World Environment Day 2021

     

On Earth Day, people from all over the world are coming together to take action to protect our planet. Find out about some of the things people do to celebrate this special day.

    People celebrate World Environment Day (WED) in many different ways around the world: planting trees, cleaning local beaches, organizing meetings, joining online protests. Each year the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) selects a specific issue to focus on. One year it could be forests, another year it could be wildlife. And every year there is a new manager; a city that is the center of all festivals.

How Did World Environment Day Start? 

     The United Nations (UN) designated June 5 as World Environment Day at the 1972 Stockholm Human Environment Conference. The idea was to take a closer look at the many problems facing our area.They wanted to include as many people, Organization's and governments, local and national as possible. They wanted to show that positive change happens when people work together to fight for a common goal.

First World Environment Day

    The first World Environment Day was celebrated in 1974 in the town of Spokane in the USA. The theme for that first year was ‘Only One World’ and was celebrated with an exhibition of the first world to be dedicated to nature. The show lasted six months.

Hosting from different countries

    Since 1974 the WED has been held in 34 different cities in 25 different countries around the world, from Cuba to Korea, from Belgium to Brazil. Other countries have hosted these major events twice or more, including Bangladesh, Canada and China.But that does not mean that all celebrations are held in a host country. Every year people from all over the world take part in various major events to draw attention to the larger issue.

World Environment Day Challenges

    Every year the festival's focus on a particular problem. Over the past decade important issues have included wildlife, forests and plastic waste, among others. Each issue contains a slogan. Past slogans include ‘Think, Eat, Save.Which called on people to consider the issue of food waste, and‘ Raise your voice, not the sea ’, to focus on the impact of global warming on small island nations around the world. Along with the slogans, hashtags are also important in campaigns. In a recent campaign the hashtag #WildforLife became a strong symbol of combating all forms of illegal trade in plants and animals.

What can we all do?

    If you want to participate in festivals, or support a special cause for this year, here are some things you can do. You can visit the official website to find out what this year's theme is.You can search the slogan online to find Organization's and events in your area or online. You can share information about cause and events on social media or create your own local group and organize an event in your community. Whatever you do, you will never be alone. Millions of people around the world will be joining in the celebrations and fighting for the better future of our planet.