A flexible approach to World Environment Day

Every year on June 5, people worldwide observe World Environment Day. It's a crucial reminder that we must protect our surroundings, or face severe consequences like higher medical costs, reduced productivity, increased poverty and societal decline.

While many awareness campaigns by governments and NGOs are largely superficial, a small part of society genuinely participates with limited resources. In contrast, wealthier groups often spend significantly to lead commemorative efforts, leveraging their financial power.

Notably, over the past twenty years, there's been almost a tenfold increase in social engagement on this day. This resurgence echoes the original environmental pledge made in the early 1970s, which aimed to renew humanity's commitment to protecting and conserving our environment.

When the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established this day for global environmental commemoration, climate change was only just emerging. At that time, temperatures in the Global South weren't as extreme as they are today, especially for the large populations already living with limited resources.

In June, many southern South Asian cities now experience temperatures consistently above 40 degrees Celsius. Consequently, most awareness activities for this day are held indoors.

Those who can't afford air conditioning must rely on fans, bearing the brunt of their marginalised status. In contrast, those who can afford air-conditioned venues — often from government or business sectors -— celebrate the day in comfort.

In our region of hot climate, the most effective awareness activity for this occasion, tree plantation, faces significant hurdles. The intense heat, even in the early or late hours, makes it quite challenging for participants. Furthermore, summer is far from ideal for planting trees; the monsoon season, which follows shortly after, is much more suitable. For these reasons, we've largely abandoned tree plantation as a commemorative activity.

Instead, organisations here have gravitated towards indoor, rhetoric-based activities to raise awareness. These events, often labeled as seminars, workshops, conferences, debates or symposia, are presented to the public as significant awareness-raising efforts.

Unfortunately, the focus of these events often strays from their intended purpose. Instead of prioritising insightful and inspirational presentations and speeches, much attention is given to formalities.

This includes inviting VIPs as chief guests, serving refreshments and distributing mementos and giveaways. This often leaves the "awareness" aspect taking a backseat to event logistics and ceremonial aspects.

A significant hurdle for observing this day in Pakistan, particularly when it comes to tree planting activities, is the start of summer vacation on June 1. This means our most promising target audience — students — are out of reach. No institution can realistically ask students to return solely for this activity after they've been dismissed for their holidays.

Beyond students, we lack a community that voluntarily participates in these awareness campaigns. If we resort to forced nominations, such as government or corporate employees, their engagement and attentiveness will likely be low compared to those who willingly participate to learn. In essence, this situation severely limits our ability to both plant trees effectively and involve students to create a wider impact.

Both the government and civil society, along with the business sector, largely organise environmental awareness activities for this day. They're doing so without considering the intense heat, which poses a significant risk to both organisers and participants.

While those with access to safe transportation might not face many issues commuting for field activities, individuals without good quality conveyance will suffer from the heat, having to travel to venues and meet others under the open sun.

Ultimately, the primary goal for the leaders of all these sectors is to demonstrate their environmental commitment to their superiors, competitors, donors and critics, regardless of the challenging conditions.

Pakistan has been observing World Environment Day since the late 1980s. Even back then, June was a hot month, yet the suitability of this timing for Pakistan's climate was never really discussed.

The main goal, not just in Pakistan but in many donor-dependent developing countries, seems to be to follow Western practices and project an image of environmental awareness.

Pakistan's civil society already observes numerous other days dedicated to various important issues, so the odd timing of World Environment Day doesn't get much attention.

A few NGOs have, on occasion, floated the idea of proposing a National Environmental Day that aligns with local educational calendars and weather conditions, but this has never progressed beyond a mere suggestion.

The environmental civil society sector in Pakistan is relatively small and often works in isolation. As for the government, there's a perceived lack of initiative to develop innovative solutions. Their primary role is often seen as complying with directives rather than initiating "out-of-the-box" thinking.

UNEP is our best bet in this situation. If we bring this issue to their attention, they're likely to consider the document that established June 5 as World Environment Day. They just need to make a small change, adding that countries aren't obligated to observe the day exactly on June 5. Instead, they could observe it locally at their convenience.

The main goal isn't just to show unity, but to spread environmental awareness globally. The Global South, in particular, needs more outreach, as many people there aren't yet ready to act on environmental messages.

If signatories of the Paris Agreement can develop their own contributions to meet their obligations, then a day of such environmental importance should also be flexible for countries to observe according to their unique circumstances.