Type International Date 5 June | Observances Environment Protection | |
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Official name UN World Environment Day Also called Eco Day, Environment Day, WED Significance This day celebrates the natural environment and allows a global platform to raise awareness on the environmental issues worldwide, with plans to mitigate these issues as a global community. | ||
World Environment Day (WED) occurs on 5 June every year, is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.
Contents
History
World Environment Day was designated by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of United Nations 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 celebrations have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the center of these activities through selecting different host countries began.
Events associated with World Environment Day
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to add activities related to the environment.
Major Accomplishments
For the last four decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving change. Here is a timeline of key accomplishments in WEDs’ history:
2017
The theme for 2017 is 'Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator'. The host country is Canada.
2016
The theme for 2016 was to prohibit illegal trade of threatened. Angola was the host country of this year.
2015
The theme for 2015 was 'Seven Billion Dreams; One Planet; Consume with Care'. The host country for this year celebration was Italy
2014
Theme:-'Small Islands and Climate Change',
Slogan:-'Raise Your Voice Not The Sea Level.
2013
The 2013 theme for World Environment Day was Think.Eat.Save.
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.
2012
The theme for the 2012 World Environment Day was Green Economy: Does it include you?
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.
2011
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 and much more. This year's global host, India, is a country of wide biodiversity.
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. Each continent (except Antarctica) had a "regional host city", the U.N. chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the host for all North.
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.
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.
The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008.
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.
2006
The topic for WED 2006 was Deserts and Desertification and the slogan was "Don't desert drylands".
The slogan emphasised the importance of protecting drylands. The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2006 were held in Algeria.
2005
The theme for the 2005 World Environment Day was "Green Cities" and the slogan was "Plan for the Planet!".
Host cities
World Environment Day celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities: