World Environment Day is a yearly celebration held on 5th June to acknowledge the importance of the environment and to encourage positive action to protect it. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) runs the yearly event. Each year has a particular theme to encourage involvement and to focus attention on specific issues.
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated in over 100 countries.[1]
The WED had its origins in 1972, and was established by the UN General Assembly on the starting day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, making it an anniversary celebration of the Stockholm Conference as well.[2]
The WED gives a wide range of people the opportunity to do something in honour of the day, from governments and corporations to community groups and individuals. Activities associated with the theme actually occur throughout the year of the theme, but the 5th of June serves as the climactic point for the celebrations, providing a highlight opportunity. The aim is to not only recognise personal responsibility but to also be empowered as agents for change to do something positive about environmental protection, sustainability and poverty alleviation.[3]
When[edit | edit source]
Jun 5, annually
News and comment[edit | edit source]
Sweden to host World Environment Day 2022, UNEP (Nov 18, 2021) — World Environment Day 2022 theme, 'Only One Earth', focuses on living sustainably in harmony with nature
Some ideas for how to celebrate World Environment Day[edit | edit source]
You can celebrate the day in various ways, using your own interests, talents and connections to increase awareness of the need to care for the environment that sustains all of us. Some examples include sports, arts and crafts, film, music and dance, and education and learning.[4]
If you're in a host country or city, there will likely be additional celebration events planned by the local municipality, national government and other entities. Find out what they're doing by checking their websites or contacting them directly via email, Facebook, etc.
- See UNEP's suggestions at: unep.org (you can register activities here)
- See wikiHow's suggestions at: wikihow.com
- Ask Google for a WED Doodle by sending an email or even a doodle to proposals@google.com[5]
- Check out more ideas at: unep.org
It is also suggested that you look on the UNEP site for a toolkit, usually in PDF form, that sets out ways to celebrate the particular theme for the year.
Yearly themes for World Environment Day[edit | edit source]
2022[edit | edit source]
The year 2022 marks 50 years since the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment – the 1972 Stockholm Conference that led to the creation of UNEP and designating 5 June every year as World Environment Day.
World Environment Day 2022 will be held under the theme Only One Earth, highlighting the need to live sustainably in harmony with nature by bringing transformative changes – through policies and our choices – towards cleaner, greener lifestyles. Only One Earth was the motto for the 1972 Stockholm Conference; 50 years on, the motto holds true - this planet is our only home, whose finite resources humanity must safeguard.[6]
Earlier years[edit | edit source]
World Environment Day celebration themes are as follows:[7][8]
| Year | Theme | Host city |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Only One Earth (Planet) | Spokane, United States |
| 1975 | Human Settlements | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| 1976 | Water: Vital Resource for Life | Canada |
| 1977 | Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1978 | Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1979 | Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1980 | A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1981 | Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1982 | Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns) | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| 1983 | Managing and Disposing of Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy | Sylhet, Bangladesh |
| 1984 | Desertification | Rajshahi, Bangladesh |
| 1985 | Youth: Population and the Environment | Pakistan |
| 1986 | A Tree for Peace | Ontario, Canada |
| 1987 | Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof | Nairobi, Kenya |
| 1988 | When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 1989 | Global Warming; Global Warning | Brussels, Belgium |
| 1990 | Children and the Environment | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 1991 | Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1992 | Only One Earth, Care and Share | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 1993 | Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle | Beijing, People's Republic of China |
| 1994 | One Earth One Family | London, United Kingdom |
| 1995 | We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment | Pretoria, South Africa |
| 1996 | Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home | Istanbul, Turkey |
| 1997 | For Life on Earth | Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| 1998 | For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas | Moscow, Russian Federation |
| 1999 | Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It! | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2000 | The Environment Millennium – Time to Act | Adelaide, Australia |
| 2001 | Connect with the World Wide Web of Life | Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba |
| 2002 | Give Earth a Chance | Shenzhen, People's Republic of China |
| 2003 | Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It! | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 2004 | Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive? | Barcelona, Spain |
| 2005 | Green Cities – Plan for the Planet! | San Francisco, United States |
| 2006 | Deserts and Desertification – Don't Desert Drylands! | Algiers, Algeria |
| 2007 | Melting Ice – a Hot Topic? | London, England |
| 2008 | Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy | Wellington, New Zealand |
| 2009 | Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 2010 | Many Species. One Planet. One Future | Rangpur, Bangladesh |
| 2011 | Forests: Nature at your Service | New Delhi, India |
| 2012 | Green Economy: Does it include you? | Brazil |
| 2013 | Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint | Mongolia |
| 2014 | Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level | Barbados |
| 2015 | Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. | Italy |
| 2016 | Join the Race to Make the World a Better Place. | Saudi Arabia |
| 2017 | 'Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator'. | Canada |
| 2018 | "Beat Plastic Pollution". | India |
| 2019 | #BeatAirPollution | China |
| 2020 | Biodiversity | Colombia |
See also[edit | edit source]
- Ecological restoration
- Community action on biodiversity, News
- Rewilding
- Environment quality activism, News
- Open spaces activism
- Trees, woodland and forest, News
- Wetlands
- Coastal community activism
- Rural sustainability
External links
- The establishment resolution: United Nations General Assembly Session 1 Resolution 2994. United Nations Conference on the Human Environment A/RES/2994(XXVII) page 1. 15 December 1972. At: un.org
- web.archive.org – World Environment Day, official UNEP site
- web.archive.org - a recap of prior years
- unep.org - WED A to Z
- World Environment Day W
- World Environment Day
Sources and citations
- ↑ unep.org
- ↑ web.archive.org
- ↑ web.archive.org
- ↑ unep.org
- ↑ unep.org
- ↑ Press release, 18 November 2021 unep.org
- ↑ World Environment Day 5 June 2008 – UNEP, accessed 6 June 2008
- ↑ Table taken from Wikipedia, at en.wikipedia.org
