This World Environment Day, it’s Time for Nature.

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5 June every year, and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging from environmental issues to marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. World Environment Day 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 all celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.

The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature.

Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message:
To care for ourselves we must care for nature. 

It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices.
It’s time to build back better for People and Planet.

This World Environment Day, it’s Time for Nature.

World Environment Day 2020 would be celebrated on Friday, June 5th, 2020 in Colombia. World Environment Day 2020: theme will be on “Biodiversity.” UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced that Colombia will be hosting World Environment Day 2020 in partnership with Germany. The main focus of World Environment Day 2020 would be on Biodiversity.

World Environment Day 2020 is widely celebrated in more than 143 countries. It is popularly being called “People’s Day” to show their care and support for the Earth and their environment. Knowing the ways to protect the environment is really important, let us look in detail about the objectives, themes, and history of World Environment Day.

Objectives and History

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year on 5 June. It is the ‘United Nations’ prime vehicle for encouraging awareness and action to protect our environment. World Environment Day has become a global platform for public outreach, with more than 143 countries participating annually.  First organized in 1974, it has been a major campaign for environmental issues ranging from marine pollution, human overgrowth, and raising awareness about global warming, sustainable consumption, and wildlife crime.

World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways; activities such as campaign clarification, sensitizing the locals about the growing environmental conditions and suggesting ways to prevent them, organizing plays, quizzes, tree plantations, lectures and kids poster competition, etc. are quite popular.

The theme of World Environment Day 2019: Beating Air Pollution

Every year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, non-governmental organizations, communities, governments and all over the world advocate for environmental causes.

The theme of World Environment Day 2019 was “Air Pollution”.

Air pollution is increasing day by day and it seems complicated to control it. Nothing seems impossible with continuous and dedicated efforts being put up by people like us. We must come together to combat it. And for this, it is necessary to understand the different types of pollution, how it affects our health and the environment, how we could move towards improving the air around us, etc.

We cannot stop breathing but there is something we can do to improve the quality of the air we breathe. About 7 million people in the world die due to air pollution and 4 million people out of the 7 million are in the Asia-Pacific region.

Annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments

expansion.

For almost five decades, World Environment Day has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving changes for the environment. Here is a timeline of key accomplishments in WEDs’ history:

2020

The theme for 2020 is "Celebrate Biodiversity", and will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.

Colombia is one of the largest “Megadiverse” nations in the world to hold 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Since it is part of the Amazon rainforest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

2019

The theme for 2019 is "Beat Air pollution". The host nation is China. This theme was chosen as it has been killing about 7 million people annually.[2]

In Réunion Island, Miss Earth 2018 Nguyễn Phương Khánh from Vietnam delivered her speech during the World Environment Day with the theme "How to fight global warming".[3]

2018

The theme for 2018 was "Beat Plastic Pollution". The host nation was India.[4] By choosing this theme, it is hoped that people may strive to change their everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution. People should be free from the over-reliance on single-use or disposables, as they have severe environmental consequences. We should liberate our natural places, our wildlife and our own health from plastics.[5] The Indian government pledged to eliminate all single use of plastic in India by 2022.[6]

2017

The theme for 2017 was 'Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator'. The host nation was Canada.[7]

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.[8] Angola was chosen as the host country of the 2016 WED during the COP21 in Paris.[9][10]

Activities for world environment day in Bhopal, India

2015

The Slogan of the 2015 edition of the World Environment Day is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care". The slogan was picked through a voting process on social media.[11][12] In Saudi Arabia, 15 women recycled 2000 plastic bags to crochet a mural in support of the WED 2015.[13] In India, Narendra Modi planted a Kadamb sapling to celebrate the World Environment Day and raise awareness for Environment.[14][15] 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.[16]

2014

The Theme of the 2014 WED is : International Year of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). By choosing this Theme the UN General Assembly aimed to highlight the development Challenges and successes of the SIDS. In 2014, the World Environment Day focused on global warming and its impact on ocean levels.[17] The Slogan of the WED 2014 is "Raise your voice not the sea level", as Barbados hosted the global celebrations of the 42nd edition of the World Environment Day.[18][19] The UN Environment Programme named actor Ian Somerhalder as the official Goodwill ambassador of the WED 2014.[20]

2013

Stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Environmental Festival 2011

World Environment Day 2011 in Donetsk, Ukraine

US Consul CG Yee, along with the Mayor of Thessaloniki Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, the Prefect of Thessaloniki Panagiotis Psomiadis, and many others participating in World Environment Day on the waterfront, Bike Path

Trees planting during the World Environment Day 2012 in Konso – Ethiopia.

The 2013 theme for World Environment Day was Think.Eat.Save.[21]

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. The campaign aimed to bring about awareness in countries with lifestyles resulting in food wastage. It also aimed to empower people to make informed choices about the food they eat so as to reduce the overall ecological impact due to the worldwide production of food.[21] The host country for the year's celebrations was Mongolia.

2012

The theme for the 2012 World Environment Day was Green Economy.[22]

The theme aimed to invite people to examine their activities and lifestyle and see how the concept of a "Green Economy" fits into it. The host country for the year's celebrations was Brazil.[22]

2011

The world environment day of 2011 was hosted by India. It was the 1st time for India to host the day. The theme for 2011 was Forests—Nature At Your Service. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events, tree plantings[23] and much more.

2010

'Many Species. One Planet. One Future', was the theme of 2010.

It celebrated the diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. It was hosted in Rwanda. Thousands of activities were organized worldwide, with beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events and much more.[24] Each continent (except Antarctica) had a "regional host city", the U.N. chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the host for all North.[25]

2009

The theme for WED 2009 was 'Your Planet Needs You – UNite to Combat Climate Change', and Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song' was declared 'World Environment Day Song'. It was hosted in Mexico.[26]

2008

The host for World Environment Day 2008 was New Zealand, with the main international celebrations scheduled for Wellington. The slogan for 2008 was "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon-neutrality, and will also focus on forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.[27]

The Chicago Botanic Garden served as the North American host[28] for World Environment Day on 5 June 2008.

2007

The topic for World Environment Day for 2007 was "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?" During International Polar Year, WED 2007 focused on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, on other ice- and snow-covered areas of the world, and the resulting global impacts.

The main international celebrations of the WED 2007 were held in the city of Tromsø, Norway, a city north of the Arctic Circle.[29]

2006

The topic for WED 2006 was Deserts and Desertification and the slogan was "Don't desert drylands".

The slogan emphasised the importance of protecting drylands. The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2006 were held in Algeria.

2005

Standard WED banners hung in San Francisco, USA in May 2005.

The theme for the 2005 World Environment Day was "Green Cities" and the slogan was "Plant for the Planet!".[30]

Host cities

World Environment Day celebrations have been (and will be) hosted in the following cities:

Year Theme Host city

1974 Only one Earth during Expo '74 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 New 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