World Environment Day marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to reimagine, recreate and restore our relationship with nature.

Show you are ready for change by joining UNEP’s online Snap Challenge. Check out this video for inspiration and show the world what you will do to heal nature.

More tips here and when you post be sure to share your action on social media channels with the #GenerationRestoration and #WorldEnvironmentDay hashtags. Challenge friends, organizations, or companies to take the challenge too.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Antoinette Taus ???? (@antoinettetaus)

Use this cutting-edge AR filter on Instagram to join UN Goodwill Ambassadors, Dia Mirza, Alex Rendell and Antoinette Taus to restore ecosystems in India, Thailand and the Philippines.

This is your moment. Enter Ecosphere AR and witness the damage caused by humans on the Mountains of India, the Mangroves of Thailand and the Coral Reefs of the Philippines. Interact with each environment to learn how to protect what is left and repair what has been damaged.

Head to Instagram to find Ecosphere AR hosted by Dia Mirza, Alex Rendell, and Antoinette Taus under their Effects tab.

Three simple steps to activate Ecosphere AR:

1. Using your back-facing camera, start by tapping on the sphere. You will be transported to the Mountains of India, Mangroves of Thailand, or Coral Reefs of The Philippines. Explore the degraded environment and look out for the #GenerationRestoration logo labelled 'TAP HERE'. Through the magic of augmented reality, you will see the environment reimagined, recreated and restored.

2. Whilst recording a video, try swapping to the front-facing camera by tapping on the camera icon on the bottom right of the screen with your other hand and say: "Join Generation Restoration". Or, simply snap a photo.

3. Add your video or photo to your Story and tag three friends to join #GenerationRestoration".

Join #GenerationRestoration by making a Story on Instagram showing your journey of restoration and tag your friends. Together, we can raise our voices and inspire action to prevent climate catastrophe; stem the growing tide of pollution and waste, and halt biodiversity loss.

At the UN headquarters in Vienna, two beehives and an insect hotel have been installed and lavender bushes have been planted to attract bees and promote the role of pollinators in helping the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Around 50,000 bees will live in the hives.

The launch of the Bee Blue project came ahead of World Environment Day on June 5, which marks the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a 10-year global push to prevent, halt and reverse the damage we have done to the natural world.

The project is led by the UN Vienna Sustainable & Innovative Initiatives Club and the City of Vienna MA22 Umweltschutz, in partnership with the Imkerschule Wien in Donaupark. The initiative is supported by UNEP Vienna – Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention and the Permanent Missions of Ireland and Slovenia to the International Organisations in Vienna.

The project was visited on Thursday by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly, who said: “World Environment Day 2021 is focused on restoring ecosystems, and the UN Office at Vienna is proud to contribute with Bee Blue, creating a home for bees at the Vienna International Centre and promoting the protection of these pollinators. Vienna was the first of the UN headquarters to become climate-neutral and sustainability continues to guide us in all that we do.”

Restoration in refugee camps has an enormous potential to enhance the living conditions of forcibly displaced people and the ecosystem services of the region.

Two roundtables on World Environment Day on June 5 will shine a light on what we have learned from existing projects that combine ecosystem restoration and working with refugees. The roundtables, featuring aid organisations and funders, will discuss the growth potential of regenerative practices in refugee camps.

What: Refugees and Restoration: What if we transformed refugee camps into regenerative camps? 

When: June 5; 10 am (first roundtable) and 3 pm (second roundtable) UTC

Register here

For more details, plus a full list of speakers, click here

Watch live on YouTube here

Find out more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here and join #GenerationRestoration here.

Don’t miss a thing by checking out the World Environment Day event schedule here.

Green Anthem is a song, project and statement created by award-winning violinist and environmentalist Yury Revich. The piece brings together about 90 artists from all around the world who are playing and singing while raising awareness of climate change and celebrating our planet.

The song was performed during a virtual concert in celebration of World Environment Day on Friday, June 4.

Follow all the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5 here.

Learn more about what we need to do to heal our planet as we embark on the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration here.

It’s World Environment Day on June 5.

Everyone is invited to join in and step up to heal our planet.

Here’s what Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles had to say:

“A global movement to chart a green and just future is building momentum as cities around the world are stepping up their climate ambition and their climate action.

Join a virtual celebration of our planet here.

Concerned about the future his young daughter might face, award-winning Australian director Damon Gameau set out to see what the world would look like if we adopted the solutions that already exist for mitigating climate change. He met innovators and change-makers and sought to identify the best solutions to improve the health of the planet and people. The result was the touching, hopeful film 2040.

To mark World Environment Day on June 5, join Modern Films and UNEP for a screening of the film and a conversation between Damon Gameau and Tim Christophersen, head of Nature for Climate Branch at UNEP and the focal point for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which launches officially on June 5.

What: The Future of Our Planet: 2040 x UNEP

When: June 5; 11 am BST; 8 pm AEST

Where: Follow the event on their Facebook page here

Watch the film:

UK/Ireland

Outside the UK/Ireland

Don’t miss a thing ahead of World Environment Day by checking the website here, and the official schedule of events here. And follow the virtual launch gala of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.

There is a growing consensus that human societies need to move away from the current consumption and production models that use the natural environment and resources in a way that continues to have destructive impacts on the planet. We need to start producing and consuming more sustainably.

On World Environment Day, June 5, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) with the support of the EU-funded SWITCH Asia programme, implemented by UNEP, will hold a webinar to raise awareness, build technical capacity, share knowledge and good practices, and forge partnerships for ecosystem restoration in Pakistan and to launch the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

The webinar will highlight links between ecosystem restoration and principles of sustainable consumption and production and resource efficiency, and promote the uptake of sustainable consumption and production practices in Asia, and strengthen dialogue on the green economy and SCP in Pakistan.

What: Ecosystem restoration in Sustainable Consumption and Production Context

When: June 5; 4.30 pm - 5.45 pm (PST)

Watch live here

Or follow the event live on the SDPI Facebook page here.

Register here

Don’t miss a thing ahead of World Environment Day by checking the website here, and the official schedule of events here. Find out more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.

Tune in now for this virtual celebration of restoration and recovery with musicians, poets, thought leaders, politicians and youth activists inspiring people around the globe to discover ways in which they can step up and take action as we kick off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Watch live here.

This virtual celebration is organised by UNEP’s North America Office, 350.org and Pathway to Paris.

Follow all the events leading up to World Environment Day here and find out how you can be part of #GenerationRestoration. Because the planet needs all of us.