, or using public transport to get out and about, rather than using the car.
• – Turn off any dripping taps , and make sure you don’t run them for longer than necessary. Turn the taps off while brushing your teeth, and take short showers of four minutes or less!

5. Be a planet advocate!

The real secret of how to save the planet? Sharing your knowledge with others, and helping them to become eco-heroes too! Whether it’s spectacular habitats, cool creatures, or eco-friendly living, don’t be afraid to speak up and tell others about your planet passions! It takes lots of people working together to make change happen – so share, share, share!

Now, get out there and save the world – you can do it!

Thanks to Markus Spiske; Sabine van Erp; Surfing Croyde Bay; Louis Reed; Eutah Mizushima; Boudewijn Huysmans; Nareeta Martin and Abigail Keenan for the images used in this article.

What’s your top tip for other kids learning how to save the planet let us know in the comments below, leave a comment.

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WELL DONE, YOUR COMMENT HAS BEEN ADDED!

help save the earth

lets go save earth!

Lets take care of the planet!

lets take care of all the planet! And take care wherever we go!

nice good job

amazing lets take care of the planet

Grow your own fruit and vegetables. Gooo Greeeeen

A big thanks to Greta!!! I ❤️ her personality, confidence and attitude. Age 11

I like water but it doesn't taste like anything

We really have to keep the water clean for the rest of the month, I’ve been worried about that big oil spill. We must do our part!

let take action and recycle :}

We can go to grocery shopping with clothe bags which we can reuse every time we go grocery shopping. Let's not throw trash , recyclable things, and biodegradable things anywhere . WE should put things in recycle bins , trash bins, and biodegradable bins.

lets take care of the planet

let's take care of the environment

It is highly recommended because it will be our planet in the future and it helps you reflect and raise awareness of the change that we are all going to make in the future on the planet and it will be disastrous that is why national geographical helps people echo tips to save the planet.

I think they are good ideas to take care of the environment, reuse, not deforest, not waste water, plant trees, do not pollute, are very easy things that we can do in our daily lives.

I like that they want to include children in the care of the world

OUR PLANET OUR FUTURE

LETS TAKE ACTION

it is so Cool Kids will like it

I love it so cool

save THE PLANETT FOREVER

The only way to save our planet is if we all do our part, because some people are thinking that it is not their problem, but we’re all in this together!

If we want to save the planet for future generations for them to enjoy then we should start saving our planet through all the ways we kids can! Let’s take part!

Yeah people should step up and at least try to save our world. I worry about climate change every single day. This article is almost reading my mind and saying my views publicly. So please, everyone do something in here to help save the world!!!

I love nat geo doing all this stuff, it's a pity people just are too lazy to get moving and start seeing how the things we humans do are going to destroy the world someday.

save the planet be kind to it if you dont the planet wont be kind to you think about it.

Grow your own fruit and vegetables .

As well as being good for the environment, eating less meat improves your health and saves lives. Why wouldn't you go vegan or vegetarian?

Donate to people who help animals!

Do not litter we want a plastic free world when we are older from a 5th Grader

Kids should not litter . They should say no when they see anybody cutting trees

Pollution is harmful..very harmful. It can take lives of people with breathing problems if it’s not taken care of. I’d rather spend my time planting trees than watching television. Help me take care of my earth please. P.S from a 4th grader child.

love the eirth it is my and your home and we need to take care of itttttt ps. Emma from 2 grade

take care of the eirth isabel and cat

Plloution is lame would love to plant trees

Tillie i agree i have never used palm oil before but I'm agreeing

I love the Eirth take care of it

Pollution is bad for...well Anything. it hurts Creachers, pets,and us. Thats why we need to stop people doing it.almost the whole earth is hurt from pollution! PLEASE HELP ME SAVE THE EARTH PLEASSSEEE! P.S Catherine from 2 grade

I’m never using palm oil again!

Pollution is lame.... I would rather spend time cleaning the air and environment!

Fight back against pollution and rescue the earth HELP THE EARTH AND STOP POLLUTION!!!!!

I will care for the planet and be an eco warrior! LETS TAKE ACTION!!!

I 'll be an eco warrior

I love surfing, skateboarding and swimming .I care so much for the environment and ecosystem I want everyone to try to be eco friendly. This website is awesome btw

Take ACTION!

We can do this!

we need to save the planet NOW!

I am really passionate about saving the earth

Save the earth it is beautiful and is worth saving

That is amazing man.

Not eating meat is easier than you think....

Save the planet,We can do this together!

let's save the planet earth

If we save the planet we will regain the world and be able to live fun for a longer time of period

We can do this together!

lets try to save the world

THAT IS REALLY HELPFUL! COOL!

Lets save our planet and take action, anyways this website is brilliant and super fantastic, i bet kids all around the world can understand once agian thank you for making this website natgeo. super good

we need to take action now

this is a great and fantastic website

Lets take action to help the world

Lets save the planet

Lets be eco friendly.

this text is very helpful :)

Lets save the world

I love this stuff it is good for educational kids

come on lets save the planet and us to do that tho we have got to make changes.

people say they will take action but they never do but they do need to start doing what they say

wow I did'nt realise I was making so much damage thanks National Geographic Kids

I eat my veggies to be vegan

This website is very useful to inform and spread information about our surroundings . Thanks for this wonder full tips! And I'll make sure to do these tips.

I want to share to people that we have to care about the environment, Because we are slowly killing it without even noticing.

This article is very good and it thought me to help the planet. and to help the animals.

Nice Website :)

I learned alot from this website and this is really helpful for kids like me thank you and don't forget to plant trees :]

Thank you so much for this very informative article. It is really informative and helps with promoting awareness about biodiversity conservation. <3

This is very cool! We should raise awareness and save earth.

Thank you for the amazing tips, thank you. I'll be vegan from now on.

I will give this 10/10 because its amazing by learning this for science class.

This is super cool and nice! We should always care about the environment.

This is an amazing tips, thank you. I'll make sure I do this- I feel super bad to some animals suffering. I'll be sure to be vegan now :>

i will really try all this stuff

A big thanks for this resource material! It will surely pave a great way in raising awareness about Biodiversity Conservation to our youth today.

I want to share these fruitful and meaningful resources to my students to promote awareness and concern to our environment.

I care about the earth and want to take part in saving it.

this was a great website and I hope to see more off it

Wow cool I care so much about the environment and I agree with every thing that is in the book :)

thanks for tips

I eat veggie foods all the time. I try and do my best to help the environment.

When I think of people being responsible and saving the world changes the world in lots of ways

This makes me feel bad for those creatures who are suffering

this was very useful thank you

this is cool

It's very interising

this is pretty cool

This is absolutely amazing. I am definetly telling my friends.

i love reading these

pretty cool

that was pretty easy to read and its pretty good might read more :D

That is amazing I will have a good go at it

thanks i will be vegan now :)

I feel very happy whenever someone talks about the planet and how to save it.

This is amazing. I’m stealing your idea to use in my presentation. Is there a club?

I love it. I am about to go out to do this thing to protect our plant! I will tell anyone I see to help me save earth.

Everyone should do it,it could change everything.

thanks that really helped out i hope this planet will change new when we tell everyone to do this

Great info got A+ from info Thanks

Save The Planet

this artical realy will bring a change

save the turtles

save the planet.

Everyone needs to do there part save our planet

lets help the planet!!!!!!!!!!!.........................

safe the plant, stay safe from covid 19, SAFE THE WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

Save the planet

It's really good

Me to can’t wait

I feel really happy when someone talks about how you can change the world! If you have the guts to change the world, do it! I will also be eco friendly and help the world be back to it's wild beauty!

lets take action!!

lets save the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is really good advice.

LET'S SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!!

PRITTY COOL TO ME

WE ARE GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool! Sign me up!

ILL HELP SAVE OUR PLANET

IM GONNA SAVE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!123

People could also start a club to save the world and put up posters as well

I'M GONNA PLANT ONE HUNDREAD TREES!!!!

Trees are the natural answer to climate control – they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil, which then helps to reduce climate change. Trees also provide a home for lots of different birds, insects and creatures. You can easily find tree seeds such as acorns, sweet chestnuts and conkers (horse chestnuts) wherever you find mature trees. However, learning how to identify and grow trees adds an entirely new level of appreciation and understanding of nature. Don’t worry if you have no space to plant trees, as indoor plants also do a great job of cleaning the air. By looking after plants, children can learn about the important conditions needed for plants to grow. There are lots of other ways to get involved in this step too; for example, you could help actually grow a forest by raising money for one of the many tree-planting organisations around the world! Even in the centre of a city, once you start looking you will be surprised at how many different creatures you can spot, such as squirrels, birds and foxes. Lots of wild animal species in the UK are under threat right now. One of the best things you can do to help them is to re-wild an area in your garden or school playground. Sprinkle some soil and dead leaves around and let the grass, daisies and dandelions grow. Wildflowers provide excellent food for bees, who are in turn very important for pollinating food crops. You can also invite wild animals such as endangered hedgehogs in by making piles of leaves and twigs for them to nest in. Make sure that you provide gateways for these creatures to move freely to the next garden.

I can do everything else but not vegan thing

Let’s take Action - We can make a difference!

Save the Planet

Cool I do almost all of them

I am alredy making a groop to help save our planet

I want to take care of this planet

We can make a difference.

SAVE THE WORLD

Save the planet!

Guide our planet

This is really intresting and we need to save the planet!

Why is saving the planet important

Save the PLANET

Thank you Nat Geo Kids for all you do to spread animal information!!

Let's make a Difference!!

Thank you I had fun reading this and will follow your tips only because this is my favorite nature website.

When you finish brushing your teeth, to save water you shouldn’t turn the tap on when you spit the toothpaste out.

I liked the idea of saving the planet!!!!

Lets take care of the planet!!!!

Love reading

We could write letters to our local councils, and headteachers, and convince them to promote saving the planet to even more people!

planting trees and recicling matterale like plastic drink bottles.

I have a tip for saving the planet maybe plant some trees in your garden or plant wild flowers for bees. If you have any recyclable rubbish recycle it or make something out of it yourself like a fish or a bird.

I have a tip for saving the planet maybe plant some trees in your garden (if you have one) you could also plant some wild flowers in your garden for bees.

Amazing imformation thanks nat geo kids!

Thanks for the tips! Save the Earth!

If everyone in the world just plants one tree imagine how much that would help!

We don't realise it but we can do so much for the environment!

nice tips!!!!!!

nice tips for saving the environment

We must save our planet. Save the planet save lives.

it is relly good :)

LETS TAKE ACTION!

Lets do this

Let’s do this!

Awesome! Thank you so much! Now I'm prepared to help my planet!

we can do this

Let's save the planet!

Hi this is cool

I am going to do all of that stuff

I hope we get to help and this is what I’d did - recycle - throw litter -

Cool! Lets Take action !! :))

this is amazing i will try these

Thanks for sharing this now I know how to save the earth

Be careful of wastage

I learnt we should be careful of wasteage

Let's take action! Save the planet! Plant trees! Make animal homes! Eat green! Anything! I'll do anything to save our world!

This is a great article with lots of fantastic information . Thanks . X

thanks a lot mother nature

I love earth.

so much fun

We should take action in putting rubbish in the right bin.

What I think is that we need to put rubbish in the right bin and eat healthy.

save the world

save our world

I love to save the planet and this has given me an idea

Take action

We can save the world!!!

the world is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to help keep trees and animals alive they are important

What is your favourite country of France

i want to save the world

i am lemonade

This is cool

SAVE OUR WORLD

awsome] great

SAVE OUT WORLD NOW

SAVE PLENTT

I love this and save the world

I hope everyone can be kind enough to save a bunch of animals even if you see a hurt animal help them because 1 tiny thing can make a HUGE difrents

my avatar is so handsome

Save the world please.

I hope we can save giraffes they play a very important part in your ecosystem I hope we can save other animals too.

i am happy their are kids like me out there i really like animals.

hi I go by the name green girl you all have asome ideas i am not a member yet couse it dont work. i have adopted three animals. i love that i finally found kids like me or even younger

I am so happy their are other kids trying to help the wold. Every one has a saying in this wold and to keep it safe i am not a member yet couse it dont work so i try like every 5 mins # safe the earth.

Lets save the world by a few simple things

I am just happy we have the earth

OMG! Let's save the world!

It's very good that you are writing things like that ,because, every person on our planet earth needs to protect it. Because, if we don't do something now, our planet earth will die quicker then you think.

This is great we can all save the planet together

I love our planet and I will use these ideas to help save the planet.

I find it very interesting

I Love This

we can save the planet!!!

Taking care of the environment is important since in part the plants are also living beings that feel so as not to harm them there to plant more plants and trees instead of cutting them

SAVE THE EARTH PLEASE

Thanks so much this was an amazing article to learn about thanks .

Cool thing, I like it

This is a cool article to learn about !

Doing it STRAIGHT away

every one should recycle

Plant one tree each month

Wow! that is amazing-I tried all of it myself. let's take action together!

How to save the planet

This is a good thing to save Are earth maybe I will try some.

Let's do this!

We need to save our planet before it's too late!

These are really good ideas! Everyone should recycle more

Pick up rubbish and take action.

have a great day

save the earth and help recycle so we can save this plait

save the earth

I didn't know how to save our planet earth before reading this. Thank you.

water more trees

Yes we need to start trying to recycling and not be lazy!

i love this

We should take action to save our world!

i like to help the world so this helps me tell me what to do

Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plant trees!

This is cool!

Wow! That's awamazing!

That looks fun to recycle!

Recycle looks fun! I'm very good throwing stuff, During St Paul's High School

CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR

More like nature.

The Water Cycle!

COSTA RICA: Guardian of the Future!

Science with Dr Karl: How do birds flock?

15 fascinating facts about Sir David Attenborough

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Caring For The Environment Essay

Whether the issue is air pollution, endangered species, re-cycling, or clean water, all environmental scientists, educators, and policy-makers agree that the key to public understanding is public education. Without a thorough understanding of the problems facing the planet in terms of its fragile environment, humanity is on a collision course with disaster. It is not enough to warn people, impose economic sanctions, and establish strict regulations. People must understand why they should recycle, how they can take care of their waste, and what they can do to lessen their own individual impact on the earth.

It is also essential that environmental education be appropriate and applicable to the person doing the learning.

Essay Example on Why Should We Care About The Environment

Too often, environmental education focuses on a topic far removed from the reality of the student. A child living in the mountains can have all the concern in the world for the manatee or the blue whale and be completely unaware of the forest degradation going on in her own mountain backyard.

Likewise a Brentwood student can be vitally concerned about the nuclear waste dumps in the desert but still mindlessly damage her own unique environment. In order for environmental education to be truly effective it must be both relevant and applicable. Such awareness may be the only truly viable option that exists that can make a difference in saving or renewing the earth’s rapidly diminishing natural resources.

Such education must be fully integrated so that the student can understand the interrelatedness of all aspects of the environment, including her role within it.

Proficient in: Adolescence

“ KarrieWrites did such a phenomenal job on this assignment! He completed it prior to its deadline and was thorough and informative. ”

Once a person understands that all life on earth, not just human life, is dependent on the health and protection of the environment, it is no longer possible to dismiss the planet as a nothing more than an object designed to meet human needs and desires. The most valuable time to begin such environmental education and awareness is with teenagers while they have not yet lost their sense of connection to all that surrounds them.

In order to best communicate the importance of the environment and the need to care for it as vigilantly as human beings care for themselves, students must begin to learn at an early age to respect the earth, its environment and all of its inhabitants. The “environment” is not some abstract concept. That lesson must continue to be taught and learned throughout life in order to facilitate meaningful change. Each individual must understand the consequences of her actions on the surrounding environment, whether it is in a rural area or city. Teenagers are, admittedly, creatures of self-interest but certainly there can be no greater service to oneself than the assurance that there is clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink, healthy food to eat or sanitary housing. The foundation and encouragement of that self-interest is education.

Beginning in the first years of school, children are taught the processes of life on this planet. Even very young kids can easily understand that a strong plant cannot grow in unhealthy soil or that trash does not simply disappear. There can be no more valuable lesson than how to not poison oneself through unthinking or greed-based actions. Active recycling is genuinely a better lesson than algebra and living more simply in the midst of a consumer-driven society is undeniably more useful than memorizing the dates of battles long since fought. Environmental education can and does make a difference and is a valuable ideal for the future.

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Care for the Environment Is Biblical. It’s Also a Witness to Environmentalists.

I love nature documentaries, especially those narrated by David Attenborough . Whether watching with my children or on my own, I love seeing the majesty of the snowy Alps or kelp forests.

But I’ve noticed that in recent years, nearly every somber vignette of a species struggling on the edge of survival ends with a call to action. Viewers are beckoned to take responsibility for causing a poor animal’s plight and to consider how they can fix things before the species is gone forever.

I understand the impulse to believe that animals’ struggles should move humans to action. However, it is the ethics informing the narrator’s pleas that seem a bit muddled.

By many documentarians’ admission, the species we marvel at on screen have emerged out of eons of struggles to survive and adapt to their surroundings. Sometimes, the narrators even remind us that this process has resulted in countless prior species disappearing into extinction.

Whether you believe in a young or an old earth, in God’s hand or in meaningless physical forces guiding history, we can all agree that change, death, and selection favoring adaptability are features of life on earth. Witnessing it in real time makes for compelling television drama, but the moral indictment that you and I contribute to grave evil when one of these species goes extinct does not seem to square with the documentarians’ worldview.

What compels us to see polar bears possibly going extinct in terms of moral right and wrong? If we take human action out of the equation, isn’t history littered with the bones of countless species that have gone extinct? Are not humans and their actions part of nature?

A robust theology of creation care

If we listen closely, many environmentalists seem to hold ambiguous views when it comes to discerning between good and bad, in both utilitarian and aesthetic senses, and what is objectively right or wrong. If everything is just part of natural processes and there is no God who says thou shalt not regarding his creation, can we say anything more than that the disappearance of species is harmful to how ecosystems currently function? Can we say that it is not just sad to see these animals gone forever, but that it is actually wrong?

The basis for this seems pretty flimsy if change, struggle, and extinction are just part of nature and there’s nothing transcendent to inform what we should do. Accordingly, I’ve often thought that calls to action in nature documentaries add up to little more than sentimentality—that is, unless we undergird them with a Christian belief in a Creator to whom we are accountable as we live in his creation. Perhaps, then, Christians may have more to say about care for God’s creation than many Christians and their skeptics might realize.

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This is exactly the angle Andrew J. Spencer takes in Hope for God’s Creation: Stewardship in an Age of Futility . In considering how God cares for his creation and gives it value—and in considering the task of humanity to image God well by stewarding his creation in line with his ways—Spencer provides a robust theology of creation care. His book is accessible for the average reader but also well-researched and argued for the specialist.

Spencer seems to be just the right type of author to embark on such a project. An evangelical Christian ethicist who has spent much of his career working in the nuclear power industry, he understands the scientific and public policy discourse around these issues, and puts them in conversation with orthodox Christian theological commitments.

Readers will appreciate his summary of historic and contemporary allegations that Christianity is ideologically harmful to the cause of environmentalism. Moreover, they will learn much from how he engages with particularly tricky issues like sustainable energy sources and climate change—his key argument being that Christians should embrace a “Pascal’s wager” approach that treats energy conservation and work toward sustainability as net goods, even if theories of climate change don’t play out as projected.

Additionally, Spencer’s warning against ideologically driven approaches to environmentalism that flatten complexities and justify emergency powers to remake the social order—what he calls a “big idea” approach to environmental concerns—helps contemporary Christians discern many ulterior motives that have been smuggled into the discussion.

But the book’s most significant contribution is giving Christians good reasons to care for creation in holistic and prudent ways for the sake of mission . How Spencer does this, though, needs some teasing out. It is not the case that he sees creation care as part of the church’s mission per se. Rather, he sees care for the creation as an essential way to contextualize the faith to the cultural and moral sensibilities of our time.

A new moral currency

While Spencer doesn’t unpack this idea directly, it is important to see how his argument fits with recent efforts to understand the phenomenon of the West becoming increasingly more spiritual, even as it grows less Christian.

Author Tara Isabella Burton has pointed out that in the current twilight of Christendom, we are witnessing an explosion of alternative spiritualities. These spiritualities help impart a sense of belonging and purpose in the absence of belief in God. In an age that has cut itself off from transcendent sources of truth, people still long to be caught up in something bigger than themselves. Even more, they desire to be equipped with moral categories of good and bad to help ensure that they are on the right side of history.

This is not to say that caring for the environment is just a fad that lacks any justification. Spencer presents good reasons Christians need to care for the environment as a matter of stewardship. As he notes, Scripture affirms that Christ is the one through and for whom creation was made, and by whom it all holds together (Col. 1:16–17).

But it’s worth highlighting that, for many in our society, concern for the environment functions in the same way that public religion used to in the Christian West. Caring for the environment imparts meaning and purpose (humans must not harm nature in its natural processes), delineates clear heroes and villains (activists and enlightened scientists versus big oil and consumer culture), and provides objective means to atone for one’s sins (carbon credits, tree planting, and recycling). In this way, care for the environment can stir the heart and provide a common basis for social order.

We might be tempted to write off such elevation of the environment over human needs as a form of Neopaganism, making a god out of nature. As Spencer points out, that is certainly a trend in environmentalism. But the insight that environmental activism is now a major moral currency in our culture means that Christians need to be discerning and active participants in the work of caring for the environment, for missiological reasons and for the sake of public witness.

This is precisely why Spencer’s work is such a timely resource. Like it or not, skeptics or those “deconstructing” their faith likely are not repelled because they find Christian truth claims unbelievable. Rather, the greater probability is that they find our faith and our vision of life in the world uninhabitable. They don’t see the way of life it fosters as actually good or desirable.

Certainly, there is no fault in the actual goodness of God’s ways or what he has revealed about himself. But Christians need to be sensitive to the shifting sentiments of post-Christian social imaginaries —those systems of belief we inherit from our society that shape what we find believable or desirable.

Sober-minded hope

A friend of mine, who is a pastor in Amsterdam, shares often about how climate change is an urgent and existentially significant issue for most people in his context. If Christians remain silent on the issue or only point fingers in calling out the idolatry of the environmental movement’s ideological excesses, they needlessly isolate themselves and the gospel from public life. Spencer’s work provides a careful way for Christians to see that they can both care deeply about the environment and have important things to contribute to the conversation.

To name just a few contributions mentioned by Spencer, convictions about human dignity and care for the poor can help temper an alternative energy absolutism—which seeks to restrict developing nations from using cheap fossil fuels to improve quality of life. Commitments to freedom of conscience can help direct climate change solutions to be found in the freedom of the market rather than in radically reengineering society through totalitarian control. Most of all, Christianity can offer sober-minded hope in an age of environmental angst, even as it forms individuals in wise habits of consumption and conservation that point to God as the giver and sustainer of life.

Readers may disagree with where Spencer lands on particular scientific questions or wonder whether there actually are conspiratorial forces at work in climate change policies. Or they may fault him for not going far enough in his proposals. Regardless, all readers will benefit from his insistence that, for the sake of mission, Christianity does not need to be part of our environmental problems. It offers much more to say on these things than our society thinks.

Dennis Greeson is dean of the BibleMesh Institute and program coordinator and research associate at Union Theological College, Belfast. He is the coauthor of a forthcoming book, The Way of Christ in Culture: A Vision for All of Life .

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Care for the Environment Is Biblical. It’s Also a ...

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Essay on My Environment My Responsibility

Students are often asked to write an essay on My Environment My Responsibility 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 My Environment My Responsibility

Understanding our environment.

Our environment is the world around us. It includes everything from the air we breathe, to the trees and animals in nature. It’s a vital part of our lives.

Our Role and Responsibility

As individuals, it’s our duty to protect and preserve the environment. We can do this by reducing waste, recycling, and not harming wildlife.

Small Actions, Big Impact

Even small actions can make a big difference. Turning off lights when not in use, or picking up litter can help.

Our environment is our responsibility. Let’s take care of it for a better future.

250 Words Essay on My Environment My Responsibility

The intricate interplay between humans and environment.

The relationship between humans and the environment is a complex interplay of cause and effect. We are both a product of our environment and an active shaper of it. Our actions, whether deliberate or unintentional, have profound impacts on the world around us. As the most intelligent species, it is our responsibility to ensure the sustainability of our environment.

Our Actions, Our Consequences

The environmental challenges we face today are largely anthropogenic. Deforestation, pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are all consequences of our actions. We have exploited natural resources to the point of exhaustion, with little regard for the repercussions. These actions not only degrade the environment but also threaten our own survival.

My Responsibility Towards the Environment

As individuals, we have a significant role to play in environmental conservation. Simple actions like reducing waste, recycling, and using energy-efficient products can have a considerable impact. However, our responsibility extends beyond these actions. We need to advocate for sustainable practices at every level of society, from local communities to global policies.

Education and Advocacy

Education is a powerful tool in this endeavor. By understanding the intricacies of environmental issues, we can make informed decisions and inspire others to do the same. Advocacy, too, is crucial. We must use our voices to influence policy and promote sustainable practices.

In conclusion, our environment is our responsibility. By acknowledging the impact of our actions and taking steps towards sustainability, we can ensure a healthier and more prosperous future for all.

500 Words Essay on My Environment My Responsibility

Introduction.

Our environment is the foundation of our existence, providing us with the resources we need to live, grow, and thrive. It is a complex system of interconnected elements that work together to create a balanced ecosystem. However, with the rapid advancements in technology and the surge in consumerism, our environment is under threat. As inhabitants of this planet, it is our responsibility to take care of our environment to ensure its sustainability for future generations.

Understanding Environmental Responsibility

Environmental responsibility refers to the duty that each one of us has towards maintaining the balance of our natural world. It involves making conscious decisions and taking actions that are in the best interest of our environment. This could range from reducing our waste, conserving energy, supporting renewable energy sources, to advocating for policies that protect our environment.

The Impact of Human Actions

Human actions have had a profound impact on our environment. The Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of massive human impact on the environment. Industrial activities and our consumerist lifestyle have led to environmental degradation, pollution, and climate change. Deforestation, overfishing, and overexploitation of natural resources have disrupted the balance of our ecosystems, leading to loss of biodiversity.

Our Responsibility Towards the Environment

As individuals, we have a responsibility to reduce our ecological footprint. This can be achieved by adopting sustainable practices in our daily lives. Simple actions like recycling, reducing our consumption, using public transport, or biking instead of driving can have a significant impact on our environment.

In addition to individual actions, collective efforts are also crucial. As members of society, we can influence and advocate for environmental policies. We can support businesses that prioritize sustainability and boycott those that harm our environment. We can also participate in community initiatives like tree planting, clean-up drives, and awareness campaigns.

Education and Awareness

Knowledge is power. Educating ourselves and others about the importance of environmental responsibility is a key step towards a sustainable future. Environmental education equips people with the understanding and skills they need to make informed decisions and take responsible action.

In conclusion, our environment is our responsibility. The choices we make today will determine the future of our planet. By embracing environmental responsibility, we can contribute to the preservation of our environment and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. The path towards environmental sustainability may seem challenging, but it is a journey that we must undertake, for our survival and the survival of our planet depends on it.

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• Open access
• Published: 18 April 2024

Research ethics and artificial intelligence for global health: perspectives from the global forum on bioethics in research

• James Shaw 1 , 13 ,
• Joseph Ali 2 , 3 ,
• Caesar A. Atuire 4 , 5 ,
• Phaik Yeong Cheah 6 ,
• Armando Guio Español 7 ,
• Judy Wawira Gichoya 8 ,
• Adrienne Hunt 9 ,
• Daudi Jjingo 10 ,
• Katherine Littler 9 ,
• Daniela Paolotti 11 &
• Effy Vayena 12  

BMC Medical Ethics volume  25 , Article number:  46 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The ethical governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care and public health continues to be an urgent issue for attention in policy, research, and practice. In this paper we report on central themes related to challenges and strategies for promoting ethics in research involving AI in global health, arising from the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR), held in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2022.

The GFBR is an annual meeting organized by the World Health Organization and supported by the Wellcome Trust, the US National Institutes of Health, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the South African MRC. The forum aims to bring together ethicists, researchers, policymakers, research ethics committee members and other actors to engage with challenges and opportunities specifically related to research ethics. In 2022 the focus of the GFBR was “Ethics of AI in Global Health Research”. The forum consisted of 6 case study presentations, 16 governance presentations, and a series of small group and large group discussions. A total of 87 participants attended the forum from 31 countries around the world, representing disciplines of bioethics, AI, health policy, health professional practice, research funding, and bioinformatics. In this paper, we highlight central insights arising from GFBR 2022.

We describe the significance of four thematic insights arising from the forum: (1) Appropriateness of building AI, (2) Transferability of AI systems, (3) Accountability for AI decision-making and outcomes, and (4) Individual consent. We then describe eight recommendations for governance leaders to enhance the ethical governance of AI in global health research, addressing issues such as AI impact assessments, environmental values, and fair partnerships.

Conclusions

The 2022 Global Forum on Bioethics in Research illustrated several innovations in ethical governance of AI for global health research, as well as several areas in need of urgent attention internationally. This summary is intended to inform international and domestic efforts to strengthen research ethics and support the evolution of governance leadership to meet the demands of AI in global health research.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

The ethical governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care and public health continues to be an urgent issue for attention in policy, research, and practice [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Beyond the growing number of AI applications being implemented in health care, capabilities of AI models such as Large Language Models (LLMs) expand the potential reach and significance of AI technologies across health-related fields [ 4 , 5 ]. Discussion about effective, ethical governance of AI technologies has spanned a range of governance approaches, including government regulation, organizational decision-making, professional self-regulation, and research ethics review [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. In this paper, we report on central themes related to challenges and strategies for promoting ethics in research involving AI in global health research, arising from the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR), held in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2022. Although applications of AI for research, health care, and public health are diverse and advancing rapidly, the insights generated at the forum remain highly relevant from a global health perspective. After summarizing important context for work in this domain, we highlight categories of ethical issues emphasized at the forum for attention from a research ethics perspective internationally. We then outline strategies proposed for research, innovation, and governance to support more ethical AI for global health.

In this paper, we adopt the definition of AI systems provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as our starting point. Their definition states that an AI system is “a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments. AI systems are designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy” [ 9 ]. The conceptualization of an algorithm as helping to constitute an AI system, along with hardware, other elements of software, and a particular context of use, illustrates the wide variety of ways in which AI can be applied. We have found it useful to differentiate applications of AI in research as those classified as “AI systems for discovery” and “AI systems for intervention”. An AI system for discovery is one that is intended to generate new knowledge, for example in drug discovery or public health research in which researchers are seeking potential targets for intervention, innovation, or further research. An AI system for intervention is one that directly contributes to enacting an intervention in a particular context, for example informing decision-making at the point of care or assisting with accuracy in a surgical procedure.

The mandate of the GFBR is to take a broad view of what constitutes research and its regulation in global health, with special attention to bioethics in Low- and Middle- Income Countries. AI as a group of technologies demands such a broad view. AI development for health occurs in a variety of environments, including universities and academic health sciences centers where research ethics review remains an important element of the governance of science and innovation internationally [ 10 , 11 ]. In these settings, research ethics committees (RECs; also known by different names such as Institutional Review Boards or IRBs) make decisions about the ethical appropriateness of projects proposed by researchers and other institutional members, ultimately determining whether a given project is allowed to proceed on ethical grounds [ 12 ].

However, research involving AI for health also takes place in large corporations and smaller scale start-ups, which in some jurisdictions fall outside the scope of research ethics regulation. In the domain of AI, the question of what constitutes research also becomes blurred. For example, is the development of an algorithm itself considered a part of the research process? Or only when that algorithm is tested under the formal constraints of a systematic research methodology? In this paper we take an inclusive view, in which AI development is included in the definition of research activity and within scope for our inquiry, regardless of the setting in which it takes place. This broad perspective characterizes the approach to “research ethics” we take in this paper, extending beyond the work of RECs to include the ethical analysis of the wide range of activities that constitute research as the generation of new knowledge and intervention in the world.

Ethical governance of AI in global health

The ethical governance of AI for global health has been widely discussed in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its guidelines on ethics and governance of AI for health in 2021, endorsing a set of six ethical principles and exploring the relevance of those principles through a variety of use cases. The WHO guidelines also provided an overview of AI governance, defining governance as covering “a range of steering and rule-making functions of governments and other decision-makers, including international health agencies, for the achievement of national health policy objectives conducive to universal health coverage.” (p. 81) The report usefully provided a series of recommendations related to governance of seven domains pertaining to AI for health: data, benefit sharing, the private sector, the public sector, regulation, policy observatories/model legislation, and global governance. The report acknowledges that much work is yet to be done to advance international cooperation on AI governance, especially related to prioritizing voices from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in global dialogue.

One important point emphasized in the WHO report that reinforces the broader literature on global governance of AI is the distribution of responsibility across a wide range of actors in the AI ecosystem. This is especially important to highlight when focused on research for global health, which is specifically about work that transcends national borders. Alami et al. (2020) discussed the unique risks raised by AI research in global health, ranging from the unavailability of data in many LMICs required to train locally relevant AI models to the capacity of health systems to absorb new AI technologies that demand the use of resources from elsewhere in the system. These observations illustrate the need to identify the unique issues posed by AI research for global health specifically, and the strategies that can be employed by all those implicated in AI governance to promote ethically responsible use of AI in global health research.

RECs and the regulation of research involving AI

RECs represent an important element of the governance of AI for global health research, and thus warrant further commentary as background to our paper. Despite the importance of RECs, foundational questions have been raised about their capabilities to accurately understand and address ethical issues raised by studies involving AI. Rahimzadeh et al. (2023) outlined how RECs in the United States are under-prepared to align with recent federal policy requiring that RECs review data sharing and management plans with attention to the unique ethical issues raised in AI research for health [ 13 ]. Similar research in South Africa identified variability in understanding of existing regulations and ethical issues associated with health-related big data sharing and management among research ethics committee members [ 14 , 15 ]. The effort to address harms accruing to groups or communities as opposed to individuals whose data are included in AI research has also been identified as a unique challenge for RECs [ 16 , 17 ]. Doerr and Meeder (2022) suggested that current regulatory frameworks for research ethics might actually prevent RECs from adequately addressing such issues, as they are deemed out of scope of REC review [ 16 ]. Furthermore, research in the United Kingdom and Canada has suggested that researchers using AI methods for health tend to distinguish between ethical issues and social impact of their research, adopting an overly narrow view of what constitutes ethical issues in their work [ 18 ].

The challenges for RECs in adequately addressing ethical issues in AI research for health care and public health exceed a straightforward survey of ethical considerations. As Ferretti et al. (2021) contend, some capabilities of RECs adequately cover certain issues in AI-based health research, such as the common occurrence of conflicts of interest where researchers who accept funds from commercial technology providers are implicitly incentivized to produce results that align with commercial interests [ 12 ]. However, some features of REC review require reform to adequately meet ethical needs. Ferretti et al. outlined weaknesses of RECs that are longstanding and those that are novel to AI-related projects, proposing a series of directions for development that are regulatory, procedural, and complementary to REC functionality. The work required on a global scale to update the REC function in response to the demands of research involving AI is substantial.

These issues take greater urgency in the context of global health [ 19 ]. Teixeira da Silva (2022) described the global practice of “ethics dumping”, where researchers from high income countries bring ethically contentious practices to RECs in low-income countries as a strategy to gain approval and move projects forward [ 20 ]. Although not yet systematically documented in AI research for health, risk of ethics dumping in AI research is high. Evidence is already emerging of practices of “health data colonialism”, in which AI researchers and developers from large organizations in high-income countries acquire data to build algorithms in LMICs to avoid stricter regulations [ 21 ]. This specific practice is part of a larger collection of practices that characterize health data colonialism, involving the broader exploitation of data and the populations they represent primarily for commercial gain [ 21 , 22 ]. As an additional complication, AI algorithms trained on data from high-income contexts are unlikely to apply in straightforward ways to LMIC settings [ 21 , 23 ]. In the context of global health, there is widespread acknowledgement about the need to not only enhance the knowledge base of REC members about AI-based methods internationally, but to acknowledge the broader shifts required to encourage their capabilities to more fully address these and other ethical issues associated with AI research for health [ 8 ].

Although RECs are an important part of the story of the ethical governance of AI for global health research, they are not the only part. The responsibilities of supra-national entities such as the World Health Organization, national governments, organizational leaders, commercial AI technology providers, health care professionals, and other groups continue to be worked out internationally. In this context of ongoing work, examining issues that demand attention and strategies to address them remains an urgent and valuable task.

The GFBR is an annual meeting organized by the World Health Organization and supported by the Wellcome Trust, the US National Institutes of Health, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the South African MRC. The forum aims to bring together ethicists, researchers, policymakers, REC members and other actors to engage with challenges and opportunities specifically related to research ethics. Each year the GFBR meeting includes a series of case studies and keynotes presented in plenary format to an audience of approximately 100 people who have applied and been competitively selected to attend, along with small-group breakout discussions to advance thinking on related issues. The specific topic of the forum changes each year, with past topics including ethical issues in research with people living with mental health conditions (2021), genome editing (2019), and biobanking/data sharing (2018). The forum is intended to remain grounded in the practical challenges of engaging in research ethics, with special interest in low resource settings from a global health perspective. A post-meeting fellowship scheme is open to all LMIC participants, providing a unique opportunity to apply for funding to further explore and address the ethical challenges that are identified during the meeting.

In 2022, the focus of the GFBR was “Ethics of AI in Global Health Research”. The forum consisted of 6 case study presentations (both short and long form) reporting on specific initiatives related to research ethics and AI for health, and 16 governance presentations (both short and long form) reporting on actual approaches to governing AI in different country settings. A keynote presentation from Professor Effy Vayena addressed the topic of the broader context for AI ethics in a rapidly evolving field. A total of 87 participants attended the forum from 31 countries around the world, representing disciplines of bioethics, AI, health policy, health professional practice, research funding, and bioinformatics. The 2-day forum addressed a wide range of themes. The conference report provides a detailed overview of each of the specific topics addressed while a policy paper outlines the cross-cutting themes (both documents are available at the GFBR website: https://www.gfbr.global/past-meetings/16th-forum-cape-town-south-africa-29-30-november-2022/ ). As opposed to providing a detailed summary in this paper, we aim to briefly highlight central issues raised, solutions proposed, and the challenges facing the research ethics community in the years to come.

In this way, our primary aim in this paper is to present a synthesis of the challenges and opportunities raised at the GFBR meeting and in the planning process, followed by our reflections as a group of authors on their significance for governance leaders in the coming years. We acknowledge that the views represented at the meeting and in our results are a partial representation of the universe of views on this topic; however, the GFBR leadership invested a great deal of resources in convening a deeply diverse and thoughtful group of researchers and practitioners working on themes of bioethics related to AI for global health including those based in LMICs. We contend that it remains rare to convene such a strong group for an extended time and believe that many of the challenges and opportunities raised demand attention for more ethical futures of AI for health. Nonetheless, our results are primarily descriptive and are thus not explicitly grounded in a normative argument. We make effort in the Discussion section to contextualize our results by describing their significance and connecting them to broader efforts to reform global health research and practice.

Uniquely important ethical issues for AI in global health research

Presentations and group dialogue over the course of the forum raised several issues for consideration, and here we describe four overarching themes for the ethical governance of AI in global health research. Brief descriptions of each issue can be found in Table  1 . Reports referred to throughout the paper are available at the GFBR website provided above.

The first overarching thematic issue relates to the appropriateness of building AI technologies in response to health-related challenges in the first place. Case study presentations referred to initiatives where AI technologies were highly appropriate, such as in ear shape biometric identification to more accurately link electronic health care records to individual patients in Zambia (Alinani Simukanga). Although important ethical issues were raised with respect to privacy, trust, and community engagement in this initiative, the AI-based solution was appropriately matched to the challenge of accurately linking electronic records to specific patient identities. In contrast, forum participants raised questions about the appropriateness of an initiative using AI to improve the quality of handwashing practices in an acute care hospital in India (Niyoshi Shah), which led to gaming the algorithm. Overall, participants acknowledged the dangers of techno-solutionism, in which AI researchers and developers treat AI technologies as the most obvious solutions to problems that in actuality demand much more complex strategies to address [ 24 ]. However, forum participants agreed that RECs in different contexts have differing degrees of power to raise issues of the appropriateness of an AI-based intervention.

The second overarching thematic issue related to whether and how AI-based systems transfer from one national health context to another. One central issue raised by a number of case study presentations related to the challenges of validating an algorithm with data collected in a local environment. For example, one case study presentation described a project that would involve the collection of personally identifiable data for sensitive group identities, such as tribe, clan, or religion, in the jurisdictions involved (South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and the US; Gakii Masunga). Doing so would enable the team to ensure that those groups were adequately represented in the dataset to ensure the resulting algorithm was not biased against specific community groups when deployed in that context. However, some members of these communities might desire to be represented in the dataset, whereas others might not, illustrating the need to balance autonomy and inclusivity. It was also widely recognized that collecting these data is an immense challenge, particularly when historically oppressive practices have led to a low-trust environment for international organizations and the technologies they produce. It is important to note that in some countries such as South Africa and Rwanda, it is illegal to collect information such as race and tribal identities, re-emphasizing the importance for cultural awareness and avoiding “one size fits all” solutions.

The third overarching thematic issue is related to understanding accountabilities for both the impacts of AI technologies and governance decision-making regarding their use. Where global health research involving AI leads to longer-term harms that might fall outside the usual scope of issues considered by a REC, who is to be held accountable, and how? This question was raised as one that requires much further attention, with law being mixed internationally regarding the mechanisms available to hold researchers, innovators, and their institutions accountable over the longer term. However, it was recognized in breakout group discussion that many jurisdictions are developing strong data protection regimes related specifically to international collaboration for research involving health data. For example, Kenya’s Data Protection Act requires that any internationally funded projects have a local principal investigator who will hold accountability for how data are shared and used [ 25 ]. The issue of research partnerships with commercial entities was raised by many participants in the context of accountability, pointing toward the urgent need for clear principles related to strategies for engagement with commercial technology companies in global health research.

The fourth and final overarching thematic issue raised here is that of consent. The issue of consent was framed by the widely shared recognition that models of individual, explicit consent might not produce a supportive environment for AI innovation that relies on the secondary uses of health-related datasets to build AI algorithms. Given this recognition, approaches such as community oversight of health data uses were suggested as a potential solution. However, the details of implementing such community oversight mechanisms require much further attention, particularly given the unique perspectives on health data in different country settings in global health research. Furthermore, some uses of health data do continue to require consent. One case study of South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda suggested that when health data are shared across borders, individual consent remains necessary when data is transferred from certain countries (Nezerith Cengiz). Broader clarity is necessary to support the ethical governance of health data uses for AI in global health research.

Recommendations for ethical governance of AI in global health research

Dialogue at the forum led to a range of suggestions for promoting ethical conduct of AI research for global health, related to the various roles of actors involved in the governance of AI research broadly defined. The strategies are written for actors we refer to as “governance leaders”, those people distributed throughout the AI for global health research ecosystem who are responsible for ensuring the ethical and socially responsible conduct of global health research involving AI (including researchers themselves). These include RECs, government regulators, health care leaders, health professionals, corporate social accountability officers, and others. Enacting these strategies would bolster the ethical governance of AI for global health more generally, enabling multiple actors to fulfill their roles related to governing research and development activities carried out across multiple organizations, including universities, academic health sciences centers, start-ups, and technology corporations. Specific suggestions are summarized in Table  2 .

First, forum participants suggested that governance leaders including RECs, should remain up to date on recent advances in the regulation of AI for health. Regulation of AI for health advances rapidly and takes on different forms in jurisdictions around the world. RECs play an important role in governance, but only a partial role; it was deemed important for RECs to acknowledge how they fit within a broader governance ecosystem in order to more effectively address the issues within their scope. Not only RECs but organizational leaders responsible for procurement, researchers, and commercial actors should all commit to efforts to remain up to date about the relevant approaches to regulating AI for health care and public health in jurisdictions internationally. In this way, governance can more adequately remain up to date with advances in regulation.

Second, forum participants suggested that governance leaders should focus on ethical governance of health data as a basis for ethical global health AI research. Health data are considered the foundation of AI development, being used to train AI algorithms for various uses [ 26 ]. By focusing on ethical governance of health data generation, sharing, and use, multiple actors will help to build an ethical foundation for AI development among global health researchers.

Third, forum participants believed that governance processes should incorporate AI impact assessments where appropriate. An AI impact assessment is the process of evaluating the potential effects, both positive and negative, of implementing an AI algorithm on individuals, society, and various stakeholders, generally over time frames specified in advance of implementation [ 27 ]. Although not all types of AI research in global health would warrant an AI impact assessment, this is especially relevant for those studies aiming to implement an AI system for intervention into health care or public health. Organizations such as RECs can use AI impact assessments to boost understanding of potential harms at the outset of a research project, encouraging researchers to more deeply consider potential harms in the development of their study.

Fourth, forum participants suggested that governance decisions should incorporate the use of environmental impact assessments, or at least the incorporation of environment values when assessing the potential impact of an AI system. An environmental impact assessment involves evaluating and anticipating the potential environmental effects of a proposed project to inform ethical decision-making that supports sustainability [ 28 ]. Although a relatively new consideration in research ethics conversations [ 29 ], the environmental impact of building technologies is a crucial consideration for the public health commitment to environmental sustainability. Governance leaders can use environmental impact assessments to boost understanding of potential environmental harms linked to AI research projects in global health over both the shorter and longer terms.

Fifth, forum participants suggested that governance leaders should require stronger transparency in the development of AI algorithms in global health research. Transparency was considered essential in the design and development of AI algorithms for global health to ensure ethical and accountable decision-making throughout the process. Furthermore, whether and how researchers have considered the unique contexts into which such algorithms may be deployed can be surfaced through stronger transparency, for example in describing what primary considerations were made at the outset of the project and which stakeholders were consulted along the way. Sharing information about data provenance and methods used in AI development will also enhance the trustworthiness of the AI-based research process.

Sixth, forum participants suggested that governance leaders can encourage or require community engagement at various points throughout an AI project. It was considered that engaging patients and communities is crucial in AI algorithm development to ensure that the technology aligns with community needs and values. However, participants acknowledged that this is not a straightforward process. Effective community engagement requires lengthy commitments to meeting with and hearing from diverse communities in a given setting, and demands a particular set of skills in communication and dialogue that are not possessed by all researchers. Encouraging AI researchers to begin this process early and build long-term partnerships with community members is a promising strategy to deepen community engagement in AI research for global health. One notable recommendation was that research funders have an opportunity to incentivize and enable community engagement with funds dedicated to these activities in AI research in global health.

Seventh, forum participants suggested that governance leaders can encourage researchers to build strong, fair partnerships between institutions and individuals across country settings. In a context of longstanding imbalances in geopolitical and economic power, fair partnerships in global health demand a priori commitments to share benefits related to advances in medical technologies, knowledge, and financial gains. Although enforcement of this point might be beyond the remit of RECs, commentary will encourage researchers to consider stronger, fairer partnerships in global health in the longer term.

Eighth, it became evident that it is necessary to explore new forms of regulatory experimentation given the complexity of regulating a technology of this nature. In addition, the health sector has a series of particularities that make it especially complicated to generate rules that have not been previously tested. Several participants highlighted the desire to promote spaces for experimentation such as regulatory sandboxes or innovation hubs in health. These spaces can have several benefits for addressing issues surrounding the regulation of AI in the health sector, such as: (i) increasing the capacities and knowledge of health authorities about this technology; (ii) identifying the major problems surrounding AI regulation in the health sector; (iii) establishing possibilities for exchange and learning with other authorities; (iv) promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in AI in health; and (vi) identifying the need to regulate AI in this sector and update other existing regulations.

Ninth and finally, forum participants believed that the capabilities of governance leaders need to evolve to better incorporate expertise related to AI in ways that make sense within a given jurisdiction. With respect to RECs, for example, it might not make sense for every REC to recruit a member with expertise in AI methods. Rather, it will make more sense in some jurisdictions to consult with members of the scientific community with expertise in AI when research protocols are submitted that demand such expertise. Furthermore, RECs and other approaches to research governance in jurisdictions around the world will need to evolve in order to adopt the suggestions outlined above, developing processes that apply specifically to the ethical governance of research using AI methods in global health.

Research involving the development and implementation of AI technologies continues to grow in global health, posing important challenges for ethical governance of AI in global health research around the world. In this paper we have summarized insights from the 2022 GFBR, focused specifically on issues in research ethics related to AI for global health research. We summarized four thematic challenges for governance related to AI in global health research and nine suggestions arising from presentations and dialogue at the forum. In this brief discussion section, we present an overarching observation about power imbalances that frames efforts to evolve the role of governance in global health research, and then outline two important opportunity areas as the field develops to meet the challenges of AI in global health research.

Dialogue about power is not unfamiliar in global health, especially given recent contributions exploring what it would mean to de-colonize global health research, funding, and practice [ 30 , 31 ]. Discussions of research ethics applied to AI research in global health contexts are deeply infused with power imbalances. The existing context of global health is one in which high-income countries primarily located in the “Global North” charitably invest in projects taking place primarily in the “Global South” while recouping knowledge, financial, and reputational benefits [ 32 ]. With respect to AI development in particular, recent examples of digital colonialism frame dialogue about global partnerships, raising attention to the role of large commercial entities and global financial capitalism in global health research [ 21 , 22 ]. Furthermore, the power of governance organizations such as RECs to intervene in the process of AI research in global health varies widely around the world, depending on the authorities assigned to them by domestic research governance policies. These observations frame the challenges outlined in our paper, highlighting the difficulties associated with making meaningful change in this field.

Despite these overarching challenges of the global health research context, there are clear strategies for progress in this domain. Firstly, AI innovation is rapidly evolving, which means approaches to the governance of AI for health are rapidly evolving too. Such rapid evolution presents an important opportunity for governance leaders to clarify their vision and influence over AI innovation in global health research, boosting the expertise, structure, and functionality required to meet the demands of research involving AI. Secondly, the research ethics community has strong international ties, linked to a global scholarly community that is committed to sharing insights and best practices around the world. This global community can be leveraged to coordinate efforts to produce advances in the capabilities and authorities of governance leaders to meaningfully govern AI research for global health given the challenges summarized in our paper.

Limitations

Our paper includes two specific limitations that we address explicitly here. First, it is still early in the lifetime of the development of applications of AI for use in global health, and as such, the global community has had limited opportunity to learn from experience. For example, there were many fewer case studies, which detail experiences with the actual implementation of an AI technology, submitted to GFBR 2022 for consideration than was expected. In contrast, there were many more governance reports submitted, which detail the processes and outputs of governance processes that anticipate the development and dissemination of AI technologies. This observation represents both a success and a challenge. It is a success that so many groups are engaging in anticipatory governance of AI technologies, exploring evidence of their likely impacts and governing technologies in novel and well-designed ways. It is a challenge that there is little experience to build upon of the successful implementation of AI technologies in ways that have limited harms while promoting innovation. Further experience with AI technologies in global health will contribute to revising and enhancing the challenges and recommendations we have outlined in our paper.

Second, global trends in the politics and economics of AI technologies are evolving rapidly. Although some nations are advancing detailed policy approaches to regulating AI more generally, including for uses in health care and public health, the impacts of corporate investments in AI and political responses related to governance remain to be seen. The excitement around large language models (LLMs) and large multimodal models (LMMs) has drawn deeper attention to the challenges of regulating AI in any general sense, opening dialogue about health sector-specific regulations. The direction of this global dialogue, strongly linked to high-profile corporate actors and multi-national governance institutions, will strongly influence the development of boundaries around what is possible for the ethical governance of AI for global health. We have written this paper at a point when these developments are proceeding rapidly, and as such, we acknowledge that our recommendations will need updating as the broader field evolves.

Ultimately, coordination and collaboration between many stakeholders in the research ethics ecosystem will be necessary to strengthen the ethical governance of AI in global health research. The 2022 GFBR illustrated several innovations in ethical governance of AI for global health research, as well as several areas in need of urgent attention internationally. This summary is intended to inform international and domestic efforts to strengthen research ethics and support the evolution of governance leadership to meet the demands of AI in global health research.

Data availability

All data and materials analyzed to produce this paper are available on the GFBR website: https://www.gfbr.global/past-meetings/16th-forum-cape-town-south-africa-29-30-november-2022/ .

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of the attendees of GFBR 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. This paper is authored by members of the GFBR 2022 Planning Committee. We would like to acknowledge additional members Tamra Lysaght, National University of Singapore, and Niresh Bhagwandin, South African Medical Research Council, for their input during the planning stages and as reviewers of the applications to attend the Forum.

This work was supported by Wellcome [222525/Z/21/Z], the US National Institutes of Health, the UK Medical Research Council (part of UK Research and Innovation), and the South African Medical Research Council through funding to the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research.

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Caesar A. Atuire

Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

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Health Ethics & Governance Unit, Research for Health Department, Science Division, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

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JS led the writing, contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. JA contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. CA contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. PYC contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. AE contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. JWG contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. AH contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. DJ contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. KL contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. DP contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper. EV contributed to conceptualization and analysis, critically reviewed and provided feedback on drafts of this paper, and provided final approval of the paper.

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Shaw, J., Ali, J., Atuire, C.A. et al. Research ethics and artificial intelligence for global health: perspectives from the global forum on bioethics in research. BMC Med Ethics 25 , 46 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-024-01044-w

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Received : 31 October 2023

Accepted : 01 April 2024

Published : 18 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-024-01044-w

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