World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5 June every year, and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on environmental issues emerging from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has provided a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and all celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.[1][2]

Environment day
Official nameUN World Environment Day
Also calledEco Day, Environment Day, WED (world environment day)
TypeInternational
SignificanceEnvironmental issues awareness
ObservancesEnvironment Protection
Date5 June
First time5 June 1974 (5 June 1974)
World Environment Day in India

History

World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth". Even though WED celebration have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the centre of these activities through selecting different host countries began.[1][2]

Host cities

World Environment Day celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities:[3]

Year Theme Host city
1974Only one Earth during Expo '74Spokane, United States
1975Human SettlementsDhaka, Bangladesh
1976Water: Vital Resource for LifeOntario, Canada
1977Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil DegradationSylhet, Bangladesh
1978Development Without DestructionSylhet, Bangladesh
1979Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without DestructionSylhet, Bangladesh
1980A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without DestructionSylhet, Bangladesh
1981Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food ChainsSylhet, Bangladesh
1982Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)Dhaka, Bangladesh
1983Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and EnergySylhet, Bangladesh
1984DesertificationRajshahi, Bangladesh
1985Youth: Population and the EnvironmentIslamabad, Pakistan
1986A Tree for PeaceOntario, Canada
1987Environment and Shelter: More Than A RoofNairobi, Kenya
1988When People Put the Environment First, Development Will LastBangkok, Thailand
1989Global Warming; Global WarningBrussels, Belgium
1990Children and the EnvironmentMexico City, Mexico
1991Climate Change. Need for Global PartnershipStockholm, Sweden
1992Only One Earth, Care and ShareRio de Janeiro, Brazil
1993Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious CircleBeijing, People's Republic of China
1994One Earth One FamilyLondon, United Kingdom
1995We the Peoples: United for the Global EnvironmentPretoria, South Africa
1996Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our HomeIstanbul, Turkey
1997For Life on EarthSeoul, Republic of Korea
1998For Life on Earth – Save Our SeasMoscow, Russian Federation
1999Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It!Tokyo, Japan
2000The Environment Millennium – Time to ActAdelaide, Australia
2001Connect with the World Wide Web of LifeTorino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
2002Give Earth a ChanceShenzhen, People's Republic of China
2003Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!Beirut, Lebanon
2004Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?Barcelona, Spain
2005Green Cities – Plan for the Planet!San Francisco, United States
2006Deserts and Desertification – Don't Desert Drylands!Algiers, Algeria
2007Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?London, England
2008Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon EconomyWellington, New Zealand
2009Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate ChangeMexico City, Mexico
2010Many Species. One Planet. One FutureRangpur, Bangladesh
2011Forests: Nature at your ServiceKathmandu, Nepal
2012Green Economy: Does it include you?Brasilia, Brazil
2013Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your FoodprintUlaanbaatar, Mongolia
2014Raise your voice, not the sea levelBridgetown, Barbados
2015Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.Rome, Italy
2016Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife tradeLuanda, Angola
2017Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equatorOttawa, Canada
2018Beat Plastic Pollution[4]New Delhi, India
2019Beat Air Pollution[5]China
2020 Time for Nature[6][2] Colombia

Annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments

For almost five decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving changes for the environment. Here is a timeline of key accomplishments in WEDs’ history:

2005
Standard WED banners hung in San Francisco in May 2005.

The theme for the 2005 World Environment Day was "Green Cities" and the slogan was "Plant for the Planet!".[7]

2006

The topic for WED 2006 was Deserts and Desertification and the slogan was "Don't desert drylands".[8]

The slogan emphasised the importance of protecting drylands. The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2006 were held in Algeria.

2007

The topic for World Environment Day for 2007 was "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?" During International Polar Year, WED 2007 focused on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, on other ice- and snow-covered areas of the world, and the resulting global impacts.

The main international celebrations of the WED 2007 were held in the city of Tromsø, Norway, a city north of the Arctic Circle.[9]

Egypt issued a postage stamp for the 2007 World Environment Day.[10]

2008

The host for World Environment Day 2008 was New Zealand, with the main international celebrations scheduled for Wellington. The slogan for 2008 was "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon-neutrality, and will also focus on forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.[11]

The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host[12] for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008.

2009

The theme for WED 2009 was 'Your Planet Needs You – UNite to Combat Climate Change', and Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song' was declared 'World Environment Day Song'. It was hosted in Mexico.[13]

2010

'Many Species. One Planet. One Future', was the theme of 2010.

It celebrated the diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. It was hosted in Rwanda. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events and much more.[14] Each continent (except Antarctica) had a "regional host city", the U.N. chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the host for all North.[15]

2011

The world environment day of 2011 was hosted by India. It was the 1st time for India to host the day. The theme for 2011 was Forests – Nature At Your Service. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events, tree plantings[16] and much more.

2012

The theme for the 2012 World Environment Day was Green Economy.[17]

The theme aimed to invite people to examine their activities and lifestyle and see how the concept of a "Green Economy" fits into it. The host country for the year's celebrations was Brazil.[17]

2013
Stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Environmental Festival 2011
World Environment Day 2011 in Donetsk, Ukraine
US Consul CG Yee, along with the Mayor of Thessaloniki Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, the Prefect of Thessaloniki Panagiotis Psomiadis, and many others participating in World Environment Day on the waterfront, Bike Path
Trees planting during the World Environment Day 2012 in Konso – Ethiopia.

The 2013 theme for World Environment Day was Think.Eat.Save.[18]

The campaign addressed the huge annual wastage and losses in food, which, if conserved, would release a large quantity of food as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint. The campaign aimed to bring about awareness in countries with lifestyles resulting in food wastage. It also aimed to empower people to make informed choices about the food they eat so as to reduce the overall ecological impact due to the worldwide production of food.[18] The host country for the year's celebrations was Mongolia.

2014

The Theme of the 2014 WED is : International Year of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). By choosing this Theme the UN General Assembly aimed to highlight the development Challenges and successes of the SIDS. In 2014, the World Environment Day focused on global warming and its impact on ocean levels.[19] The Slogan of the WED 2014 is "Raise your voice not the sea level", as Barbados hosted the global celebrations of the 42nd edition of the World Environment Day.[20][21] The UN Environment Programme named actor Ian Somerhalder as the official Goodwill ambassador of the WED 2014.[22]

2015

The Slogan of the 2015 edition of the World Environment Day is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care". The slogan was picked through a voting process on social media.[23][24] In Saudi Arabia, 15 women recycled 2000 plastic bags to crochet a mural in support of the WED 2015.[25] In India, Narendra Modi planted a Kadamb sapling to celebrate the World Environment Day and raise awareness for Environment.[26][27] Italy is the host country of the 43rd edition of the WED. The celebrations took place as part of Milan Expo around the theme: Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life.[28]

2016

The 2016 WED was organized under the theme "Go wild for life". This edition of the WED aims to reduce and prevent the illegal trade in wildlife.[29] Angola was chosen as the host country of the 2016 WED during the COP21 in Paris.[30][31]

Activities for world environment day in Bhopal, India

2017

The theme for 2017 was 'Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator'. The host nation was Canada.[32]

2018

The theme for 2018 was "Beat Plastic Pollution". The host nation was India.[33] By choosing this theme, it is hoped that people may strive to change their everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution. People should be free from the over-reliance on single-use or disposables, as they have severe environmental consequences. We should liberate our natural places, our wildlife and our own health from plastics.[34] The Indian government pledged to eliminate all single use of plastic in India by 2022.[35]

2019

The theme for 2019 was "Beat Air Pollution". The host nation was China. This theme was chosen as air pollution kills about 7 million people annually.[36]

In Réunion Island, Miss Earth 2018 Nguyễn Phương Khánh from Vietnam delivered her speech during World Environment Day with the theme "How to fight global warming".[37]

2020

The theme for 2020 was "Time for Nature", and was hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.[6]

Colombia is one of the largest megadiverse countries in the world and holds close to 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Since it is part of the Amazon rainforest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

WORLD Environment Day Anthem

An Earth Anthem penned by poet Abhay K is sung to celebrate World Environment Day.[38]

Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl
the most beautiful planet in the universe
all the continents and all the oceans
united we stand as flora and fauna
united we stand as species of one earth
different cultures, beliefs and ways
we are humans, the earth is our home
all the people and the nations of the world
all for one and one for all
united we unfurl the blue marble flag.

[39]

It was launched in June 2013 on the occasion of the World Environment Day by Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, then Union Ministers of India, at a function organized by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi.[40] It is supported by the global organization Habitat For Humanity.[41]

See also

References
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