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Today, on the eve of World Environment Day, my thoughts return to my childhood. I recall walking on the sands of Clifton Beach, watching fishermen bring in the day's catch, picking up sea shells and listening to the sounds of the ocean.

I remember the serene beauty of a clear star-studded night, the fragrance of flowers wafting in the air and the silver sheen of a brook tumbling on its way. All these scenes are the essence of international efforts to conserve the environment — clean air to breathe, pure water to drink and productive soil.

But will this natural bounty be available for our children? If we don't mend our ways, the answer is no. Fishermen no longer come to Clifton Beach. The sea is filled with carelessly discarded garbage. Empty cans and plastic trash have replaced the shells on the sand. And factories spew out chemicals and smoke, polluting our cities' air.

For centuries, we took nature for granted, expecting it to replenish itself. But we cannot count on the Earth to heal itself. It is time we woke up to the reality of our responsibility to preserve the planet for our children and our children's children.

One of the consequences of our irresponsible actions is the widening of the ozone layer, which is leading to the warming of our planet — a change that is melting glaciers and affecting the global climate. This development can have a devastating effect on crops and lead to famine and starvation. And some countries in our neighborhood, like the Maldives and parts of Bangladesh, face even more serious consequences due to the rising ocean level.

In Pakistan, we have made a modest beginning. We have set up the Marine Pollution Control Board, banned non-biodegradable plastic bags, planted millions of trees and taken steps to preserve our juniper forests (juniper trees grow only 1 inch a year).

But we still have a long way to go in explaining to and educating our people about the importance of protecting our environment and preserving the beauty of the natural world.

Our people — and the people of the world — need to realize that the planet's environment is only as strong as its weakest link. Our ecological chain will snap unless every living organism has the wherewithal to fulfill its purpose in creation.

Our natural surroundings, from the water to the air to the soil, are in a delicate balance. We can bring about the apocalypse at any time by neglecting our responsibility to preserve this order.

Can we rise to the challenge? I believe we have no choice — we must.

Large cities today suffer from inadequate infrastructure, poor roads and communication lines, erratic power supplies and overflowing sewage systems. More importantly, they suffer from administrative and financial mismanagement.

It is in the cities that we must begin our battle. We need fresh and innovative ways of management. We need cogeneration of resources, using the end product of one industry as the raw material of another. We need integrated treatment plants and more efforts to increase productivity and reduce costs.

The environment is a concern for us all. Every small effort makes a difference, and every individual can and should help.

Let us, individually and collectively, popularize the slogan "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle." That is the goal of World Environment Day — and that should be our goal every day of the year.

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