It’s World Environment Day!

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment. First held in 1973, it has been a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. World Environment Day 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 causes.

World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment ( 5–16 June 1972), that had resulted from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first World Environment Fay was held at he host city of Spokane, Washington, USA, with the theme ‘Only One Earth’.

In 2000, the host city was Adelaide – the first and last time an Australian city hosted the event. That year the theme was ‘The Environment Millennium – Time to Act’.

This year, 50 years on from Stockholm, Sweden is the host city and the theme is back to ‘Only One Earth’, highlighting the need to live sustainably in harmony with nature by bringing transformative changes – through policies and our choices – towards cleaner, greener lifestyles. Only One Earth was the motto for the 1972 Stockholm Conference.