Mulade releases press statement to commemorate World Environment Day
The Center for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ with branches in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Head Office in Warri, joins the whole world every year to commemorate the World Environment Day observed on the 5th of June. It is the largest annual event for positive environmental action and it is aimed at deepening public awareness on the need to preserve and renew the environment we live in.
World Environment Day was inaugurated in 1972 following the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden from the 5th to the 16 of June, the first international conference on environmental issues.
Since its first celebration on the 5th of June 1974, millions of people across the world have taken part in thousands of events to raise awareness and generate political momentum around growing concerns such as the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming, toxic wastes, and desertification.
Aware that the protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue affecting the well-being of peoples and economies of the world, the United Nations set aside June 5 as the World Environment Day. The event provides us with an opportunity to broaden the base for enlightened opinions and responsible conducts by individuals, enterprises and communities towards preserving and enriching the environment.
Since its inception in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in more than 100 countries.
The 2019 World Environment Day is tagged “Air Pollution: We Can’t Stop Breathing, but We Can Do Something about the Quality of the Air that We Breathe.” Billions of rural people around the world spend every working day ‘connected to nature’ and appreciate full well their dependence on natural water supplies and how nature provides their livelihoods in the form of fertile soil. They are among the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened, whether by pollution, climate change or over-exploitation.
The theme of this year’s world environment day is inviting us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of air pollution on our natural environment, our wildlife and human health.
We, at the World Assembly of Youths, WAY, want to listen to young people’s voices from all over the world, to capture their thoughts, their aspirations for the future, as well as their reactions to environment matters. Furthermore, the World Environment Day is also a day for us to examine the state of our environment.
On this day, we support all stakeholders in mobilizing everyone, especially the young people, enlightening them on sustainable development, and encouraging them to contribute their quota to the preservation of the environment for future generations.
Thus, we encourage all young people to be part of the celebrations and use the opportunity to share their ideas and be part of making our world cleaner, greener, better and brighter. So let us all pledge to do something, at least one thing, as our contribution to the World Environment Day.
We call on all relevant stakeholders, especially government at all levels and the IOCs to help combat and reduce the air pollution, especially in the most affected region, Niger Delta. Please note that CEPEJ has gone round the impacted communities and found out that community dwellers are bitter over their environment being basterdized as a result of oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities. Something MUST be done to remedy the situation.
Happy World Environment Day
