World Environment Day -- the biggest celebration of our planet’s amazing natural resources -- is happening on June 5. This year, the theme is ecosystem restoration and the day marks the official launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration -- a 10-year drive to halt and reverse environmental degradation and fundamentally reset our relationship with nature.

As host, Pakistan will be leading this year’s celebration and showcasing its own initiatives, including its 10 Billion Tree Tsunami to restore forests and mangroves and plant trees in urban areas over five years.

People all over the world are organising their own events from global virtual gatherings to community clean-ups, live social discussions and musical and film screenings -- all, of course, in line with the latest COVID-19 regulations for their particular area.

Why is World Environment Day important? UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen explains: “2020 was a year of reckoning, facing multiple crises, including a global pandemic and the continued crises of climate, nature and pollution. In 2021, we must take deliberate steps to move from crisis to healing: and in so doing, we must recognize that the restoration of nature is imperative to the survival of our planet and the human race.”

Check out UNEP’s events page here for inspiration and then register your own event so that you too can be part of #GenerationRestoration.

Browse the official schedule of events hosted by UNEP and Decade Partners, featuring high-level speakers, expert panels and other events taking place around the world here.