The United Nations General Assembly during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972), declared the 5th of June of every year to commemorate World Environment Day (WED). On that day, each Member State is supposed to reflect on efforts put in place at national level with regards to protection of the environment. It is also a day for each Member State to reaffirm her commitment to sustainable environmental management
The World Environment Day is always celebrated under one global theme provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The theme for this year’s World Environment Day celebrations was Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your footprint. By celebrating World Environment Day, we remind ourselves and others of the importance of caring for our environment. So think before you eat and help save our environment!
It is a day for reminding humanity the importance of the environment and their responsibility towards maintaining its sustainability and quality. Celebrating World Environment Day is about the inspirational power of individual actions for positive change, to guarantee secure, clean and healthy environment for all.
The National venue for World Environment Day activities was at Kengen grounds in Naivasha District. The selection of Kengen was based on its relevance to the national theme, given that the district is experiencing high environmental degradation rate, diminishing fish stock in L. Naivasha and forest cover, high population growth, and alarming changes in people’s lifestyles especially within the fishing communities, among others.
People in Peril association sponsored community members engaged in the project to decrease degradation of Mau Ecosystem to participate in the event and showcase their contribution towards healthy food and clean environment. Other community groups were sponsored by Network for Ecofarming in Africa and Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. The communities showcased their traditional food dishes, and explained on the importance of consuming our local products and producing our food in an environmentally friendly way. The theme encourages us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices we make and empowers one to make informed decisions to reduce food waste, save money, minimize the environmental impact of food production and force food production processes to become more efficient; hence enhancing sustainable development for the present and future generations.
In accordance with this year’s national theme, the focus of activities to celebrate World Environment Day were on uplifting people’s mindset and understanding of food choices, processes and footprint, as well as promoting sound environment management practices to save our environment and natural resources.
