LÀO CAI (VNS) — A national meeting to celebrate World Environment Day on June 5 is scheduled to be held in the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai.

This was announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Wednesday.

The event is expected to help raise public awareness on the need to manage and appropriately use natural resources in connection with environmental protection and sustainable development.

Over the past few years, Lào Cai Province has undertaken many activities to manage and protect natural resources and the environment. The province has much experience in organising important events.

World Environment Day aims to inspire more people around the world than ever before to take action to prevent the strain on planet Earth’s natural systems from reaching breaking point.

This year’s theme is based on the fight against the illegal trade in wildlife, which erodes our precious biodiversity and threatens the survival of awe-inspiring species, such as elephants, rhinos and tigers, as well as other creatures that are less celebrated. It also undermines our economies, communities and security, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

Lào Cai is considered an ideal location for this year’s event, with the theme “Wildlife Trafficking Prevention”, which is aimed at encouraging the community to take part in protecting all kinds of wildlife that are being threatened and face the risk of extinction.

Last year, a national meeting in response to World Environment Day was held in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc, under the theme “Responsible Consumption For A Sustainable Earth,” to call on every person, every nation and every territory to join hands in protecting the Earth through practical measures in production and consumption.

World Environment Day is an important international event organised every year by the UN Environment Programme.

Việt Nam began celebrating the day in 1982. The country has undertaken many activities to contribute to raising public awareness on environment protection and sustainable development. — VNS