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World Environment Day (WED), commemorated each year on 5 June is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
WED was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Since then, it has been held every year, always on the same date, and with an ever growing list of participating countries.
WED is a people's event with global participation. It has previously been celebrated in many ways, with people all over the world getting involved in street rallies, bicycle parades, concerts, school activities and tree planting as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.
The day is also marked by a global summit attended by important environmental and governmental representatives, each year held by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at a new host city.
The World Environment Day theme selected for 2006 is Deserts and Desertification and the slogan is "Don't Desert Drylands!" The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2006 will be held in Algeria.
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The theme of this year’s observance of World Environment Day, “Don’t Desert Drylands!”, reminds us all, in the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, of the importance of caring for the world’s vast areas of arid and semiarid land.
Protecting and restoring drylands will not only relieve the growing burden on the world’s urban areas, it will contribute to a more peaceful and secure world. It will also help to preserve landscapes and cultures that date back to the dawn of civilization and are an essential part of our cultural heritage.
On this World Environment Day, in the 10th anniversary year of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, I urge governments and communities everywhere to focus on the challenges of life on the desert margins so the people who live there can look forward to a future of peace, health and social progress.
- Kofi Anan, UN Secretary General
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GDRC has been working on themes related to this international day/observance, in its programmes on (a) Sustainable Development; (b) Urban Environmental Management; and (c) Environmental Decision-Making.
GDRC reaffirms its committment to uphold the objectives of the World Environment Day, and work towards better understanding of, and action on, conserving and protecting the global environment.
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