UNEP in Europe warms up for World Environment Day by echoing call to end illegal trade in wildlife

Debates, film screenings and educational events announced following the launch of global UN campaign against the illegal trade backed by A-list stars

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will in Europe host a medley of events highlighting the plight of wildlife and the need to take care of our planet on World Environment Day (5 June).

The events tie in with an unprecedented global campaign launched by the United Nations yesterday on the World Environment Day theme of tackling the illegal trade in wildlife, which is pushing species to the brink of extinction, robbing countries of their natural heritage and profiting international criminal networks.

In Geneva, World Environment Day celebrations will be kicked off with the fourth edition of a World Environment Day quiz on 2 June organised by the Geneva Environment Network. A roundtable for all environmental stakeholders will the next day take place on preparations for major upcoming meetings dealing with conservation and biodiversity governance this year involving the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity and related Protocols.

Organised with CITES, a premiere screening for Geneva will follow of Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale, which tells the true-life story of a baby elephant born into a rescue camp in the wilderness of Botswana. All UN buildings and hundreds of local companies in the city will furthermore be provided with special menus prepared by the Eldora catering service to celebrate the day.

UNEP’s office in Almaty, is meanwhile teaming up with partners to organize a series of events open to the general public, including a conference for students on the illegal trade in wildlife held at Kazakhstan’s National University on 3 June. The event will examine the trade through a Central Asian lens by focusing on issues such as poaching and illegal fishing and species such as the Caspian Seal and snow leopard. The media, NGOs and students will then be invited to a panel discussion on priority issues. 

In Brussels, UNEP will meanwhile have a booth with other UN partners at celebrations taking place in the city’s Parc du Cinquantennaire. There, visitors will find information on the global WED theme and other aspects of UNEP’s work – in particular on sustainable consumption and production. The stand will promote campaigns and involve numerous activities, while tens of thousands of visitors are expected. A CINEONU screening of Racing Extinction on the human-driven extinction of species and efforts to document it is furthermore being organised with UN partners and will be followed by a panel discussion.

In Vienna, UNEP is co-organising an event exploring the political processes for and discussing the challenges to involving youths in the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. Trees will be planted by the EU Commissioner for the Environment, the Austrian Ministry of the Environment and Director General of the Austrian State Forests as part of the event.

Renewed collaboration between UNEP and the Sarajevo Film Festival will see films screened on air quality, climate change and the environment in August, following on from other interactive events. In Moscow, children and students will be able to join UNEP staff for an educational visit to the city’s zoo, while UNEP will take part in the city’s New Era international festival, among other events.

Wild for life

#WildforLife, launched yesterday at the second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) in Nairobi in front of environment ministers from every corner of the planet, aims to mobilize millions of people to make commitments and take action to end the illegal trade.

The campaign is run by UNEP, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Between 2010 and 2012, 100,000 elephants were killed for their ivory in Africa. Three rhinos are killed every day, and the Western Black Rhino has already gone extinct. Pangolins – scaly anteaters – are the most illegally trafficked mammal in the world. Great Apes are already locally extinct in several African nations. Profits from the illegal wildlife trade sometimes go into the pockets of international criminal networks, threatening peace and security, and damaging the livelihoods of local communities who depend on tourism.

The campaign asks participants to find their kindred species and use their own spheres of influence to end the illegal trade, however it touches or impacts them.  

Stopping this trade is also crucial to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it threatens countries’ biodiversity and people’s livelihoods, and disturbs peace. SDG 15 in particular calls for the protection of wild fauna and flora as well as the ecosystems that they depend on – including targets on combatting and addressing the supply and demand of illegal wildlife products.

Politicians, celebrities and business leaders will be making pledges during UNEA-2 and in the run-up to World Environment Day, which is themed “Go Wild For Life” to tie in with the campaign. Angola, the global host of WED, will be making significant pledges to tackle the illegal ivory trade at the event.

Join the campaign by visiting www.wildfor.life and using the #Wildforlife hashtag on Twitter to share your kindred animal and pledge.

Download additional quotes from celebrities and the heads of the UN agencies involved.

Download a zip file of pictures of celebrities morphed with their kindred animals.

Download a fact sheet on the illegal trade in wildlife.

For more information please contact:

Isabelle Valentiny, Head of Communications, UNEP Regional Office for Europe, isabelle.valentiny@unep.org, +41 79 251 82 36.