World Environment Day 5 June 2024 - Theme and Importance

World Environment Day is a global event commemorated every year on June 5th to promote awareness with regard to environmental protection. On this day, many people from local and international organisations gather to raise their voices against the activities that cause harm to the global environment. 

World Environment Day - Importance

Climate change affects people's lives and health in various ways. Safe drinking water, clean air, a supply of nutrient-rich food, and a secure place to live are all at risk, and it may undermine decades of advancement in global health.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO) report, environmental change is predicted to result in over 2,50,000 fatalities between 2030 and 2050, resulting from malaria, malnutrition, heat stress and diarrhoea. In addition, it was estimated that 24% of global deaths are related to environmental issues, followed by 32 lakhs of deaths due to indoor smoke emitted from cooking fuels and 42 lakhs deaths due to exposure to dust, smoke etc. To curb the further degeneration of the ecosystem, collaborative, transformative action on a global scale is required to safeguard nature. 

World Environment Day takes the opportunity to create a platform for raising awareness in various sectors, but not limited to air pollution, waste management, plastic waste, and menstrual hygiene in order to provide long sustainable harmony with nature.

Air pollution: It is considered the single greatest environmental threat to human health. As per WHO estimation in 2018, nine out of ten individuals breathe above acceptable polluted outdoor air, and 70 lakh people die worldwide due to outdoor and indoor air pollution. Around 5,70,000 children under the age of five die yearly from secondhand smoke, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and respiratory illnesses like pneumonia. 

Waste management:  As per the World Bank report 2020, it was estimated that the world generated 224 crore tons of solid garbage. The annual waste generation is anticipated to rise by 73% (from 224 to 388 crore tons) in 2050 due to increased population expansion and urbanisation.

Plastic Waste: It is one of the major problems currently affecting the globe, which has far-reaching effects. It affects wildlife, especially marine species, and ecosystems. Since the beginning of the century (2000), the amount of plastic produced worldwide has doubled, reaching almost 40 crore metric tons annually in 2021.

Menstrual Hygiene: The sanitary pads can have up to 90% plastic, most of which gets disposed of in landfills. As per the environmental organisation Toxics Link report, over 1230 crore old sanitary pads are thrown into landfills in India annually. These synthetic sanitary pads take between 250 and 800 years to decompose.

World Environment Day 2024 theme

This year, 2024, the World Environment Day theme is “land restoration, desertification and drought resilience” under the slogan “Our Land. Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration”. This theme focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience for a nation grappling with degradation, desertification, and drought.

Land restoration is a crucial element of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a global call to protect and rejuvenate ecosystems worldwide, essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Year-by-year themes for World Environment Day

• World Environment Day theme 2023: solutions to plastic pollution
• World Environment Day theme 2022: Only One Earth
• World Environment Day theme 2021: Generation restoration- Ecosystem restoration
• World Environment Day theme 2020: Time for Nature
• World Environment Day theme 2019: Beat Air Pollution

Why we need to protect our environment?

Environmental protection is the cornerstone for maintaining our planet, communities, and economy. If it is not protected, the following can be serious effects but not limited to:

• Unavailability of a place for shelter
• Deforestation
• Increase in global temperature
• Poor quality of air
• Extinction of species
• Natural disasters

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