World Environment Day 2010

World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.Commemorated yearly on 5 June, WED is a means to stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The day's agenda is to:

1. Give a human face to environmental issues;
2. Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
3. Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues;
4. Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

World Environment Day Themes

World Environment Day 1974 Theme - "Only one Earth"
World Environment Day 1975 Theme - "Human Settlements"
World Environment Day 1976 Theme - "Water: Vital Resource for Life"
World Environment Day 1977 Theme - "Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation"
World Environment Day 1978 Theme - "Development Without Destruction"
World Environment Day 1979 Theme - "Only One Future for Our Children - Development Without Destruction"
World Environment Day 1980 Theme - "A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction"
World Environment Day 1981 Theme - "Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains"
World Environment Day 1982 Theme - "Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental  Concerns)"
World Environment Day 1983 Theme - "Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and  Energy"
World Environment Day 1984 Theme -"Desertification"
World Environment Day 1985 Theme - "Youth: Population and the Environment"


World Environment Day 1986 Theme - "A Tree for Peace"
World Environment Day 1987 Theme - "Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof"
World Environment Day 1988 Theme - "When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last"
World Environment Day 1989 Theme - "Global Warming; Global Warning"
World Environment Day 1990 Theme - "Children and the Environment"
World Environment Day 1991 Theme - "Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership"
World Environment Day 1992 Theme - "Only One Earth, Care and Share"
World Environment Day 1993 Theme - "Poverty and the Environment - Breaking the Vicious Circle"
World Environment Day 1994 Theme - "One Earth One Family"
World Environment Day 1995 Theme - "We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment"
World Environment Day 1996 Theme - "Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home"
World Environment Day 1997 Theme - "For Life on Earth"
World Environment Day 1998 Theme - "For Life on Earth - Save Our Seas"
World Environment Day 1999 Theme - "Our Earth - Our Future - Just Save It!"
World Environment Day 2000 Theme - "The Environment Millennium - Time to Act"
World Environment Day 2001 Theme - "Connect with the World Wide Web of Life"
World Environment Day 2002 Theme - "Give Earth a Chance"
World Environment Day 2003 Theme - "Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!"
World Environment Day 2004 Theme - "Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?"
World Environment Day 2005 Theme - "Green Cities – Plan for the Planet!"
World Environment Day 2006 Theme - "Deserts and Desertification - Don't Desert Drylands!"
World Environment Day 2007 Theme - "Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?"
World Environment Day 2008 Theme - "Kick The Habit- Towards A Low Carbon Economy"
World Environment Day 2009 Theme - "Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change"
World Environment Day 2010 Theme -  "Many Species. One Planet. One Future.”



MILESTONES 1972-2005 

1972:UNEP established after UN Conference on the Human Environment
1973: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
1975: Mediterranean Action Plan: first of thirteen regional action plans under the UNEP Regional Seas programme
1979: Bonn Convention on Migratory Species
1985: Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone layer
1987: Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
1988: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established to assess information related to human-induced climate change
1989: Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes
1991: Global Environment Facility established
1992: UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) issues Rio Declaration and Agenda 21
1992: Framework Convention on Climate Change
1992: Convention on Biological Diversity
1994: Convention to Combat Desertifi cation
1995: Global Programme of Action (GPA) launched to protect marine environment from land-based sources of pollution
1998: Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent
1999: UN Global Compact launched

2000: Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted to address issue of genetically modified organisms
2000: Malmö Declaration: a call to action on international environmental governance by the first Global Ministerial Environment Forum
2000: Millennium Declaration: environmental sustainability listed as one of eight Millennium Development Goals 2001: Third IPCC Assessment Report details the extent of human-induced global warming
2001: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
2002: World Summit on Sustainable Development reaffirms UNEP’s central role in international efforts to achieve sustainable development
2005: Kyoto Protocol on climate change enters into force
2005: Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity Building adopted by UNEP Governing Council mandating national level support to developing countries
2005: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment highlights the importance of ecosystems to human well-being, and the extent of ecosystem decline
2005: 2005 World Summit agrees to explore a more coherent institutional framework system for international environmental governance


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