About World Environment Day:

• It is observed on the 5th of June every year since 1973 as part of the United Nations Environment Programme to build awareness to save life on planet Earth.
• The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its inception in 1973.
• The theme of this year’s World Environment Day will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
• This year’s event is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands.

Key facts about United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• It is the leading global authority on the environment.
• Mission:To inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
• It is driving transformational change by drilling down on the root causes of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
• Reports published by UNEP: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet.
• It provides secretariat functions for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other entities as follows:
  • Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES)
  • Minamata Convention on Mercury
  • Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
  • Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol
  • Convention on Migratory Species