World Environment Day 2020 reminds people to `Celebrate Biodiversity`

Celebrated every year on June 5, World Environment Day, is the United Nation's (UN) primary channel that encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. 

The campaign was first held in 1974 with the theme "Only One Earth" during the first day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. 

It has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.

The major objective of this day is celebrated every year to spread awareness and to remind people that they have a role to play in preventing the loss of biodiversity and preserving nature for our future.

The day is observed over 100 countries and each year, it has a new theme that governments, corporations, communities, NGOs, and celebrities adopt to advocate environmental causes. The theme for the year 2020 is -  ‘Celebrate Biodiversity’. The theme for the year 2019 was 'Air pollution'.

Every year a different country hosts the event where the official celebrations take place. The focus on the host country helps highlight the environmental challenges it faces and supports worldwide efforts to address them. This year the day will be hosted in Colombia, in partnership with Germany. 

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu greeted people on the occasion by saying, ''Let there be a new beginning on this World Environment Day. Together, we can secure the well-being of the people and the planet.''

Vice President Naidu also said that keeping in view the ecological crisis that our planet faces today, we must enhance our efforts towards preserving biodiversity and restoring fragmented ecosystems, to not only fight climate crisis but also to ensure food security, water supply and safety of our people. He further called upon the people, governments and all other stakeholders to intensify their efforts for protecting nature and finding sustainable solutions in every sphere of life.