From the editor—World Environment Day 2007

Abstract

Commemorated every year on 5 June, World Environment Day (WED) was established by the United Nations in 1972 to help stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and to enhance political engagement in environmental issues. Although the day is marked around the world, the United Nations Environment Programme selects one city to host the main WED celebrations, which are focussed on a central theme encapsulated in a slogan. Past WED host cities have included Algiers (”Don’t desert dry lands“), San Francisco (“Green cities—plan for the planet”), Barcelona (“Wanted! Seas and oceans—dead or alive?”) and Beirut (“Water—two billion people are dying for it”).