Science Facts Images...

World Environment Day:

World Environment Day ('WED') is celebrated every year on June 5 to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

History:

It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 on the day that United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began. The first World Environment Day was celebrated in 1973. Since then it is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme.

World Environment Day falls in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere, and midsummer in the Tropical regions.

"Stockholm was without a doubt the landmark event in the growth of international environmentalism", writes John McCormick in the book Reclaiming Paradise. "It was the first occasion on which the political, social and economic problems of the global environment were discussed at an intergovernmental forum with a view to actually taking corrective action."

Celebrity Endorsements:

Media and celebrities have encouraged World Environment Day Celebrations by endorsing and taking part in it. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) goodwill ambassadors including supermodel Gisele Bündchen are sending an SOS to the world to take action for World Environment Day 2014 by joining one of their teams to combat climate change. Their call to action, Message in the Bottle, asks individuals around the world to join one of the celebrities’ teams and make a difference by pledging to take action in support of World Environment Day, which culminates globally on 5 June 2014.

Media campaigns:

Zee News launched 'My Earth, My Duty’ campaign. This campaign has entered the Limca Book of Records for a novel effort: for planting more than 73 lakh (7,300,000) trees in one single day across 34 cities and 2.5 lakh (250,000) villages on 25 August 2010. NDTV launched "Greenathon" Campaign. This campaign was launched in the year 2008 and served as India’s first ever-nationwide campaign to save the environment.

Children's efforts:

In 2012, Project Earth, an Online Eco Platform teamed up with Rio+20 and Launched ' World Environment Day Global School Contest 2012 ' to promote awareness among today's youth. Every country had a winner. Project Green Oman,The winner from Oman, was an Eco organization founded by Hridith Sudev and is a full fledged kid's Eco Organization now.

Events associated with World Environment Day:

Eco Action Day is celebrated since 2007 in Singapore to inspire individuals to reduce energy use at the workplace.

World Environment Day Anthem:

"Earth Anthem" by poet-diplomat Abhay K was launched in June 2013 on the occasion of the World Environment Day by Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, Union Ministers of India at a function organized by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi. It is in eight languages including all official languages of the United Nations viz. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish. The other two languages are Hindi and Nepali.

Themes:

2014 

The 2014 theme for World Environment Day will focus on 'Small Islands and Climate Change', the official slogan for the year 2014 is '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.[13] 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. Activities based around the event have been planned in the Wellington region between 28 May and 13 June.

Volunteers appeared around the Auckland region in New Zealand on World Environment Day 2008. These volunteers were located primarily at major transport hubs (such as train stations)and advertised World Environment Day, as well as handing out eco-friendly products such as eco-friendly light-bulbs and eco-friendly shopping bags. Volunteers at public transport hubs also handed out stickers with the slogan I'm reducing my carbon footprint! World Environment Day, Thursday 5 June 2008 as well as providing free entertainment as an act of gratitude to public transport users.

The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008. The daylong celebration featured activities for everyone in the family along with presentations by local and national organizations in the areas of food, shelter, energy, education, transportation, and public awareness.

A relatively new way of making environmental causes popular is through online games.

This trend has gained popularity in recent times.

An online game by an independent publisher was launched for WED 2008 with this year's theme "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." the game was called Carbon chomper and can be played for free at this link. Similar envionmental issue related and conservation themed games can be found at cleanuptheworld.org and gamesforchange.org

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 self-styled as "The Gateway to the Arctic".

The UNEP statement on WED 2007 states:

The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.

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, which cover more than 40% of the planet's surface. This ecosystem is home to one-third of the world's people who are more vulnerable members of society. 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!".

Today, the majority of the world's people live in cities. Recognizing this historic moment, Mayor Gavin Newsom has invited Mayors from around the globe to San Francisco for United Nations World Environment Day to forge a collective path towards a sustainable urban future.

Mayors are emerging as the most powerful and flexible agents of change. They are able to respond quickly to environmental issues and are uniquely accountable to their citizens. Their enormous purchasing power is shaping markets and making environmental sustainability a manufacturing consideration. They are tackling the globe's most challenging environmental issues and their visionary solutions provide inspiration and serve as models to all sectors of society.

Host cities:

World Environment Day celebrations have been hosted in the following cities:

Year	Theme	Host city
1974	Only one Earth during Expo '74	Spokane, United States
1975	Human Settlements
1976	Water: Vital Resource for Life
1977	Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation
1978	Development Without Destruction
1979	Only One Future for Our Children – Development Without Destruction
1980	A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction
1981	Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains
1982	Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)
1983	Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy
1984	Desertification
1985	Youth: Population and the Environment
1986	A Tree for Peace
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?	Tromsø, Norway
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	Kigali, Rwanda
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

Courtesy: Wikipedia