Background
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark
the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted
by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP World Environment Day is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme and
is commemorated with an international exposition on the week when 5 June is on. World Environment
Day is in summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The
first World Environment Day was on 1973.
For this year, Pittsburgh has been selected as the North American host city by the UNEP to join
World Environment Day (WED). Government officials, business groups, other organizations and
individuals will schedule a series of WEP events highlighting the 2010 theme, Biodiversity – Ecosystems
Management and the Green Economy.
Rapid population growth, industrialisation and urbanisation, growing number of vehicles all
contribute to the environmental degradation. Indeed, many development activities that are undertaken
affect the environment in a way that typically causes or aggravates health problems.
Six Priority Areas define UNEP’s focus on the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Climate Change: Strengthening the ability of individuals, communities and nations to adapt to
climate change, move towards low-carbon societies, improve understanding of climate science,
and raise public awareness about the Earth’s changing climate.
Disasters and Conflicts: UNEP seeks to address environmental threats to human well being from
the environmental causes and consequences of conflicts and disasters.
Ecosystem Management: Supporting balanced responses to natural resources management to
meet the future ecological and human needs.
Environmental Governance: Promoting informed decision making to enhance global and regional
environmental cooperation.
Harmful Substances: UNEP is a driving force behind the sound management of chemicals including
chemical safety and provides nations with access to information on toxic chemicals.
Resource efficiency: Fostering sustainable consumption and production by leading global effort to
ensure natural resources are produced, processed and consumed in a more sustainable way.
Other thematic areas of UNEP include, leveraging its existing expertise to drive environmental
leadership through work on key environmental areas.
What do people do?
World Environment Day is celebrated in many ways. The activities include street rallies and
parades, concerts, tree planting, and clean-up campaigns. In many countries, this annual event is
used to enhance political attention and action towards improving the environment. This observance
also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions.
On this day, each denizen of Mother Earth is expected to realize that she/ he owes a moral
responsibility to make the environment a better place to live than one has inherited in one’s own
and in the interest of coming generation. Else, they shall not forgive us.
