5 June 2011: Millions of people around the world celebrated World Environment Day – WED, a global event to call for more respect for the environment, sustainable resource management and, this year, the conservation of invaluable goods and services provided by forests.
Since its first celebration in 1972, thousands of people have taken part in WED activities across the globe. The Albertine Rift countries have celebrated the Day in different ways, from the « Environment Week » including Umuganda clean-ups and tree planting organized by REMA in Rwanda, speeches and Nature Walks in Burundi to the « Plant a Tree – Save a Life » Initiative and Conference in Uganda. NGOs, community groups and schooll Nature Clubs are actively involved. ARCOS partner in Burundi, the Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Oiseaux (ABO) joined efforts with the Ministry of the Environment to collect plastic wastes in Bujumbura Town on 4 June and organized a Nature Walk at Kibira National Park on the 5th. ARCOS wants to encourage all its partners and the Albertine Rift governments which have not participated, to take up the challenge and celebrate next year’s World Environment Day 5 June 2012 to draw attention to the immense value of our Albertine Rift natural environments.
World Environment Day has become a very popular and far-reaching event in the recent years. For the UN environmental agencies (UNEP, UNCCC, UNCED etc) it is a central tool demonstrate their political will and advocate for strategic solutions to our world’s environmental problems. A series of meetings and conferences highlighted the crucial role of forests this year, so an International Summit on Tropical Forest Basins in Congo-Brazzaville. UNEP has also released the « Forests in a Green Economy » Report which « highlights how increased public and private investment in forest management and forest resources can promote employment, reduce deforestation and address climate change. »
Download the report: UNEP-ForestsInAGreenEconomy-2011
To find out more about World Environment Day, visit its website.
