Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.

June 5, 2015: Coinciding with World Environment Day, Royal Society for Protection of Nature will be participating in an exhibition on solid waste management at the Clock Tower in Thimphu today.

Speaking to hundreds of students gathered to observed the day, the Minister for Agriculture and Forest  Lyonpo Yeshi Dorji said that it is important not only to celebrate the day, but more so to take part in conserving Bhutan’s rich environment and natural heritage for our future generations.

Many government, civil society organizations and private agencies are taking lead to educate public on proper management of the waste, which is an emerging issue, particularly in urban areas of Bhutan.

One-day waste management awareness exhibition is being organized by Thimphu Thromde and Japan Environmental Sanitation Center in collaboration with Royal Thimphu College, Clean Bhutan, RSPN, Greener Way and JICA.

The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources. Evidence is building that people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide.

Many of the Earth’s ecosystems are nearing critical tipping points of depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and economic development. By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three planets to sustain our ways of living and consumption.

The WED theme this year is therefore “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.” Living within planetary boundaries is the most promising strategy for ensuring a healthy future. Human prosperity need not cost the earth. Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth. (www.unep.org)

The United Nations Secretary-General Message on World Environment Day, 5 June 2015

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care”.

The goal of sustainable development is to increase the quality of life for all people without increasing environmental degradation, and without compromising the resource needs of future generations. We can do this by shifting our consumption patterns towards goods that use less energy, water and other resources, and by wasting less food.

Read more at http://www.unep.org/wed/messages/SG-WED-Message.asp#sthash.cpWuvgbZ.dpuf

Message by Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme 

Living in an increasingly globalized world, inhabited by 7 billion people, it is easy to underestimate the power of individual action. The annual World Environment Day reminds people across the globe that it is our personal choices that shape the world around us. Our daily decisions as consumers, multiplied by billions, have a colossal impact on the environment – some of them contribute to the further depletion of natural resources, others help to protect fragile ecosystems. Every time – the choice is ours.

The theme for this year’s celebrations, Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care, emphasizes that personal responsibility each one of us bears for enabling inclusive and sustainable economic development while stabilizing and reducing the rate of resource use.

Read more at http://www.unep.org/wed/messages/ED-WED-Message.asp#sthash.czdqZApY.dpuf