World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5th to remind humans that they are not alone on this planet.
World Environment Day is organised by the United Nations to raise awareness of environmental issues. Every year a country hosts the event and provides a platform to discuss Sustainable Development Goals. The day is celebrated worldwide by millions of people and associations to share experiences, challenges, and solutions. Over 150 countries take part each year cooperating with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Last year, World Environment Day was hosted by Colombia in partnership with Germany. This year Pakistan will host World Environment Day. The main topic of the 2021 edition is “ecosystem restoration”, aiming at creating a good relationship with nature, and also celebrating the launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 plan.
About Pakistan
In 2014, Pakistan started a massive afforestation project to expand and restore forests across the country - called the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami. The campaign includes restoring mangroves and other forests, as well as planting trees in urban settings, including schools, colleges and parks. To finance restoration efforts, Pakistan has launched the Eco-System Restoration Fund. It will support nature-based solutions to climate change while encouraging conservation. In order to raise its economy and natural landscape, Pakistan is also developing 15 protected areas across the country to conserve over 7,300 square kilometres of land. It has also revealed a plan to provide over 285,000 sustainable jobs.
The 2021 World Environment Day edition
Quoting the event’s website: “We are the generation that can make peace with nature. Let’s get active, not anxious. Let’s be bold, not timid." A great number of activities has been carried out for this year, starting from toolkits and digital resources:
- Guides with visual guidelines, logo usage and placement details;
- A Trello Board, where you can find, posters, social media assets and more – regularly updated;
- The #GENERATIONRESTORATION Youth Toolkit, to find out how youth and youth organisations across the world can take action (especially virtually);
- The Snap Challenge; join the challenge with the hashtag #GenerationRestoration to show the world how to contribute to ecosystem restoration.
The official event schedule can be checked here; you can browse through the 2021 official schedule of events hosted by UNEP and Decade Partners, featuring high-level speakers, expert panels and other events taking place around the world. Let's join the #GenerationRestoration.
