World Environment Day
The United Nations designated 5 June as World Environment Day to highlight that the protection and health of the environment is a major issue, which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world. The celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment.
The theme of the 2024 World Environment Day is “land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.”
As we mark World Environment Day and World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, UNESCO is calling for a renewed commitment to life in all its forms. Our Organization's commitment can be summed up in three verbs: alert, promote and restore.
Events
What UNESCO does for Environmental Protection
UNESCO mobilizes diverse knowledge systems, including the knowledge of local communities and Indigenous Peoples, and supports their inclusion in decision-making.
Its World Network of Biosphere Reserves is a dynamic and interactive network of sites of excellence that foster harmony between people and nature for sustainable development.
Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity: UNESCO designated sites
UNESCO MasterClasses
"Attacks on nature are contributing to the health crisis."
On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, Friday 22 May 2020, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, Jane Goodall, a primatologist famous for her studies on chimpanzees and ambassador for the Great Apes Survival Partnership launched by the United Nations, reminded us that the global COVID-19 crisis must not make us forget to defend our planet's flora and fauna.
Designation of this Day
The year 1972 marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics, with the first major conference on environmental issues, known as the , or the Stockholm Conference. Later that year, on 15 December, the General Assembly adopted a resolution () designating June 5 as World Environment Day and urging "Governments and the organizations in the United Nations system to undertake on that day every year world-wide activities reaffirming their concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment, with a view to deepening environmental awareness."
Discover more international days
World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture - African World Heritage Day - International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying - World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - International Day of Education - International Day of the Girl - International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust - Human Rights Day - International Day of Light - International Literacy Day - International Mother Language Day - Nelson Mandela International Day - World Oceans Day - World Philosophy Day - World Poetry Day - World Press Freedom Day - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition - World Teachers' Day - International Day for Tolerance - International Women's Day - International Day of Women and Girls in Science - World Art Day - World Book and Copyright Day - World Radio Day - World Water Day