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One Step towards A Safer And Greener Future

Introduction:

World Environment Day is a landmark event that brings people together to raise awareness and take action to protect the environment around the world. Many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government agencies, and the United Nations represent the first wave of support for the environment. As an influential platform to raise awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development, and wildlife crime, the day plays an important role in nature. Every year, more than 143 countries participate in the celebration of this day, including Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Finland, India, Germany, Israel, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Switzerland, and the United States.

Table of contents:

• What is World Environment Day?

• History of WED

• Significance of celebrating World Environment Day

• List of the themes and host cities of celebrating WED by year

• What can we do to save our environment?

 

• What is World Environment Day?

World Environment Day (WED) is the largest international day to raise awareness and take action to protect the environment. The United Nations celebrates this day by bringing together millions of people around the world to protect and restore our planet, encourage individuals to take action towards sustainable change, and help address urgent environmental issues.

• History of WED:

Human activities lead to various forms of pollution, exploitation, and destruction of the environment. 

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations at a conference on the human environment held in Stockholm in 1972, with the aim of preventing environmental damage through human activities, raising awareness about the environment, and protecting the Earth. 

In 1973, the first WED was held in Spokane, USA, with the theme "One Earth." Since then, every year, on 5 June, in a different country, this day has been celebrated with a specific environmental theme.

The idea of ​​​​choosing the first host country began in 1987. 

In 2022, as the 50th celebration of World Environment Day, the theme was set to 'One Earth' 50 years ago.

• Significance of celebrating World Environment Day in India:

The main objectives of World Environment Day are as follows:

• Raising awareness: Educating people about environmental challenges such as pollution, deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss and their impacts.

• Influencing policy: Providing a platform for the declaration and implementation of environmental policies, global cooperation, and international agreements.

• Promoting employment: Encouraging participation in initiatives such as clean-up drives, tree plantations, and conservation projects.

• Innovation: Inspiring creativity in addressing environmental challenges, finding ways to live sustainably, etc.

• Enhancing global cooperation: Bringing nations, organizations, and individuals together to tackle global problems across borders and achieve common environmental goals.

• List of the themes and host cities of celebrating WED by year:

EDITION NUMBER	YEAR	THEME	HOST CITY
1st	1972	Stockholm Conference on Human Environment	Stockholm, United Nations
2nd	1973	Only One Earth	Geneva, Switzerland
3rd	1974	Only one Earth during Expo '74	Spokane, United States
4th	1975	Human Settlements	Dhaka, Bangladesh
5th	1976	Water: Vital Resource for Life	Ontario, Canada
6th	1977	Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation	Sylhet, Bangladesh
7th	1978	Development without Destruction	Sylhet, Bangladesh
8th	1979	Only One Future for Our Children – Development without Destruction	Sylhet, Bangladesh
9th	1980	A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development without Destruction	Sylhet, Bangladesh
10th	1981	Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains	Sylhet, Bangladesh
11th	1982	Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)	Dhaka, Bangladesh
12th	1983	Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy	Sylhet, Bangladesh
13th	1984	Desertification	Rajshahi, Bangladesh
14th	1985	Youth: Population and the Environment	Islamabad, Pakistan
15th	1986	A Tree for Peace	Ontario, Canada
16th	1987	Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof	Nairobi, Kenya
17th	1988	When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last	Bangkok, Thailand
18th	1989	Global Warming; Global Warning	Brussels, Belgium
19th	1990	Children and the Environment	Mexico City, Mexico
20th	1991	Climate Change Need for Global Partnership	Stockholm, Sweden
21st	1992	Only One Earth, Care and Share	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22nd	1993	Poverty and the Environment – Breaking the Vicious Circle	Beijing, China
23rd	1994	One Earth One Family	London, United Kingdom
24th	1995	We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment	Pretoria, South Africa
25th	1996	Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home	Istanbul, Turkey
26th	1997	For Life on Earth	Seoul, South Korea
27th	1998	For Life on Earth – Save Our Seas	Moscow, Russia
28th	1999	Our Earth – Our Future – Just Save It!	Tokyo, Japan
29th	2000	The Environment Millennium – Time to Act	Adelaide, Australia
30th	2001	Connect with the World Wide Web of Life	Turin, Italy and Havana, Cuba
31st	2002	Give Earth a Chance	Shenzhen, China
32nd	2003	Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!	Beirut, Lebanon
33rd	2004	Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?	Barcelona, Spain
34th	2005	Green Cities – Plant for the Planet!	San Francisco, United States
35th	2006	Deserts and Desertification – Don't Desert Dry lands!	Algiers, Algeria
36th	2007	Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?	London, United Kingdom
37th	2008	Kick The Habit – Towards A Low Carbon Economy	Wellington, New Zealand
38th	2009	Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change	Mexico City, Mexico
39th	2010	Many Species. One Planet. One Future	Rangpur, Bangladesh
40th	2011	Forests: Nature at your Service	Delhi, India
41st	2012	Green Economy: Does it include you?	Brasília, Brazil
42nd	2013	Think. Eat. Save. Reduce Your Food print	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
43rd	2014	Raise your voice, not the sea level	Bridgetown, Barbados
44th	2015	Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.	Rome, Italy
45th	2016	Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife trade	Luanda, Angola
46th	2017	Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator	Ottawa, Canada
47th	2018	Beat Plastic Pollution	New Delhi, India
48th	2019	Beat Air Pollution	China
49th	2020	Time for Nature	Colombia
50th	2021	Ecosystem restoration	Pakistan
51st	2022	Only One Earth	Sweden
52nd	2023	Solutions to Plastic	Ivory Coast
53rd	2024	Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
54th	2025	Ending plastic pollution	South Korea

 

• What can we do to save our environment?

Some steps to keep our environment safe includes –

1. Reduce the use of unnecessary items; emphasize reuse and recycling.

2. Allow your food and yard waste to decompose naturally in the soil instead of sending it to a landfill. This will keep an incredible amount of trash out of the waste stream and create free, rich soil for your garden.

3. Avoid using disposable cups, bottles, straws, grocery bags, plates, and utensils. They have a devastating impact on our soil, oceans, and marine life.

4. Instead of throwing away unnecessary or unwanted items, get creative by up cycling them into something new, like artwork, toys, or jewelry.

5. To get rid of unwanted electronics, batteries, and appliances, contact your local municipality and try to take the items to a proper disposal site.

6. Focus on buying secondhand items instead of buying new.

7. Plant more trees, which will reduce the impact of carbon dioxide, meet the demand for oxygen, and help reduce global warming.

8. Conserve electricity and increase the use of solar power.

9. Stop wasting water.

Conclusion:

In order to restore our planet, World Environment Day plays a vital role. It teaches people to reduce pollution and prevent the depletion of non-renewable resources. This day teaches people from all walks of life to avoid plastic, plant more trees, recycle, conserve water, and protect our wildlife and animals to make our world a better place for future generations. It makes us aware of our duty to prevent global warming, one of the main causes of environmental damage, and to protect the environment. The aim of World Environment Day is to stop exploiting the earth and restore our ecosystems. Therefore, we should try to reverse the damage to the planet before it is too late.