World Environment Day Theme for 2011 .................................................... Plant a Tree for Life .................................................... Facts about Forests .................................................... Deforestation & Degradation .................................................... More on Forests .................................................... More on World Environment Day .................................................... Celebrate World Environment Day .................................................... WED Celebration Alphabet .................................................... Past Themes .................................................... Carbon Calculator .................................................... Campaigns .................................................... Home .................................................... Reduce .................................................... Reuse .................................................... About Greenworks .................................................... Recycle .................................................... Respect & Responsibility .................................................... Global Warming .................................................... Green Tip of the Week .................................................... Watch Your Waste .................................................... Compost .................................................... Get SASSI .................................................... Litter .................................................... Products .................................................... Contact Us .................................................... Daily Checklist .................................................... Your Carbon Footprint .................................................... Environmental Calendar .................................................... Office Greening .................................................... Landfills .................................................... Plant a Tree for Life .................................................... Campaigns .................................................... Earth Hour .................................................... Earth Day .................................................... World Environment Day .................................................... World Ocean Day .................................................... Arbor Day .................................................... Christmas .................................................... |
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5 June is designated as World Environment Day by the United Nations General Assembly to deepen public awareness of the need to preserve and enhance the environment. World Environment Day (WED) is probably the most celebrated of all the environmental awareness days, and it is a day to acknowledge the achievements made to protect the environment. It is also a day to commit to new greening actions. WED aims to personalise environmental issues - so that world citizens realise that it is our responsibility to take care of the environment, and become actively involved in making lifestyle choices and changes to support sustain- able and equitable development. Building a cleaner, greener world for ourselves and future generations is integral to World Environment Day, and should be integral to our everyday. It's easy to blame others for the effects of global warming and climate change, and damage to the environment. We can blame governments for not making environmental policy a priority; businesses for increasing greenhouse gas emissions; and others for not taking responsibility and not taking necessary action. However the responsibility lies with each one of us as individuals to take action. In celebrating WED each of our individual actions can collectively become an exponential force for constructive and positive change. |
"Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon |
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Facts about Forests • Forests cover 31% of total land area. • Primary forests account for 36% of forest area. • The livelihoods of over 1.6 billion people depend on forests. • Forests are home to 80% of our terrestrial biodiversity. • Trade in forest products was estimated at $327 billion in 2004. • Forests are home to 300 million people around the world. • 30% of forests are used for production of wood and non-wood products. www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/index.shtml • Trees and forests play a key role in our battle against climate change, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon dioxide. • Forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land. • Forests feed our rivers and are essential to supplying the water for nearly 50% of our largest cities. • Forests create and maintain soil fertility. • They help to regulate the impact of storms, floods and fires. • Forests provide shelter, jobs and security for forest-dependent populations. • Forests are the green lungs of the earth. We need them to live and breathe. • Despite the ecological, economic, social and health benefits of forests, we are destroying them! • Global deforestation continues -- every year, 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed. www.unep.org/wed/forestfacts/ The Difference Between Deforestation and Degradation Deforestation is the reduction of forest cover, i.e the loss of trees. Commercial logging and fires are causes of deforestation. It is possible to use forests in a properly managed way that maintains their existence. Degradation refers to the loss of quality of the forests, rather than coverage. A forest's health can be ascertained by monitoring its ecosystem, for example vegetation layers, soil, flora and fauna. Causes of forest degradation are the gathering of wood for fuel, and insects and pests. www.unep.org/wed/forestfacts/ |
Plant a Tree for Life |
Take a step in the green direction. • Set green goals. • Pledge to make a greening difference in your home, school or office. • Select a number of steps you can take to walk on in your home to save resources. • Commit for a week then a month and then long term. Changing habits always takes an initial adjustment but then they become a way of life. • Take action. • Wear a green ribbon. • Wear green clothing - both in colour and product. • Find out more about the environment and what you can do to make a difference. • Hold an environmentally friendly event to spread the message. • Set up a recycling programme at home or the office. Check your local municipality's website for recycling drop off points. • Buy green products instead of others. • Organise a community or school clean-up (liaise with your local municipality in advance to arrange for collection if there are a lot of extra bags). • Clean out the storm water drain in your street (litter is a huge problem that gets into storm water drains). • Make a donation to an environmental or conservation organisation. • Plant a tree or indigenous plants. • Take a walk in an environmentally friendly area and enjoy being outdoors. • Select ways to reduce your electricity consumption. • Explore the option of a solar water heater. • Select ways to reduce your water consumption. • Explore putting a water tank in your garden or flow regulators in your taps. • Turn the pressure tap down. • Commit to only eating seafood from the Green List • Be aware of your waste • How much stuff do you throw away • How much can be recycled • How much food is wasted (see food saving suggestions) • Create an email that you send to friends and colleagues informing them of your commitment and encourage them to do so too. • Create a communal "pledge board" where people can write their environmental pledge for the year e.g."I will turn off the lights when I leave the room", "I will turn off the water while shaving or brushing my teeth". • Create a poster with your class or your children. • Create a mural at a school or community centre to encourage environmental awareness. • Prepare a vegetarian/vegan meal instead of a meat meal. • Prepare meals using organic foods. • Prepare only enough food so nothing goes to waste. • Create your own compost. • Write a World Environment Day article for your local newspaper, or for your business/community newsletter. • If you are planning on building or doing a renovation, then build an environmentally friendly house or kitchen or bathroom. • Create a community food garden. • Create your own vegetable and herb garden. |
Celebrate World Environment Day |
Click here to view The World Environment Day Alphabet for Ways to Celebrate |
Year 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 |
United Nations Environment Program Theme (UNEP) Forests : Nature at Your Service Many Species. One Planet. One Future Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change. CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy Melting Ice - a Hot Topic? Deserts and Desertification - Don't Desert Drylands! Green Cities - Plan for the Planet! Wanted! Seas and Oceans - Dead or Alive? Water - Two Billion People are Dying for It! Give Earth a Chance Connect with the World Wide Web of Life The Environment Millennium - Time to Act Our Earth - Our Future - Just Save It! For Life on Earth - Save Our Seas For Life on Earth Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment One Earth One Family Poverty and the Environment - Breaking the Vicious Circle Only One Earth, Care and Share Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership Children and the Environment Global Warming; Global Warning When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof A Tree for Peace Youth: Population and the Environment Desertification Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns) Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction Only One Future for Our Children - Development Without Destruction Development Without Destruction Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation Water: Vital Resource for Life Human Settlements Only one Earth |
South African Environmental Day Theme (Dept of Environment) SA Act Now to Combat Climate Change All Hands on Deck: Towards a Low Carbon Economy Climate Change: Today's Action - Shaping Tomorrow's Environment. An Age of Hope in a Protected Environment Our Environment Belongs To All Who Live In It A Decade of Sustainability - Our Environment, Our Future My Environment, My Life Clean Up South Africa for a Better Life The Environment Millennium - Time To Act |
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Facts about Forests |
Celebrate World Environment Day Take Action Now |
World Oceans Day 8 June 2011 |
TAKE A STEP IN THE GREEN DIRECTION BECAUSE GOING GREEN WORKS! |
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 05 JUNE FORESTS: NATURE AT YOUR SERVICE |
Click Here & Register Your WED Activity |
The theme for WED 2011 is Forests: Nature at Your Service. Forests: Nature at Your Service supports the UN's 2011 International Year of Forests which draws attention to the life-sustaining values that forests provide, and the inherent connection between our quality of life and the health of forest ecosystems. Our lives - both now and in the future and future generations - depend on conserving and restoring the world's forests. |
More about World Environment Day Although trees and forests are this year's focus, all environmental activities and achievements should be celebrated! Every green step has a positive impact. The United Nations General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day to deepen public awareness of the need to preserve and enhance the environment. The UN Environment Programme is the promoter of World Environment Day. World Environment Day is one of the major channels through which the United Nations encourages worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political awareness and action for environ- mental issues. It aims to • to give a human face to environmental issues • empower people to become active participants in sustainable and equitable development • promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environ- mental issues • advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more pros- perous future During World Environment week Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment pledge their commitment to establishing permanent governmental structures to deal with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions. World Environment Day was established by the General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). World Environment Day is hosted every year by a different country and is commemorated with an international exposition during the week of 5 June. (World Environment Week) The 2011 host is India. South Africa was the host in 1995. On this World Environment Day, let's really consider the state of our environment. Commit to positive, tangible actions which can make a real difference to preserving all life on earth! You may think you don't know where to begin, but by reading this, you have already begun! • Click here for ways to Celebrate World Environment Day • Calculate your Carbon Footprint • Plant a Tree for Life |
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On this World Environment Day, let's really consider the state of our environment. Commit to positive, tangible actions which can make a real difference to preserving all life on earth! |