Every year the UN marks the World Environment Day on 5 June, and one country is selected to host the main international events. This year Algeria is the host with desertification as the theme, while in 2007 it is Norway's turn with a somewhat cooler focus: the environmental impact on the Polar regions.
27/06/2006 :: The main celebrations will be held in Tromsø, which is one of the leading sites for polar research. The city also has the world's northernmost university and the Norwegian Polar Institute, which both are key players in the research arena.
"I am very pleased that we have gotten the World Environment Day to Norway. This will ensure that the serious environmental threats to the Arctic and the Antarctic will receive international attention. This is first and foremost an issue of climatic changes in the Arctic, which again affect the global climate. Environmental pollution is also a very serious theme that now can receive more attention," said Norwegian Minister of the Environment Helen Bjørnøy.
Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Shafquat Kakahel explains the choice of theme:
"The Polar regions are some of the globe's most beautiful areas. These regions are also nature's alarm clock where people are the first to be notified. (…) The Arctic is also in the process of becoming an interesting area in connection with oil, gas and shipping, in addition to increasing commercial fishing and tourism. The state of the indigenous people in the Arctic has thus become extremely vulnerable."
The events in Tromsø and all over the country will be organised in cooperation with UNEP. Norway will also use this occasion to mark that 2007 is the start of the International Polar year, which will have a significant impact on the spread of knowledge about the Polar region.
The World Environment Day has been held annually since 1972 to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and increase political and attention and action. In previous years, the themes have included acid rain, oceans, water access and green cities.
Norwegian Ministry of the Environment/ Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs