World Environment Day 2016, June 5.

世界环境日, 6月5日.
 Всемирный день окружающей среды, 5 июня.
World Environment Day, 5 June.
Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente, 5 de junio.
Journée mondiale de l'environnement, 5 juin.
 .اليوم العالمي للبيئة , 5 حزيران/يونيه

Theme 2016 : Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife.
Tema 2016 : Tolerancia cero para el comercio ilícito de las especies silvestres.
Thème 2016 : Tolérance Zéro à l'égard du commerce illicite d’espèces sauvages.
 2016年的主題 : 对非法野生动植物贸易零容忍.
Тема Дня 2016 года: Политика абсолютной нетерпимости к незаконной торговле дикими животными.
موضوع 2016: عدم التسامح إطلاقاً مع الاتجار غير المشروع بالأحياء البرية

 

#WildForLife

Statement from United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon on World Environment Day 2016, June 5th.

This year’s observance of World Environment Day shines a much-needed spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife.  There is grave cause for alarm.  Elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory, rhinos for their horns, and pangolins for their scales.  From sea turtles to tigers to rosewood, thousands of species of wild animals and plants are being driven ever closer to extinction.  The businesses and individuals involved are motivated solely by short-term gain at the expense of long-term benefit to communities and habitats.  In many instances, they act in collusion with transnational organized crime networks and groups actively involved in destabilizing nations.

The United Nations and its many partners have resolved to tackle this illicit trade, including by setting clear targets to put an end to poaching in the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted last year by all 193 Member States.  Last month, at the second United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, we launched a UN “Wild For Life” global campaign, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Convention on the International Trade in Wild Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).  The campaign asks everyone to pledge to end the illegal trade in wildlife, from ordinary citizens, who can ensure they do not buy prohibited products, to governments, who can pursue change though implementing effective policies to protect species and ecosystems.

Angola, which is this year’s World Environment Day global host, has served notice that it will no longer tolerate the sale of illegal wildlife products, and is strengthening legislation and increasing border controls as part of efforts to restore elephant populations that were devastated by the country’s civil war.  Such action sends a strong message that wild species of plants and animals are a precious commodity that must be sustainably managed and protected from illegal trade.

On this World Environment Day, I urge people and governments everywhere to overcome indifference, combat greed and act to preserve our natural heritage for the benefit of this and future générations.

 

Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary-General

Message Achim Steiner, UN Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP on World Environment Day 2016, June 5th.

In 2016, our focus for World Environment Day is combatting the illegal trade in wildlife. Angola, this year’s host, is committed to acting on this issue, through efforts such as defining a new elephant management plan, strengthening the enforcement of wildlife laws and regulating domestic markets in line with CITES obligations. We support the actions being considered by Angola to join this good fight.

Thousands of species around the world are under threat and deserve our attention, but today we give special focus to eight: Orangutan, Sea Turtle, Pangolin, Rosewood, Helmeted Hornbill, Tiger, Elephant, and Rhino. Our challenge is formidable.

From 2010to 2012, 100,000 elephants were illegally killed for their ivory and Rhinos are being pushed to the brink of extinction. Pangolins are now the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world. Additional pressures, such as habitat loss and climate change, are further driving species to extinction.

The global fight against illegal trade in wildlife is now witnessing a new wave of commitment and calls for action. It has risen to the top of the UN agenda and is enshrined in the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It is also the focus of the new UN campaign, led by UNEP, UNDP, UNODC and CITES to raise awareness of, and reduce demand for, illegal wildlife and forest products. This “Wild for Life” campaign stresses that greed, fashion, ignorance, indifference, investment, corruption,  pseudo-medicinal use and cultural belief should not result in threats to any species.

It’s a cycle of poverty and corruption that drives wildlife crime that we have to break. It is this cycle, where the poorest and most vulnerable are pushed into working against natural resources to survive rather than working with them to build a better future that we need to address. We have to think about this through the lens of sustainable development, with its implications for transparency and global impact. We need to pool all   resources to take the challenge on, we must be united in this cause. We must think globally and locally. And we must have zero tolerance for poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and forest products.

We ask you to use your own sphere of influence to help end the illegal trade in wildlife, by engaging in the campaign and making a pledge. Please act now. Our collective actions will determine the future of these beautiful animals, and thousands of others. Together, we must be #WildforLife.

 

Achim Steiner

UNEP Executive Secretary

Global Environment Outlook - GEO6

Forum : 5 June - World Environment Day.

World Environment Day aims to inspire more people than ever before to take action to prevent the growing strain on planet Earth’s natural systems from reaching the breaking point. The 2016 theme highlights the fight against the illegal trade in wildlife, which erodes precious biodiversity and threatens the survival of elephants, rhinos and tigers, as well as many other species. It also undermines our economies, communities and security. This year’s slogan "Go Wild for Life" encourages you to spread the word about wildlife crime and the damage it does, and to challenge all those around you to do what they can to prevent it.


Events :  Angola is the World Environment Day 2016 host Country.



This year’s World Environment Day 2016 celebrations are hosted by Angola, a country seeking to restore its elephant herds, conserve Africa’s biodiversity-rich wildlife, and safeguard the environment as it continues to rebuild after more than a quarter-century of civil war.
“Angola is delighted to host World Environment Day, which will focus on an issue close to our hearts,” said Angolan Environment Minister Maria de Fatima Jardim. “The illegal wildlife trade, particularly the trade in ivory and rhino horn, is a major problem across our continent. By hosting this day of celebration and awareness-raising, we aim to send a clear message that such practices will soon be eradicated.”

Ahead of WED, Angola has:

• Vowed to end the trade in illegal wildlife products in the country, including at Benfica Market in the capital, Luanda, one of the largest ivory markets in Africa.
• Announced tougher border and airport screening controls to counter the smuggling of illegal wildlife products.
• Joined 12 other African nations in signing the Elephant Protection Initiative, which focuses on safeguarding elephants through measures such as closing down domestic markets.
• Pledged to undertake a robust inventory of its ivory stockpile.
• Promised to fulfill its commitments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), including stepping up implementation of its National Ivory Action Plan.
• Hosted the International Conference of the Africa Prosecutors' Association, which resulted in a declaration calling for strengthened cooperation within the CITES Framework.

World Wildlife Crime Report (UNODC)

Special high-level event on “Wildlife Crime and New York Launch of the

 

World Wildlife Crime Report.

co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Germany and Gabon, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

The launch will provide a key opportunity to take stock of international efforts to address wildlife crime, as we work towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN last fall, which in Goal 15 calls upon all governments to "Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products,"and to "Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities." Wildlife and forest crime destroys diversity and hinders sustainable development on our planet. Billions of dollars in profit are made from this crime. In 2015, 1,175 rhinos were poached in South Africa, while Central Africa has now lost 64 per cent of its elephants in less than a decade. The industrial scale of the killing, the heinous murder of park rangers, the seizures of shipments measured not in kilos, but tons, point to organized crime's involvement in these acts of unconscionable greed. If we are to conserve animal and plant species for successive generations, we must take on the criminals and end the impunity often associated with this crime. To achieve this, an integrated approach is needed to reduce demand and interrupt supply through the seizure of shipments, assets and proceeds.

 

Live Broadcasting :

Edmond Mulet (Chef de Cabinet) , World Wildlife Crime Report (UNODC)
Yury Fedotov (UNODC), World Wildlife Crime Report.
Mogens Lykketoft (General Assembly President), World Wildlife Crime Report (UNODC).


 

 

News :

° UNEP-INTERPOL Report: Value of Environmental Crime up 26% .
° An elephant in the backyard - speech by UNEP Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw at the Nairobi Celebrations of World Environment Day.
° UNEP Head Opens Wildlife Ranger School in Angola.
° If wildlife crime makes you wild – get wild for life.
° From Kashmir to Barcelona, WED community gears up to celebrate environment, fight wildlife crime.
° UNEP Statement on discovery of tiger cub bodies in thilandpnuma.
° It Takes a Village to Save an Elephant. It Takes a Community to Protect 500 of Them.
° Stand with the United Nations and Angola, Global Host for World Environment Day 2016, by pledging your support and joining the global fight against the illegal trade in wildlife.
° Backed by Stars, Unprecedented UN Campaign Seeks to Mobilize Millions to End Illegal Trade in Wildlife.
° New Task Force Set to Stop Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds.
° As Kenya Stages Largest-Ever Ivory Destruction, UNEP Reiterates Zero Tolerance for Illegal Trade in Wildlife.
° Gearing up for UNEA- 2, African Ministers Pledge Accelerated Action on Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Illegal Trade in Wildlife.
° Angola announces major push against ivory trade as it gears up for World Environment Day.
° New UN Web Tool Demonstrates Climate Benefits of Protecting Apes

 

 

 



 

India : Tigers Face Extinction.

Every year John Isaac, an Indian-born photographer, travels from New York City in the United States to document the rare Bengal tigers of Rajasthan, India. But with every journey he is more and aware of their precarious fate- factors including loss of land to encroaching human settlements, loss of forest cover due to Climate Change, and Poaching are putting the lives of these magnificent tigers at risk of extinction.