This Environment Day, spare a thought for gorillas

Kigali, May 10: The World Environment Day, which is observed on Jun 5 of every year, will be held in Rwanda for the year 2010.

The 2010 World Environment Day (WED) goes by the theme 'Many Species. One Planet. One Future'.

"Rwanda has been selected by the United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) as host country for the day at global level and since gorilla naming ceremony has been taking place in June, it was found very convenient to hold the two events at the same time,"" Anette Tamara Mbabazi, RDB media and events officer is quoted as saying in a Kenyan publication, The Standard.

The traditional Kwita Izina or Gorilla naming ceremony is aimed at raising awareness on the reality of the dwindling mountain gorilla population.

"The recently released rapid assessment report, called The Last Stand of the Gorilla, raises the alarm on the potential loss of the gorillas from most of their present range in 10 to 15 years," a United Nations Environment Programmed report noted.

"The fate of the great apes is closely tied to ours as they inhabit some of the last remaining tropical rainforests – ecosystems that not only assist in supplying us with water, food and medicine but also play a global role in carbon sequestration and thus combating climate change," the report added.

The World Environment Day has been observed every year since 1973, after it was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1973.

The 2009 WED was hosted by Mexico on the theme - 'Your Planet Needs You - UNite to Combat Climate Change'.

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