The 5th of June is World Environmental Day. It is the United Nations' most important day for encouraging international awareness and action in environmental protection. It is hosted every year in a new country, this year it is in Angola. This day will also focus on highlighing the environmental challenges that Angola is facing. The main challenge for this country is to restore its elephant herds. The UN also encourages countries and people to register activities they organised for this day. You can find them on this page: http://www.wed2016.com/wed-event-list .

The special theme for this year is "Zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade" with the slogan Go Wild For Life. It encourages us to celebrate all those species under threat.This illegal trade of wildlife products is leading to species extinction. The UN understood that it will stop only if people stop to buy these products. This is why they want to create awareness about this topic.

To say few words about it, illegal wildlife trade is a huge business and, as it is illegal, there are no reliable data on it. It is the second biggest threat for species after habitat loss. To have an example, the African elephant population has been cut by half since 1979 because of ivory poaching. You can have a look at this article for other facts about wildlife trade: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/shocking-facts-about-how-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-drives-species-extinction/.

Most of this trade is done by internet and the countries are admitting their weakness when they have to fight wildlife e-commerce. Some of the animals that are more concerned by this trade are: elephants, tigers, turtles, reptiles, parrots and monkeys. Some are sold dead for their skin, ivory, parts of body, medicinal use or just to be used as trophy. Some others are sold alive, to be human's pet.

The United Nations wants also people to realise that not only some famous animals are under threat but maybe your local biodiversity as well.This is why they also promote the participation for the preservation of local biodiversity, whether it is fauna or flora. If you are interested in this topic and in art, you should check the work of Louis Masai, a British artist that creates street art on endangered species and biodiversity.

What you can do today: You can have a look at the official website and all the information provided by the UN. You can see if there is any event around you that sounds interesting and go to have a look. You can also speak about it with your friends and relatives. Finally, even if you do not participate in an event, you can do something positive for the planet and think about how to make your life more eco-friendly.

Links:
Official website: http://www.wed2016.com
Go Wild for Life website: https://wildfor.life/
Article about Louis Masai: https://ecoartseurope.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/endangered-animals-street-art-by-louis-masai/.