UNEP reports that “up to 40 percent of the planet’s land is degraded” and that “the number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 percent since 2000.”

While many are concerned about such statistics, Jehovah’s Witnesses share a positive message for the Earth.

“While the Bible foretold a time when the Earth would be brought to the brink of ruin,” said Phillip Ng’oma, local spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses, “it also affirms that the Creator is committed to our planet and to humans. The Bible gives us hope that there will one day be an end to the abuse and exploitation of the Earth.

The No. 1, 2023 issue of Awake! magazine, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses, is titled “Can Our Planet Survive? —Reasons for Hope.” It discusses Bible promises about the restoration of Earth’s four primary ecosystems: fresh water, oceans, forests and air.

For example, regarding forests, the magazine reveals: “Since the late 1940’s, half the world’s rain forests have disappeared. When a forest is destroyed, the benefits of the ecosystem and all that it provides go with it.”

The article goes on to say that “some deforested lands have displayed an amazing ability to recover and even expand. Ecologists have recently observed, to their surprise, how quickly deforested lands have been able to regrow naturally and become healthy forests again.”

“With such clear evidence that the planet can recover,” says Ng’oma, “We can have absolute confidence in the Bible’s promise that soon even lifeless wildernesses and deserts will be restored and blossom. The Creator designed Earth to survive.”