World Environment Day

We celebrate World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June. It encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. It was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and was held in 1973 for raising awareness on emerging environmental pollution for marine problem, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth".


Annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments:

For almost five decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving change. Here is a timeline key of last 5 years accomplishments in WEDs’ history :

  1. 2017- The theme for 2017 is 'Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land , from the poles to the equator'. The host nation is Canada .
  2. 2016- The 2016 WED was organized under the theme "Go wild for life". This edition of the WED aims to reduce and prevent the illegal trade in wildlife . Angola was chosen as the host country of the 2016 WED during the COP21 in Paris .
  3. 2015 - The Slogan of the 2015 edition of the World Environment Day is "Seven Billion Dreams . One Planet. Consume with Care". In Saudi Arabia , 15 women recycled 2000 plastic bags to crochet a mural in support of the WED 2015 . In India , Narendra Modi planted a Kadamb sapling to celebrate the World Environment Day and raise awareness for Environment . Italy is the host country of the 43rd edition of the WED . The celebrations took place as part of Milan Expo around the theme : Feeding the Planet - Energy for Life .
  4. 2014 - By choosing this Theme the UN General Assembly aimed to highlight the development Challenges and successes of the SIDS. It was Barbados who hosted the global celebrations of the 42nd edition of the World Environment Day .
  5. 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 .