The United Nations Organization observed 41st World Environment Day on June 5, 2014 through its specialized Agency on Environment the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - throughout the world. The UNO along with the governments of its member states has been observing this day with due importance since 1973 when it was first observed. It may be remembered that on 5th June 1972, the United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE) started in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, to find ways and means to save our beloved planet, Earth, from the dangerous consequences of growing environmental degradation caused by human actions. Some 113 states took part in the conference. To make this day memorable and give global significance the UNO declared it as the World Environment Day. Thence forward, 5th of June is celebrated all over the world. One of the objectives of the celebration is to create awareness among the people from all walks of life about environmental pollution and its adverse impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity. Each year, a theme of the day is selected by the UNEP. This year the theme was "Small Islands and Climate Change". This time, the day has its official slogan also, which is "Raise Your Voice Not the Sea Level." The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh through the ministry of forest and environment and the department of environment observed the day.
It is quite interesting and at the same time surprising that the World Olympic Movement led by the International Olympic Committee, a non political entity expressed its solidarity with this issue and came to cooperate right from the beginning with the UNO, dealing primarily with international politics and international relations with the member nations. Let us see how? In the year 1972 when the UNCHE took place, Munich (the then West Germany) hosted XX Games of Olympiad. At the request of Munich Organizing Committee of Olympic Games the participating National Olympic Committees planted a shrub brought from their respective countries in the Olympic Park and thus committed to contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the sporting area. Based on the recommendation known as 'Our Common Future' of the World Commission on Environment and Development familiar as Brundtland Commission after the name of the Chair, Gro Harlem Burtdland, the then Norwegian Premier, the UNO held United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since it was the biggest conference on earth till that time wherein highest political authorities of 184 countries expressed their concern on increasing pollution of environment and emphasized the interrelation between environment and sustainable economic development, hence it was given the acronym 'Earth Summit'. The IOC being larger than the UNO in terms of membership raised their voice on the same issue linked with the future survival of human races and animal world. During the XXV Barcelona (Spain) Olympic Games at the behest of the IOC the NOCs and the International Federations the world level governing bodies of games and sports included in the Olympic Games, signed an agreement named 'Earth Pledge'. The salient features were to associate the sports community with sustainable development, the commitment of the Olympic World to make the planet earth a safe place to live in, cooperate with the UN Body on Environment founded on the recommendation of 'Our Common Future' and formulation of an Agenda 21 of the IOC with the technical assistance of the UNEP. It may be noted that as per recommendation of the 'Earth Summit' a massive action plan for the governments of the LTNO member states, international organizations, industrial community and others styled Agenda 21 was adopted to work on environment and sustainable development in phases. Following the model suggested by the UNEP the IOC adopted its own Agenda 21 and conceptualized environment friendly 'Green Games' games held in a surrounding, the atmosphere of which is free from the effects of GHGs like Chlorofluoro Carbon (CFC), carbon dioxide, methane, etc which are largely responsible for sea level rise due to global warming.
The first ever Green Games was the Lillehammer XVII Olympic Winter Games held in 1994. That year, the historical Congress of the IOC on the centenary of its establishment was held in Paris. In Olympic history it is known as the Congress of Unity. Here, environment was adopted as the third dimension of Olympism the philosophical spirit of the Olympic Movement expounded by the founder of the IOC and reviver of the Modern Olympic Games Baron Pierre de Coubertin. To this effect the Olympic Charter was amended in 1996. Like the UNEP, the UN technical Agency on Environment and Sustainable Development, the IOC also attempted to form a specialized agency of its own to deal with these issues in the form of a permanent commission. For this purpose in the said congress the IOC formed a study group, upon the recommendation of which IOC's Sport and Environment Commission was formed in the following year and ratified by the 105th IOC session held in Atlanta, USA in 1996 during the Centennial Olympiad (XXVI). In the year of this significant Congress the IOC incorporated special provision on environment and sustainable development in sports in the Olympic Charter, its supreme statute.
The IOC is relentlessly endeavoring to ensure that Olympic Games and other games recognized by it are held in an atmospheric condition where the emission of GHG solely responsible for global warming and the resultant rise of sea level can be effectively reduced. Now it uses two tools in attaining this objective. One is the pre conferment Environmental Impact Assessment on the Games and Olympic Village cites stated in the bid documents compulsorily accompanied by an environmental roadmap submitted by the aspirant host cities. The other is the Olympic Games Impact Studies done after the Games. The UNEP is continuously rendering technical assistance to the Olympic Games Organizing Committees at the request of the IOC. Games so far organized in an environmentally friendly atmosphere and infrastructural facilities are for example, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014 are Green Games.
From the above brief account it is established that the UNO through the UNEP and the IOC through OGOCs are working hand in hand and with one voice protesting to stop further rising of sea level by taking effective measures against the production and emission of greenhouse gases from their respective fields of play and perspective.
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