Elephants have learned to dig in the parched ground to find water, which is growing ever scarcer due to the drought caused by global warming.

The older individuals show the younger ones how to do it, letting them access the wells before the others while at the same time protecting them from predators. Like lions, which try to escape the heat by sheltering in the shade of a baobab. The other animals, too, arrive on the scene to drink after waiting their turn.

It is a simple scene — one that in Africa is an everyday occurrence during the dry season — yet it is capable of revealing the perfect symbiosis between living beings and the ever-changing environment that surrounds them.

When World Nature Day was founded

To celebrate the extraordinary biodiversity of our Planet and encourage the search for solutions to protect it, 3 March marks World Nature Day (World Wildlife Day). It was established by the United Nations in 2013, and the date chosen coincides with the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), signed in the American city of Washington on 3 March 1973.

What is the theme of World Nature Day 2021

The 2021 edition is dedicated to forests and their symbiosis with human beings. Between 200 and 350 million people live within or near forested areas.

A symbol of the indissoluble bond between humankind and nature are, in particular, indigenous peoples, who are the guardians of some of the Earth's most pristine forests and base both their livelihoods and their cultural identity on them.

This year's Day aims to learn from indigenous peoples how to protect trees, which are our foremost allies in absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing temperatures.

Betting on forests to save the Planet

As Wwf recalls, nature-based solutions — such as the restoration of natural forests, peatlands, mangroves, and the recovery of freshwater and marine ecosystems — can play a crucial role in the fight against the climate crisis.

They would, in fact, contribute to more than a third of the efforts needed to mitigate climate change by 2030, and would cut global CO2 emissions by more than 10 billion tonnes a year — the equivalent of the current combined emissions of the United States and the European Union.

According to the organisation's estimates — published on the occasion of World Wildlife Day in the new report Valore natura for the campaign Renature Italy — restoring 350 million hectares of woodland by the end of the decade could generate benefits worth 170 billion dollars a year.

For this reason, Italy and Europe must commit to using the funds allocated for the post-pandemic period to achieve a recovery that is genuinely guided by sustainability. Because investing in nature will be able to guarantee, without great risk, the achievement of our goals.