‘Today, we join the global community to celebrate World Environment Day, an opportunity to connect with nature and to recommit ourselves to build a cleaner, more sustainable world for generations to come. World Environment Day, held 5th June every year, celebrates the efforts of those who work for a healthier environment. It has been marked by the United Nations since 1972, on the occasion of the first global conference on the human environment. ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’, is the theme for World Environment Day 2018. The theme urges Governments, industries, communities, and individuals, to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and reduce the production and excessive use of plastic, polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health. Today, Climate Watch, and Green-Up Gambia will host an awareness raising convergence at the Monkey Park. We are proud to celebrate our shared environment and to work with our partners in the country to leave a cleaner, healthier planet for all our children.
World Environment Day reminds us that we have a global responsibility to safeguard our environment and that each of us has a role to play, to preserve and protect it. More than ever, Green Up is committed to provide the synergy to fight climate change and ensure that our ecosystems are protected. We will continue to work with our domestic and international partners to drive progress on the environmental challenges we face as a country.
The Gambia Government has taken strong steps to protect the environment and reversing its decision to annihilate the Monkey Park is one of them. Despite this progress, we have much work to do. The Government should be more committed in working with people, including young and indigenous peoples, to find concrete, effective solutions to environmental issues. Today, we ask all Gambians and everyone around the world, to remember we share one planet. Climate change does not recognize borders and few challenges have ever been so global in scale. Our children’s future depends on our immediate and collective response.