New Delhi, India: 2018; Chosen Theme: Beat Plastic Pollution
Several high profile documentaries and commentators had raised awareness of the global problem with plastic pollution, so it was natural to select this as the topic for the 2018 World Environment Day.
New Delhi was chosen to be the host in 2018, because waste in this large city was becoming unmanageable. The aim was to encourage governments, iindustry, communities and individuals to work together to find sustainable alternatives to the excessive reliance on single-use plastic that was polluting the oceans and damagin marine life and human health.
A brief look at New Delhi
New Delhi is the national capital of India. It is situated in the north-central part of the country within the Delhi national capital territory. It is the largest commercial city in northern India, with many successful companies re-locating there, including IT, telecommunications, banking, manufacturing and media industries. There are more than 16 million people living in New Delhi and its surrounding cities, many of whom have high-earning jobs.
They produce an estimated 17,000 tons of rubbish daily, making immense rubbish heaps. One at Ghazipur is the size of 40 football pitches and measures 65m high, rising 10m every year. Following the death of two people in 2017 when a large part of it collapsed, dumping was banned, but this only lasted a few days as the local authorities had no alternative for removal of rubbish. As well as being an eyesore and health hazard, the dumps produce large amounts of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. They ooze a toxic black liquid which pollutes local water sources.
Marking World Environment Day
According to the UN review, India helped ensure the 2018 World Environment Day was one of the most successful in achieving real impact, with a number of successes in convincing major organisations, such as Procter & Gamble, to make their operations free of single-use plastics.
Part of the campaign was directed at mobilising people to engage in clean-up activities to take care of their environment. Over 6000 people gathered at Versova beach in Mumbai, joining a sole camapigner who was in his 136th week of his beach clean-up. Together, they collected over 90 tonnes of plastic from that single beach.
Throughout the UK, many organisations took part in campaigns to fight plastic pollution. The Society for the Environment provided case studies and campaign materials to encourage greater participation in the drive to reduce waste.
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Find out more.
Read more about the theme as reported in various outlets, including the press release annoucing the choice of New Delhi for 2018 World Environment Day, and a joint statement from UN Environment and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights recognising the damaging effect of plastic pollution. The UN also published their Annual Environment Report to coincide with WED 2018. The Indian Express shared the event with their readers, to encouage their involvement. In the UK, the Society for the Environment, the body representing Environmental professionals, produced a wide range of materials, toolkits and case studies encouraging action.
Ideas for further study
- Why is this theme important to the host city/country?
- Why is the theme important in averting the climate crisis and supporting environmental sustainability?
- How did they raise awareness of its importance?
- What actions arose from this? Is the world in a better place because of it?
- What more might they have done with today’s knowledge?