World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) 2010 is aimed to be the biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action.

Commemorated on 5 June since 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles to generate worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages attention and action.

Through WED, we are able to give a human face to environmental issues and enable people to realise not only their responsibility, but also their power to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development.

The theme of WED 2010 is “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” It echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of people and millions of species all share the same planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

Did you know that you are one in a million? Or more precisely, one of millions on this wondrous planet - anywhere in fact between an estimated 5 million to 100 million species. Scientists have only managed to identify about 2 million species so far. If you think about it, which means there a huge amount we still don't know about our planet or whom we share it with. What we do know though is that humans are among only a handful of species whose populations are growing, while most animals and plants are becoming rarer and fewer.

A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with extinction – from little-known plants and insects to charismatic birds and mammals. This is just the tip of the iceberg; many species disappear before they are even discovered.

The reason is human activities. With our present approach to development, we have caused the clearing of much of the original forest, drained half of the world’s wetlands, depleted three quarters of all fish stocks, and emitted enough heat-trapping gases to keep our planet warming for centuries to come. We have put our foot on the accelerator, making species extinctions occur at up to 1000 times the natural rate.

As a result, we are increasingly risking the loss of the very foundation of our own survival. The variety of life on our planet – known as ‘biodiversity’ – gives us our food, clothes, fuel, medicine and much, much more. You may not think that a beetle in your backyard or grass growing by the roadside has a fundamental connection to you - but it does. When even one species is taken out of the intricate web of life, the results can be catastrophic.

World environment day is an opportunity to stress the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, reflect on our achievements to safeguard it and encourage a redoubling of our efforts to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss.

Through WED, we can employ our individual and collective power to stem the tide of extinction. Our conservation action has brought some species back from the brink, and has restored some vital natural habitats around the world. On WED, let us resolve to do much more, and much faster, to win the race against extinction!

(Adapted from United Nations Environment Programme)