The first World Environment Day (WED) was observed in 1973. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly on December 15, 1972, to be observed annually on June 5. The date coincides with the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, which was held from June 5 to 16, 1972. The conference was a landmark event in the history of environmental protection, and it led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The conference was the first global conference on the environment and was attended by representatives from 113 countries. The conference resulted in the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which called for international cooperation to protect the environment.
The first World Environment Day was celebrated with events in over 100 countries. The theme of the day was “Only One Earth,” and the goal was to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment. The day was a success, and it has been celebrated annually ever since. World Environment Day is now the largest global platform for environmental public outreach. It is celebrated by millions of people around the world every year. The day provides an opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues and to take action to protect the environment. This year, World Environment Day is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The theme of the day is “Beat Plastic Pollution.” The goal of the day is to raise awareness of the problem of plastic pollution and to encourage people to take action to reduce their use of plastic.
WED has been observed with quite a lot of interest in Nagaland and in Mokokchung for about a couple of decades now and has been gaining popularity particularly in recent years. This year too, WED is going to be observed across the state led by the government. Many groups and individuals are also expected to celebrate the day in various forms. It is indeed a positive development as it indicates growing awareness and consciousness among the people about environmental issues.
As WED 2023 approaches, those who plan to celebrate the day should ruminate on why plastic-free campaigns have not been yielding remarkably positive results in the region. With the WED 2023 theme being ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’, it becomes even more pertinent for those who are genuinely interested to analyze the success rate of plastic-free campaigns and explore what needs to be done to keep the campaign going.
The ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ campaign has made some progress in raising awareness of the problem of plastic pollution. However, more needs to be done to address the underlying causes of the problem, such as lack of (effective) government regulation, consumer demand for single-use plastics, inadequate recycling infrastructure, and lack of awareness. The government, businesses, consumers, and communities must all work together to address the problem of plastic pollution. Individuals, most importantly, need to be aware of the problem of plastic pollution and the impact that it is having on the environment.
