World Environment Day Afghanistan

Kabul, June 5, 2007 (UNAMA): World Environment Day is celebrated every year on 5 June to rally worldwide awareness and support for environmental issues. The theme for this year’s World Environment Day is “Melting Ice: A Hot Topic” and is relating to Climate Change and Global Warming, which is affecting every part of the world including Afghanistan.

On World Environment Day all around the world citizens and governments will give a human face to environmental issues by promoting an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards the environment, and by supporting partnerships that will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), UNEP, UNDP, ACC and other partner organizations are organizing events in several locations around Afghanistan to raise awareness on environmental topics and to demonstrate the growing cooperation for the management and protection of Afghanistan’s environment. Some activities include:

1. Event with and for children involving around 200 students from five schools in Kabul, selected in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

   The main feature of the event will be a debate among the students on the following topic: "What does Afghanistan need, rapid development or environment?" The debate will be followed by a slide show taking the audience through a photographical journey of Afghanistan’s natural environment.

2. Presentation on Climate Change followed by discussion
3. Competition with questions relating to the Kole-Hashmat Khan wetland between students of two schools of the Kole-Hasmat Khan neighbourhood
4. Clean up campaigns
5. Screening of environmental film and distribution of posters, sport competition, song performance, exhibition of medicinal plants and presentations by different local environmental advocacy associations
6. Environmental presentations and discussions among various related governmental departments, such as Agriculture, Health, Education and UNDP/GAIN, presentation of poems and dramas by students