The World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5 in order to raise awareness about degrading environmental conditions and protection of the environment.
Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), environmentalists encourage people to take positive actions and to help create a better future.
The day has been a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable consumption, and wildlife crime. This year marks the 50th year of the World Environment Day.
History
The idea of ‘World Environment Day’ was first introduced at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment – also kn own as the Stockholm conference in 1972. The conference had become the first world to have ‘environment’ on its agenda.
Along with the day, the conference saw the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme. First held in 1973, the day is a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, the program has provided a theme and forum to advocate environmental causes. A different country hosts the day every year.
Theme
Being hosted by Sweden this year, the slogan for the World Environment day 2022 is “Only One Earth”. The theme is set to focus on “living sustainably in harmony with nature.”
United General Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for World Environment Day said, “It is vital we safeguard the health of its atmosphere, the richness and diversity of life on Earth, its ecosystems, and its finite resources. But we are failing to do so.”
He further added, “We are asking too much of our planet to maintain ways of life that are unsustainable. “This planet is our only home.”
Meanwhile, on the occasion of World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday launch a global initiative called ‘LiFE’, short for ‘Lifestyle for the Environment Movement’, to invite ideas and suggestions from scholars around the globe on ways to adapt an environmentally conscious lifestyle.