The World Environment Day

Every year on the 5th of June the World Environment Day is observed. It is celebrated in order to encourage and raise attention to the environmental problems the world faces. 

The WED (World Environment Day) was established by the United Nations in 1972 during the discussions at the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment.  

The World Environment Day was held for the first time in 1974. The main issues raised are global warming, ocean pollution, overpopulation and sustainable consumption. 

Over 143 countries participate each year in this event. 

Host cities and Themes of the WED

World Environment Day celebrations have been and will be hosted in future in the following cities:

Year Theme Host city
1974 Only one Earth during Expo ’74 Spokane, United States
1975 Human Settlements Dhaka, Bangladesh
1976 Water: Vital Resource for Life Ontario, 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 Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy Sylhet, Bangladesh
1984 Desertification Rajshahi, Bangladesh
1985 Youth: Population and the Environment Islamabad, 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 Delhi, India
2012 Green Economy: Does it include you? Brasilia, Brazil
2013 Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2014 Raise your voice, not the sea level Bridgetown, Barbados
2015 Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. Rome, Italy
2016 Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife trade Luanda, Angola
2017 Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator Ottawa, Canada
2018 Beat Plastic Pollution New Delhi, India
2019 Beat Air Pollution China
2020 Time for Nature Colombia
2021 Ecosystem restoration Pakistan

Pakistan will host the World Environment Day 2021. 

What can we do on Environment Day?

There are a number of options people can participate in and support WED: join online events, arrange meetings in your area, clean up polluted areas, plant trees. 

An Earth Anthem penned by poet Abhay K is sung to celebrate World Environment Day:

Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl

the most beautiful planet in the universe

all the continents and all the oceans

united we stand as flora and fauna

united we stand as species of one earth

different cultures, beliefs and ways

we are humans, the earth is our home

all the people and the nations of the world

all for one and one for all

united we unfurl the blue marble flag.

The anthem was launched in June 2013.

Source: Wikipedia.com

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