World Environment Day : A global platform to help our environment.
World Environment Day is on such an initiative to spread awareness about the conservation and preservation of the environment. Celebrated on June 5th every year, people from all places take part in doing their bit for the environment. World Environment Day is an initiative started by the United Nations as a part of the UN Environment Programme.
June 5th was declared as World Environment Day by the UN General Assembly at the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972. Many important environmental issues, as well as human interactions with the environment, were discussed at this conference. Universal principles to guide citizens to protect the environment were agreed upon by nations. This conference also led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme or UNEP.
The first world environment day was celebrated in 1974 in Spokane, USA. The slogan for the first one was ‘Only One Earth.’ Every year a different country hosts World Environment Day with weeklong festivities, including global fairs. Participants include governments, businesses, as well as famous personalities and citizens. World Environment Day provides a platform for everyone around the globe to speak out about issues facing the environment.
It inspires governments to take up policies to protect the environment, businesses to implement models that are environmentally friendly and sustainable production by farmers. The major participants also include educational institutions such as schools where children engage in activities such as making posters and banners as well as plays to spread awareness among students. There are art exhibitions out of recycled materials, essay contests, skits are performed, and rallies are held with the motive to engage people for a greener future.
Every world environment day has a different theme and slogans. Some of the topics include water conservation, prevention of global warming, and biodiversity conservation. China hosted the 2019 World Environment Day, and the theme was ‘Beat air pollution.’ The host for 2020’s World Environment Day is Columbia partnered with Germany. The theme for this year is biodiversity with the hashtag #fornature. The idea is to address the recent events affecting biodiversity and well as the human population. These include bush fires in Brazil, Australia, and the US, the dangerous locus infestations in East Africa, which is said to be one of the worst outbreaks to occur in a long time and the deadly pandemic COVID-19 affecting millions.
World Environment Day is a global platform to help our environment. It is not only to protect our home but to protect the homes of many living species on Earth. It helps to promote sustainable development to ensure that future generations have resources and a clean environment.
