World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 with a different theme set by the United Nations each year. This year, the theme is “Connecting People with Nature”, to encourage people to go outdoors and appreciate the beauty of belonging to, and becoming a part of, nature.

World Environment Day was established in June 1972, when the first major conference was held by the United Nations on environmental issues affecting the world, in Stockholm. It was attended by 114 countries, where Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proved to be a star, making crucial revelations about the connection between poverty alleviation and protecting the environment in her speech, for which she received a standing ovation (video above).

The conference set a legacy for creating awareness and working towards preserving the environment.

The theme this year aspires to remind people how “we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it”. Because people in rural areas understand the value of the environment, for they are the first to suffer when ecosystems are threatened.