It was something many in the village of Wada’a, Sudan, had never seen before. A couple of months earlier, workers had begun channeling water from a small dam-like structure into the parched farmland surrounding the community of 17,000, in the state of North Darfur.  

In another place or at another time, this simple act of irrigation might not have seemed remarkable. But the dam’s completion came as Sudan tipped into armed conflict, with fighting erupting across several parts of the country, including El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. The dam project – led by UNEP – has buoyed Wada’a residents, who have long struggled with drought. 

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The splash was so loud that environmental advocate Lewis Pugh thought someone had jumped off the bridge he was swimming under. But then Pugh, in the midst of a month-long swim down the United States’ Hudson River, saw what had joined him in the water: a bald eagle.

“This majestic creature spread its wings and lifted up right in front of us. I will never forget the sight of it,” says Pugh.

The British-South African, who is a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Patron of the Ocean, has completed a 507 kilometers swim down the Hudson. 

The journey cast a spotlight on the river’s resurgence – and the need to protect the world’s waterways from pollution, climate change and a range of other threats. 

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Once considered a bread basket of the Roman Empire, the Beqaa Valley is the most fertile region in Lebanon. But overgrazing, soil erosion and deforestation have stripped the once-lush mountains of natural tree cover, leaving shepherds and their animals at the mercy of the scorching Middle Eastern sun. 

“It is very hot in summer and there is no shade where I can sit, or my flock can graze,” said Hussein Janbayn, a local shepherd who has around 400 goats. 

In 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, worked with local municipalities to launch an innovative pilot project called “Shade for Life” in the villages of Mdoukha and Khirbet Rouha in Rashaya district in the Beqaa Valley. 

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Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972, World Environment Day has grown to become one of the largest global platforms for environmental action, with tens of millions of people participating in the day every year.  

Each year World Environment Day focuses on a different theme and is hosted by a different country. Recent years have seen the focus on everything from plastic pollution and the illegal wildlife trade to air pollution and food waste. 

Taking place on June 5, this year’s focus is on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience and is hosted by Saudi Arabia. 

Read more about World Environment Day 2024.