World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme “Only One Earth”. Even though WED celebration have been held annually since 1974, in 1987 the idea for rotating the centre of these activities through selecting different host countries began.[1][2]
World Environment Day takes place every year on 5 June. It is the United Nations’ flagship day for promoting worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Over the years, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people in more than 100 countries.
2021 United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) World Environment Day (WED) Celebration.
UNEP, 2021 World Environment Day (WED) Celebration. Let us recall that WED is an annual global event celebrated every 5th of June. It is a day set aside for people from all walks of life gather to create more awareness about the need to protect the planet- Earth.
The theme for this year’s WED Celebration is ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION, with a special focus on creating a good relationship with nature. This year’s event will also mark the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030.
Therefore, Environment & Millennium Targets (EMT) Ltd in collaboration with African Climate Reality Project (ACRP) through its Climate Change Knowledge Center and the Laudato Si Club in Sacred Heart Seminary, Port Harcourt has decided to mark this year’s WED event in the school on {Friday 4th June 2021} once the students/seminarians are back from the midterm break.
Host cities
World Environment Day celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities:[7]
| Year | Theme | Host city |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Stockholm Conference on Human Environment | Stockholm,United Nations |
| 1973 | Geneva, Switzerland[8] | |
| 1974 | Only one Earth during Expo ’74[9] | 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 – Plant 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[10] | New Delhi, India |
| 2019 | Beat Air Pollution[11] | People’s Republic of China |
| 2020 | Time for Nature[12][5] | Colombia |
| 2021 | Ecosystem restoration[13] | Pakistan |
| 2022 | Only One Earth | Sweden |