World Environment Day (WED) was established in 1972 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme “Only One Earth”. Commemorated yearly on 5th June WED is one of principle Vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment enhances attention and action. WED serves as the “Peoples day” for doing something to take care of the earth or become an agent of change. World Environment Day is a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually.
Even though WED celebrations have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the center of these activities through selecting different host countries began. Every year WED has a different global host country for the official celebrations. Last year, WED was hosted by Colombia in partnership with Germany. This year’s host is Pakistan.
WORLD Environment Day Anthem
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 on the occasion of the World Environment Day by Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, then Union Ministers of India, at a function organized by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi. It is supported by the global organization Habitat for Humanity.
THEME
For too long, we have been exploiting and destroying our planet’s ecosystems. Every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch and over the last century we have destroyed half of our wetlands. As much as 50 per cent of our coral reefs have already been lost and up to 90 per cent of coral reefs could be lost by 2050, even if global warming is limited to an increase of 1.5°C.
Ecosystem restoration means preventing, halting and reversing this damage to go from exploiting nature to healing it. This World Environment Day will kick off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmlands, from the top of mountains to the depth of the sea. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change and stop the collapse of biodiversity.
Above all, World Environment Day offers a global platform for inspiring positive change. It pushes for individuals to think about the way they consume; for businesses to develop greener models; for farmers and manufacturers to produce more sustainably; for governments to invest in repairing the environment; for educators to inspire students to take action; and for youth to build a greener future.
Table: Theme and Host Country of WED sine 1974 to 2021
Year | Theme | Host city |
1974 | Only one Earth | 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 |
Mr. Faheem Ahamad (Asst. Professor, Department of Environmental Science, KVSCOS)
Dr. Mukesh Ruhela (HOD & Professor, EEM-SITE)
Dr. Sweta Bhardwaj (Assist. Professor, EEM-SITE)