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World Environment Day

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World Environment Day 'Swachh Bharat Pakhwada' by ENVIS Centres (1st June- 15th June, 2016) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - A Brief Report Conceptualized by ENVIS Secretariat, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India World Environment Day The celebration of World Environment Day (WED) is a forty-four year old concept in world history. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated the observance of this day to globally celebrate the spirit of positive environmental action. Every year, millions of individuals and organizations engage in various activities on this day which includes tree-planting drives, art exhibitions, social media campaigns, etc. This way, there is a build-up of a collective power of people belonging to different walks of life, leading to the generation of an exponential positive impact on the planet. The UN General Assembly declared June 5 as World Environment Day in the year 1972. Two years later in 1974, WED was celebrated for the first time, with the United States hosting it. The theme for this first ever WED was 'Only One Earth'. Since then, WED has been trending every year with a different theme. The most recent theme of WED (for 2016) was 'Go Wild for Life: Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife Trade'. Angola was the global host country of WED 2016. As a consequence of man's insatiable greed, illegal trade in wildlife product is booming in an alarming rate. Ecosystems are getting corrupted and, the killing and smuggling of different species are leading them to extinction. Wildlife crime is endangering a number of species of elephants, rhinos, tigers, gorillas and sea turtles, along with many other lesser-known victims. The magnanimity of the problem is calling out for huge efforts to counter the illicit trade through stronger policies, awareness campaigns, investment in community conservation and law enforcement. Therefore, WED 2016 concentrated on encouraging people to celebrate all of those species of plants and animals under threat and taking action on one's own to help safeguard them for future generations. The Indian capital also saw celebration of WED 2016 where an awareness raising event was organized at Raahgiri, Connaught Place by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), TRAFFIC, WWF, United Nations Development Programme, ENVIS Centers (WWF, CMS, IIHH, TERI, CPCB, JNU, School of Planning and Architecture, IES), PETA and Maashakti. TRAFFIC along with other partner organizations entertained the participants with wildlife films, wildlife quizzes, skits, painting competitions, slogan writing competitions, cultural programme, etc. The highlights of the event were the march past of volunteers holding placards bearing messages on WED, the selfie corner (where cut outs of various protected species and related themes were put on display for participants to take selfies with), the painting wall (individuals painted their thoughts and ideas about wildlife conservation and protection) and the Pledge Wall (individuals pledged to say NO to buying illegal wildlife products in order to support efforts to curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade). Pledge on World Environment Day 2016 I pledge to protect India's forests and wildlife, to the best of my ability. I vow to never use protected wildlife or its products and will dissuade any of my friends and family from doing so. I promise to spread awareness and sensitivity on wildlife conservation and against illegal wildlife trade and help protectour rich biodiversity. I swear to always report wildlife crime and illegal wildlife trade to dedicated enforcement agencies and help India and the world in fight against wildlife crime. I will always take care to never damage our natural environment and all naturalbeings that live in it. Report on World Environment Day 1 The WED themes have covered a number of red hot issues since its advent in 1974 like 'Water: Vital Resource for Life', 'Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation', 'Development Without Destruction', 'Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy', 'A Tree for Peace', 'When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last', 'Children and the Environment', 'Climate Change: Need for Global Partnership', 'Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?', 'Kick the Habit – Towards a Low Carbon Economy', 'Raise your Voice, not the Sea Level', etc. Host cities all over the globe have enthusiastically continued the legacy that began in 1974. Over the years, the celebration of WED has grown in its significance with the concerted efforts of UNEP, media and citizens of the world. It has invested in building a state of harmony between men and nature through an enormous active participation. The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has implemented a Central Sector Scheme entitled Environmental Information System (ENVIS), ENVIS is a decentralized system, a web-based distributed network of subject-specific databases. Its purpose is to integrate country-wide efforts in environmental information collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination to all concerned. ENVIS, by providing scientific, technical and semi-technical information on various environmental issues, serves as the backbone of policy formulation and environment management at all levels of Government as well as decision-making aimed at environmental protection and its improvement for sustaining good quality of life of all living beings. The 21st century calls for a renaissance that evokes in the minds of people general sensitivity towards the environment. On the occasion of World Environment Day, 5thJune 2016, with much zeal and zest, organized various events across its prime centre's to create awareness and help the general public connect more with their surroundings. Following is a brief on events organized by the various ENVIS centres across India. World Environment Day celebrated at Raahgiri, Connaught Place on 5th June, 2016. The programme was based on the theme of UN for this year “Go Wild for Life” with slogan “Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife Trade”. To support the cause many organizations such as UNDP, WWF, PETA, MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change) and Delhi based ENVIS Centres Report on World Environment Day 2 such as TERI, SPA, IES, JNU, CPCB, CMS, Sulabh, and WWF came together and planned this event at Raahgiri. * Union minister for State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar also gave the message to save animals through his pre-recorded speech and spread his valuable words to the masses * Amongst the events conducted were quiz competition highlighting issues on wildlife trafficking, solid waste management, and various types of pollutions. * There was a poster making along with T-shirt and towel painting competition that saw many enthusiastic people from all age groups participating in it. A n e n t h r a l l i n g Nukkad natak drove a lot of attention. * More than 700 people signed pledge wall. (I PLEDGE to help STOP POACHING and ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE by refusing to buy illegal wildlife products). * There were three sessions of March to generate awareness on the issue. Various ministry officials including Mr. Ajay Narayan Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change; Shri Yashvir Singh, Economic Advisor of ENVIS; Shri Abhay Kumar, Deputy Economic Advisor (ENVIS) visited ENVIS exhibition. Report on World Environment Day 3 ENVIS CENTRES IN DELHI ENVIS Centre on NGOs and Parliament WWF-India, New Delhi http://www.wwfenvis.nic.in ENVIS Centre on Communication and Electronic Media Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi http://www.cmsenvis.nic.in/ ENVIS Centre on Hygiene, Sanitation, Sewage Treatment Systems and Technology International Institute of Health and Hygiene (IIHH), New Delhi http://www.sulabhenvis.nic.in ENVIS Centre on Renewable Energy and Environment The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi http://www.terienvis.nic.in ENVIS Centre on Control of Pollution Water, Air and Noise Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi http://www.cpcbenvis.nic.in/ ENVIS Centre on Biogeochemistry School of Environmental Sciences, JNU, New Delhi http://www.jnuenvis.nic.in/ ENVIS Centre on Human Settlement's School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi http://www.spaenvis.nic.in/ ENVIS Centre on Role of Panchayats in Environment Indian Environmental Society (IES), New Delhi http://www.iesenvis.nic.in Report on World Environment Day 4 Report on World Environment Day 5 Report on World Environment Day 6 ACTIVITIES OF WED 2016 BY ENVIS CENTRES ACROSS INDIA 1. ENVIS Centre on Status of Environment and Related Issues Forests, Environment & Wildlife Management Department, Sikkim With its long term vision and unique policies associated with the environment, Sikkim has won several awards and accomplishments across the globe. At the premise of Government Senior Secondary School, Mangan, North Sikkim, the environment day was celebrated with much enthusiasm. Major events were organized by the State Forests, Environment and Wildlife Management Department along with the cumulative efforts of various schools, panchayats, municipalities, NGO's, JFMC's/EDC's, urban and local bodies, political dignitaries and private companies that focused on a greener, cleaner and sustainable world. * The programme began with the ceremonial planting of Indigenous saplings and more than 25,000 seedlings were plantedas part of plantation drive by the Hon'ble Chief
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