World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June. It has been promoted by the United Nations since 1972 with the aim of raising public awareness of environmental problems and encouraging attention and, therefore, action by governments. In fact, on 15 December 1972, Resolution 2994 was passed, stating: “The General Assembly designates 5 June as World Environment Day and urges Governments and the organizations in the United Nations system to undertake on that day every year world-wide activities reaffirming their concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment with a view to deepening environmental awareness and to pursuing the determination expressed at the Conference”.
This year, the theme of the Day will be “Ecosystem Restoration”, with the aim of preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of the planet’s ecosystems, to go from exploiting nature to healing it. On 5 June the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, introduced with the global mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmland, from mountaintops to the depths of the oceans, will be officially launched.
In preparation for the day, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has made two tools available:
- A Practical Guide to Healing the Planet (also known as The Ecosystem Restoration Playbook). This guide is designed for all those interested in restoring ecosystems, offering food for thought, pathways and advice for immediate action on behalf of the planet. In particular, the Ecosystem Restoration Playbook provides a detailed introduction to the wide range of actions that can be implemented now to slow down and halt degradation of ecosystems and facilitate their full recovery.
- A constantly updated worldenvironmentday web page where you can consult and see the latest news on events and initiatives related to the upcoming World Environment Day.
