WED 2010: What is World Environment Day?
In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly marked the beginning of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment by creating World Environment Day (WED). Commemorated annually on June 5, WED promotes international awareness of environmental issues and draws political and public attention to the environment. WED is distinct from Earth Day, which is celebrated April 22. While both are celebrated internationally, Earth Day is a United States holiday originally designed to commemorate the beginning of the country's modern environmental movement in the 1970s.
As stated by the United Nations Environment Programme website, WED's four goals are:
- Give a human face to environmental issues;
- Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
- Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes toward environment issues;
- Advocate partnerships which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
Each year WED is held in a different country and draws political and public attention to a different environmental topic. This year, WED 2010 will be hosted by Rwanda and will have a theme around biodiversity, in accordance with the International Year of Biodiversity.
The theme of WED 2010 is “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” It echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of people and millions of species all share the same planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.