The significance

World Environment Day (WED) is observed on June 5 every year to promote awareness on the importance of preserving our biodiversity, the need to identify problems related to the environment and ways to take corrective action. It was on this day in the year 1972 that the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was formed. First celebrated in 1973, World Environment Day, also popularly known as Environment Day, is a means to tackle environmental challenges that include climate change, global warming, disasters and conflicts, harmful substances, environmental governance, ecosystem management and resource efficiency.

World Environment Day has received tremendous support from the public, non-profit organizations and governments around the world. Various awareness campaigns - beach clean-ups, concerts, exhibits, film festivals, community events and much more - are organized to spread the message, which is to improve the quality of life of all living beings on this planet without harming nature. All the activities are carried out to spread eco-awareness and increase green footprint.

Each year, World Environment Day is hosted in a different city with a different theme for one week that kicks off on June 5. A World Environment Day theme is selected along with an Environment Day slogan, which aims to emphasize the importance of protecting our planet and promote an understanding that they each individually can play a significant and effective role in tackling environmental issues.

This year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has selected India as host of World Environment Day 2011. The Environment Day 2011 slogan is ‘Forest: Nature at your service’. Forests cover 1/3 of the earth’s land mass and play a key role in our battle against climate change, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon dioxide – this is what the theme aims to reinforce.

With blogs becoming an effective means of communication, on Environment Day, the UNEP has started organizing blogging competitions to encourage people to protect the environment. Thousands of entries were received this year from different parts of the world. After reviewing all entries, budding engineer, Ximena Prugue of Florida, USA, was declared the winner for her blog on the effects of deforestation in rural India.

The UNEP also confers international awards - The ‘Champions of the Earth’, ‘UNEP Sasakawa Prize’, ‘The Seeds Awards’, among others - to individuals or organizations on World Environment Day based on their innovation, vision and performance in protecting or benefiting the environment.

Thanks: Times of India