World Environment Day 2024

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 and acts as a powerful catalyst for raising awareness about environmental issues. It unites millions of people across the globe in a shared commitment to environmental stewardship. For 2024 the event focuses on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience #GenerationRestoration.

Drought, desertification, and land degradation

Climate change and its effect on drought, desertification, and land degradation poses an escalating threat to the planet and its inhabitants. Globally, over 2 billion hectares of land are degraded – an area nearly equivalent to the combined size of India and the Russian Federation. Annually, around 12 million hectares of land are lost to degradation, significantly impacting global food and water supplies. Each year, 55 million people are directly affected by droughts, making it the most severe hazard to livestock and crops in nearly every region of the world.

The global role of women

In developing countries, women constitute 45% of the agricultural labour force, with their participation ranging from 20% in Latin America to as high as 60% in parts of Africa and Asia. This substantial involvement underscores the critical role women play in agriculture and ecosystem management. Involving women in ecosystem restoration is essential for several reasons:

  • Women often possess extensive knowledge about local ecosystems and sustainable agricultural practices, which can be pivotal in restoration efforts. Their involvement ensures that restoration projects are more attuned to the unique environmental and social contexts of their communities.
  • Empowering women through active participation in restoration promotes equality and enhances community resilience.
  • Women are also more likely to invest their earnings in their families and communities, leading to improved health, education, and economic outcomes.

Moreover, when women are included in decision-making processes, the strategies for ecosystem restoration are more comprehensive and inclusive, addressing the needs of all community members. This inclusivity enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of restoration initiatives. Therefore, the success of ecosystem restoration efforts is intricately linked to the active and meaningful participation of women. Women’s involvement is not only beneficial but indispensable.

Relevance to the UK

In the UK, this day also provides an opportunity to highlight specific national concerns. These include our habitat destruction, air pollution and plastic waste.

One of the most pressing issues in the UK is air quality. Despite improvements over the past few decades, air pollution remains a significant health threat. Cities like London frequently exceed safe air pollution levels, leading to thousands of premature deaths each year. World Environment Day helps to spotlight these issues, fostering public understanding and prompting governmental action.

Promoting sustainable practices

World Environment Day helps to encourage individuals and organisations to adopt more sustainable practices. In the UK, this translated into increased efforts to reduce carbon footprints and promote renewable energy. This led to the current government setting legally binding targets to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This goal requires substantial changes across various sectors.

Businesses and individuals alike are encouraged to reduce waste, conserve energy, and embrace sustainable alternatives. For example, many UK supermarkets have pledged to eliminate single-use plastics and increase the use of recyclable materials. Initiatives like these gain additional momentum and public attention around World Environment Day, driving further progress towards sustainability goals.

Encouraging community involvement

World Environment Day also emphasises the importance of community involvement in environmental conservation. Across the UK, numerous events and activities are organised to engage local communities. From tree planting drives to beach clean-ups, these activities not only improve the local environment but also foster a sense of community and shared responsibility.

In Cornwall, for example, community groups regularly organise beach clean-ups to tackle marine litter, a significant problem affecting the UK’s coastlines. These initiatives, often highlighted on World Environment Day, not only help to protect marine ecosystems but also raise awareness about the broader issue of plastic pollution. In 2021, the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) charity when it set up the Million Mile Clean reported that volunteers removed over 12,000 kg of litter from UK beaches.

Every day should be World Environment Day

Below is a selection of statements by our current committee and members about what this day means to them. However, here at Green Party Women we think every day should be World Environment Day.

Daily awareness and action are crucial in combating climate change, reducing pollution, and preserving biodiversity. By integrating sustainable practices into our own everyday routines, we can collectively make a significant difference. Continuous environmental consciousness also fosters a culture of responsibility and stewardship, ensuring that we protect natural resources not just for ourselves but also all other species. Making every day World Environment Day would encourage ongoing commitment to a healthier, more sustainable world.

Why World Enviroment day important to us

Green Party Women
Why I Support World Environment Day
Today is crucial as it highlights the importance of biodiversity and promotes urgent action against climate change. For me, as an advocate for animals, it also underscores the need to protect animals and their habitats, ensuring a sustainable future for all species on the planet.
Amanda-Jane Stones
Green Party Women Co-chair
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Whether I’m just walking along a wooded path, taking photographs, listening to bird song or sitting indoors on a rainy day I’m grateful for the richness and beauty of our home, this unique blue planet and hope and pray we will stop destroying it for fleeting gain.
Anne Baker
Green Party Women Treasurer
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women Sisterhood and solidarity with the amazing women around the world who feed us and protect our earth in face of threats from climate change. “The Environment” isn’t an inert backdrop to our lives, it is the living ecosystem that we are all part of. Let’s remember today that we are nature, and nature is life. Diana Toynbee Green Party Women Member, Councillor, and PPC for Hereford and South Herefordshire #ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
In the UK almost all the land belongs to very few people. The Green Party has policies to incentivise owners of property to rewild their land & preserve it in a natural state, but I wish we had a policy that would lead to breaking up of some of the huge estates which were mostly stolen from the people. We should also have a day to commemorate the theft of land from the commoners by enclosure. 
Freda Davis
Green Party Women Member
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Apollo 8's Anders’ “Earthrise” & Lovell capture it beautifully: "The vast loneliness up here of the Moon is awe inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth. The Earth from here is a grand oasis to the big vastness of space.
Jessica Goldfinch
Green Party Women Membership Secretary
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Wy I support World Environment Day
We are part of nature, not separate from it. We must do everything we can to preserve, protect and deepen our love for our one precious blue planet.
Jo Hurn
Green Party Women member
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Why I support World Environment Day
I grew up near a small wood teeming with birds and small animals. I want my grandchildren to experience the wonder of being surrounded by nature, so we must act now to stop the disappearance of so much diversity and beauty.
Kate Souper
Green Party Women member
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Why I support World Environment Day
We humans are just one part of the earth's environment, but we have a disproportionately bad effect on every part of it. Today is important to remind us that if we hurt the other integral parts, we damage ourselves and our future survival.
Loppy Oubridge
Green Party Women
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Why I support World Environment Day
From my inner city location in the UK to the plains and deserts of Africa, I am united with women around the world in our efforts to save the land we live on from the ravages of climate change. We know together we can use our skills and love of our earth to help nature and humanity thrive.
Mandy Vere
Green Party Women member
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Why I support World Environment Day
World environment day really shouldn't be necessary, but so many humans have lost touch with the need for and importance of maintaining the natural world for all our sakes, humans, animals, insects, fish, plants, trees all life on our blue planet.
Rachel Hardy
Green Party Women 
#ForWomenAndPlanet
Green Party Women
Why I support World Environment Day
Loss of habitat is one of the biggest threats to wildlife and - from deforestation to intensive farming to desertification - human actions are responsible. We need to act now before it's too late.
Sue Williams
Green Party Women 
#ForWomenAndPlanet

Environment Nature

To top