World Nature Conservation Day 2026: Tarun Mansukhani, Sadia Khateeb, Harshita Gaur and Lauren Gottlieb reflect on protecting nature through culture, community and conscious choices

World Nature Conservation Day 2026 serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving the planet's natural resources and biodiversity for future generations. Marked every year on July 28, the day encourages individuals and communities to adopt sustainable practices while recognising that environmental conservation is a shared responsibility. Joining the conversation this year, filmmaker Tarun Mansukhani, actors Sadia Khateeb and Harshita Gaur, and actress-dancer Lauren Gottlieb shared their personal perspectives on why protecting nature matters and how conservation can become a part of everyday life.

Filmmaker Tarun Mansukhani highlighted the inseparable bond between nature and storytelling, saying, “As someone who's spent years working in cinema, I've come to realise that nature isn't just scenery we place a story in front of, it actually shapes the stories we end up telling and the memories we carry as an audience. Some of our most iconic landscapes have become inseparable from the films and folklore built around them. Take away the location, and often the story loses a part of its soul. Our festivals, our traditions, our folklore, all of it is deeply rooted in the natural world in ways we don't always stop to acknowledge. So when we talk about protecting nature, we're not just talking about the environment; we're talking about preserving cultural identity for the generations who come after us. That's what makes conservation feel personal to me, not abstract.”

Sadia Khateeb reflected on the importance of learning from traditional practices while embracing modern solutions. She shared, “Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for conservation isn't inventing something new, it's preserving the wisdom we've already inherited. Traditional practices, the ones our grandparents followed without even calling them 'sustainable,' were built on a relationship with nature that was far more balanced than what we practise today. They didn't have the language of conservation, but they lived it in how they cooked, how they farmed, how they stored water and food for the seasons ahead. That restraint came from actually understanding scarcity, not from lack of access, but from respect for it. I don't believe progress and tradition need to compete with each other. We can move forward with new technology and still carry that older wisdom with us, using it as a foundation rather than something we've outgrown. For me, conservation starts with looking backward before we look forward.”

Harshita Gaur stressed that conservation begins in our immediate surroundings and that even small actions can make a meaningful difference. She said, “We tend to think conservation is something that happens far away, in national parks or wildlife sanctuaries, somewhere removed from our everyday lives. But honestly, it begins right where we live. It's the birds that visit our balconies, the butterflies in a nearby park, the trees and plants that somehow still manage to survive in the middle of our cities. We just don't notice them enough to protect them. Even our cities can support biodiversity if we make a little room for it, instead of paving over every inch of green space. Something as simple as planting a native species instead of an ornamental one, or protecting a small patch of green in your locality, has a ripple effect that goes further than we realise. I think that's the part people forget, that conservation is often small and local before it's ever big and global.”

Lauren Gottlieb, meanwhile, spoke about responsible travel and the importance of respecting the places we visit. She said, “I love how much travel teaches you, if you let it go beyond just seeing a place. For me, the best way to experience somewhere new is by respecting it, not consuming it. I try to actually learn about the culture, the food, the people, and the environment of wherever I go, instead of just passing through it. It deepens the whole experience in a way that a checklist never could. I always try to leave a destination the way I found it, or better, whether that's how I engage with the local community, how I treat the land, or the small choices I make along the way. Local ecosystems aren't just photo backdrops for me; they're living, breathing systems I feel lucky to be a temporary guest in. There's something so grounding about that mindset; it makes every trip feel more meaningful.”

Also Read: Lauren Gottlieb had auditioned for Michael Jackson’s final tour: “I got to perform in front of him”

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