World Environment Day (WED) takes place on
the 5th of June every year. This is a very relevant and important environmental
day, especially in light of the current environmental situations around the
world. The environment is currently in a dire state and is being degraded at a
tremendously fast pace.
It is the United Nation's principal
vehicle and is the biggest, most globally celebrated environmental days in
terms of positive environmental action. WED places an imperative spotlight on
protecting the environment and to inspire and motivate individuals,
communities, and organisations to reconnect with Mother Nature. The day is all
about imploring people to get outdoors and into nature so as to appreciate its
stunning beauty as well as nature’s importance. It is a day on which people can
reflect on their dependency on nature and how we are part of nature. It’s about
ensuring a cleaner and greener future. Essentially it is about deepening public
awareness of the need to preserve as well as enhance the environment. It’s
about doing something positive for Mother Nature. WED provides an ideal
opportunity for people to realize that they have a responsibility to care for
the Mother Nature. The day promotes ways to improve the planet's environment as
well as taking forward the call to protect the Earth that we share. It’s all
about stimulating awareness of the environment as well as enhancing political
attention and public action. It calls on people to show their love and affection for our shared natural world. World Environment Day is in spring in the Northern
Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere.
It is about being engaged in activities
that serve to educate and improve people’s environment locally. WED is “the ‘people’s
day’ for doing something to take care of the Earth or become an agent of
change. That ‘something’ can be focused locally, nationally or globally; it can
be a solo action or involve a crowd – everyone is free to choose. Through WED,
the UN Environment Program (UNEP) enables everyone to realize not only the
responsibility of caring for the Earth, but it also reminds people of their
individual power to become agents of change. Every action counts, and when
multiplied, it has the potential to become exponential in its impact. This
observance provides an ideal opportunity to sign or ratify international
environmental conventions.
The main colors
featured in many promotions are natural colors (softer shades of green, brown
and blue), representative of Mother Nature and its natural resources. WED is
for everybody; it doesn’t matter where you live, albeit in cold or sunny areas,
in the city or the countryside.
History
In 1972, World Environment Day was
designated by the UN General Assembly on the first day of United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the
integration of human interactions and the environment. In 1974 the first WED
was held.
Since its inception, citizens from all
over the world have organized thousands of events, from neighborhood clean-ups, to replanting forests. Thus, for more than four decades, WED has
essentially raised awareness and supported action and change. More than 143
countries participate in this important day. It
commenced as a result of efforts of leading environmentalists who recognized
the need for there to be a coordinated global focus to begin to make conserving
the environment and our natural resources a priority.
The
Host
Every year, WED has a different global
host country where the official celebrations take place. This is to ensure and
highlight the environmental challenges it faces, as well as supports the effort
to address them. This year’s host country, Canada, chose the theme and will be
at the center of celebrations around the world.
Theme for 2017
There couldn’t be a more fitting theme for 2017 than ‘Connecting People to Nature - in the city
and on the land, from the poles to the equator’. For the youth, this theme
has particular relevance as children frequently don’t spend enough time in
nature anymore. Similarly, adults also, nowadays, don’t seem to spend quality
time outdoors. Corporations, NGOs, communities, celebrities, and governments
use this theme to adopt to advocate environmental causes and organize events
around the specific theme. Also, stakeholders and interested parties are encouraged
to add activities related to the environment for saving it and to motivate people
for taking initiative to achieve it too. This year, UNEP will strive to make WED epic. In support of the
2017 celebrations, the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) and the #NatureForAll campaign have helped inspire people to get out into nature and record
what they see.
In our modern world few of us take enough time away from our daily lives to appreciate and engage with our natural world. By celebrating this day surrounded by nature, we'll be able to rediscover the importance for caring for the environment so that it can care for us.
In our modern world few of us take enough time away from our daily lives to appreciate and engage with our natural world. By celebrating this day surrounded by nature, we'll be able to rediscover the importance for caring for the environment so that it can care for us.
Why
is World Environment Day so important?
There's a closing window of opportunity to safeguard Earth’s capacity to support future generations. Meeting the immediate needs of growing human populations is threatening the equilibrium and viability of local and global ecosystems. Without public
awareness of the importance of the environment on a global scale, politics
won’t pay attention to changing legislation to govern practices that may be
hurting the environment.
When you create a group for World Environment Day, it’s a year round commitment
to advocacy and action in your local area, and on a global scale to promote and
encourage environmental responsibility and the conservation of natural
resources.
The
value of nature
The value of
nature is truly expansive. As the official World Environment Day website notes: “Scientific
advances and growing environmental problems (for example global warming) are
helping us to understand the countless ways in which natural systems support
our own prosperity and well-being”. It further explains that “the world’s
oceans, forests and soils act as vast stores for greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide and methane; farmers and fisher-folk harness nature on land and
under water to provide us with food”. Rural communities from all over the world
are well connected to nature as they spend every working day conscious of the
fact of their dependency on natural water supplies and are appreciative of the
fact that nature provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. As a
result of this dependency, they are the first to suffer when ecosystems are
threatened and degraded due to factors such as pollution, climate change, and
over-exploitation. Furthermore, nature’s value
cannot only be measured in monetary value only. Just like clean air, it’s often
taken for granted, at least until they become scarce.
Up close with nature
Up close with nature
When people forge personal connections with nature, the benefits to individual and societal health are endless and lay a foundation for lifelong support of nature conservation. Connecting to
nature doesn’t have to involve only one of your physical senses. Take off your
shoes and get your feet (and hands) dirty; take a night hike at night; and rely
on your ears and nose to experience nature. Luckily, for people in cities,
major parks can be seen as a green lung and a hub of biodiversity. In this
manner, people can still feel connected to nature. You can green your urban
environment too, by greening your street or a derelict site, or planting a
window box. Nature is there to be enjoyed all-year round.
So, how can you be part of this memorable day?
So, how can you be part of this memorable day?
There
are a myriad of different WED activities in which all people can participate in.
Here are just some ideas:
·
By
reconnecting with our beautiful planet!
·
Go
outside! Enjoy some of your country’s national parks.
·
Head
to the beach
·
The
WED website suggest that while you’re there to set a challenge for yourself by
seeking out a rare mammal, identifying different butterfly species, and
reaching the remotest corner of the park. It will be worth your while.
·
Join
a growing number of citizen scientists: Today, more than ever, smartphone apps
help you log your sightings and connect with others who can identify the
species. These records feed into conservation strategies and assist in mapping
the effects of climate change on biodiversity.
·
Weed and fertilize public trees and
gardens.
·
Eat organic food and make meals
from locally grown products.
·
Collect trash in your vicinity.
·
Think
about how you can help save energy and reduce your monthly electricity bill.
·
Instead
of driving with your car, why not drive a bicycle instead?
·
Hold a local educational forum
about global environmental issues and invite in speakers.
·
By investing time in green spaces,
Mother Nature will become more important for people. So, thus, get out into a
local green space.
·
Think about what you can do reduce
your carbon footprint as well as to be environmentally friendly as possible.
·
Be green – literally! Wear green
clothes to show Mother Nature that you truly care for her and her wellbeing.
·
Learn more about environmental
issues by conducting researching on these issues. Why not go a step further by
coming up with your own ideas on how you can control them.
·
Buy items that are made up from
recycled products. Look out for recycle symbol on the packaged goods).
·
Organise clean-up campaigns, art
exhibits, tree-planting drives, and concerts, recycling drives, and social
media campaigns.
·
Do one thing differently to
increase how you benefit the environment.
·
Show
that you’re #WithNature
·
Use
other hashtags such as: #WED #WorldEnvironmentDay #WED2017 #ILoveNature #ProtectMotherNature
You don’t have to only partake in
celebrations on the 5th of June only – make every day a #Nature day!
Mother Nature (and your health) will infinitely be happy! It’s so important to
remember that “by keeping our planet healthy, we keep ourselves healthy too”. Evidently,
we need harmony between humanity and nature in order for both to thrive.
What will YOU do to make this day count?
References
http://worldenvironmentday.global/sites/default/files/toolkit_organizations/WED4_Lessons%20EN_FINAL.pdfhttp://worldenvironmentday.global/sites/default/files/toolkit_organizations/WED1_IUCN_04.pdf
http://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/?q=en/events/world-environment-day-connecting-people-nature
