World Environment Day – 05th June
World Environment Day – 05th June
World Environment Day(WED) is celebrated annually on 5 June and it is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach. It is celebrated by millions of people across the world.
WED is a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, the program has provided a theme and forum for businesses, non-government organizations, communities, governments and celebrities to advocate environmental causesas marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development and wildlife crime etc.
For almost five decades, WED has been raising awareness, supporting action, and driving changes for the environment. It has annual themes and major initiatives and accomplishments. The theme for WED on 5 June 2023 focussed on solutions to plastic pollution.
The world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once.Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas annually. Micro plastics, tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter, find their way into food, water and air. It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year and many more if inhalation is considered.Discarded or burnt single-use plastic harms human health and biodiversity and pollutes every ecosystem from mountain tops to the ocean floor.More than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers.
With available science and solutions to tackle the problem, governments, companies and other stakeholders must scale up and speed actions to solve this crisis.This underscores the importance of this WED in mobilizing transformative action from every corner of the world.More than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers.
In Sri Lanka, Ministry of Environment, government and non-government organizations celebrated WED under the theme Plastic pollution.
– Source: Internet –