Omaha Will Host UN World Environment Day 2009 in North America

Businesses, organizations and individuals in Omaha will work with the UNEP Regional Office for North America to schedule a series of events for World Environment Day, as well as activities for the six weeks between Earth Day on 22 April and World Environment Day.

"While UNEP thinks globally, we must act locally by engaging partners from all sectors of society, including cities, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, youth, and the media," said Amy Fraenkel, who directs UNEP's North American Regional Office, based in Washington, DC.

"It is important to bring this message to all parts of the United States, and we are proud to be partnering with the City of Omaha on World Environment Day 2009," Fraenkel said.

Bayer Corporation, UNEP's World Environment Day partner in North America, will sponsor the youth program for World Environment Day, which includes the opening of an exhibition of the International Children's Painting Competition at the Children's Museum and an awards ceremony for ICPC North American winners.

An interactive environmental workshop for Omaha students led by Mae Jemison, a physician and NASA's first African-American female astronaut, will be part of the World Environment Day youth program.

With a population of about 433,000, Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska. (Photo by Ron Reiring)

The Omaha city government is not involved in the World Environment Day celebrations and no statement was issued by Mayor Mike Fahey or any member of the City Council about the selection of Omaha for the role of host.

Instead, Mary Daugherty, a civic volunteer, spearheaded Omaha's selection as a host city.

Daugherty said organizations that will be involved in World Environment Day celebrations include the Omaha Public Library, Omaha by Design, the Omaha Public Schools, the Nature Conservancy, the Henry Doorly Zoo, the Joslyn Art Museum and the Holland Center for the Performing Arts.

Elisabeth Guilbaud-Cox of the UNEP told the "Omaha World-Herald" newspaper that the city was selected because of its location in the American heartland and because of the activities of the Green Omaha Coalition, which promotes a more sustainable city.

Nonprofit groups, neighborhood organizations and businesses are coalition members, and several Omaha city agencies also are represented.

In addition, Omaha is one of the more than 950 U.S. cities that has signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which obligates the city to meet the greenhouse gas targets of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions by an average of five percent by 2012.

The theme for World Environment Day 2009 is Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change.

UNEP says the theme "reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in December, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.

A United Nations report on biological diversity of forests will be released in Omaha on June 5.

World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Each year more than 100 countries commemorate World Environment Day with thousands of events in UNEP's six global regions: North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Asia.

Events in Omaha and at venues around the world will highlight ways to achieve low carbon economies and lifestyles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.

This year's international host is Mexico, which reflects the growing role of the Latin American country in the fight against climate change, including its growing participation in carbon markets.

Mexico also is a leading partner in UNEP's Billion Tree Campaign, putting in about one-quarter of the 3.1 billion trees planted to date under the campaign.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said that the World Environment Day celebration will "further underline Mexico's determination to manage natural resources and deal with the most demanding challenge of the 21st century – climate change."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.