Environment Day Celebrations!!!

                             Environment Day (5 June )

                         Time For Nature

World Environment Day is observed on 5 June each year in more than 100 countries, and is one of the most popular days on the United Nations calendar. It is an opportunity to raise awareness and promote action on national environmental issues.

About World Environment Day

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), heads of state, prime ministers, ministers, VIPs and organisations from around the world join forces to mark World Environment Day. Every year, a different host city is nominated, allowing various countries to showcase the positive things being done nationally, regionally and internationally to promote sustainable practices and reduce the impacts of climate change. New Zealand hosted World Environment Day in 2008 in partnership with the UNEP. While Wellington was the host city, World Environment Day was celebrated actively throughout New Zealand to promote the 2008 ‘Kick the Carbon Habit’ theme.

COVID-19, which was transmitted from animals to humans, is a direct warning that nature can take no more. COVID-19 is zoonotic, a type of disease that transmits between animals and humans. We are facing it in large part because humanity’s expansion into wild spaces and exploitation of species brings people into closer contact with wildlife. COVID-19 may be one of the worst, but it is not the first. 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases are of zoonotic. origins. Ebola, SARS, the Zika virus and bird flu all spread from animals to people, often due to human encroachment on nature.

So, lockdowns are not a silver lining for the environment. They have, however, shown that nature can still flourish, if we give it the chance. During the lockdowns, we saw air pollution clear and nature coming out of hiding – from penguins wandering the streets of Cape Town to kangaroos bouncing through Adelaide. This gives us a glimpse into how much better our lives could be if we lived in harmony with nature. But we need to make this happen in a way that lasts.

This is why we say it’s time for nature. If anyone needs further convincing, perhaps it is useful to highlight some numbers that show what nature already gives us, and how much more it could give if we treat it with the respect it deserves.Today, on World Environment Day, I call on all everyone to work together to protect the nature that supports us all. The stronger our planet’s life support systems are, the better human health and wealth will be.

                      It is, without a doubt, time for nature.