World Environment Day 2020 and official launching of The Green Way Of Life Initiative





To observe and spread the message of the 2020 World Environment Day even with the coronavirus pandemic, people are still being encouraged to stay at home, raise awareness and keep up with important  events taking place around the world.
World Environment Day holds yearly on the 5th of June. Since 1974, World Environment day has always been used to raise awareness and action to protect our environment.
United Nations Environment Programme theme for the observance this year is ”Time for nature” . The theme was chosen to remind people of the importance of Nature.




All over the world environment activists and campaigners hosted webinars, zoom meetings and the social media hashtag was #ForNature


In the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, environmental pollution is a big  concern to millions of people, A group of experts, celebrities and activists gathered online to launch an  idea geared towards creating a world where everyone will  live and work in ways  that reduce climate change and promote greener environment.


The Niger Delta region (which includes  9 Nigerian states; Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers) is the  centre for the different kinds of oil and gas activities (Oil exploration, processing, waste generation and disposal etc) which has  led to different forms of pollution- air, water, soil, noise, light, thermal and radioactive pollution.

Victoria Nyeche funded the  planting of over 4,000 trees in  Port Harcourt City after  she became  state legislator on environment.
Victoria Nyeche
Victoria Nyeche



Experts have  warned  about the effect of these activities on the health of residents. 
According to Worldometer, this region has 206,139,589 residents

According to Victoria Nyeche the initiator of  Greenway of Life Initiative"If we do not make time for Nature, women will suffer the Most,"

In  Sub Saharan African, water and firewood fetching is done mostly by women, they are the house cooks and sometimes breadwinner. If people neglect nature, they neglect our source of food energy and balance. She added.


Whats at stake for nature?
When coronavirus pandemic struck and brought  the  world to standstill in March 2020, nature smiled. From Mumbai, to Milan, Paris to Port Harcourt canals, rivers  are cleaner, the trees and grasses are greener, thanks to the reduced activity around the world.

But this will gradually slow down after the release of lockdown.

Combination of corporate and individual operational attitudes are responsible for disasters like; loss of Biodiversity, Climate Change, Flooding, Erosion, Draughts, Diseases (Lassa Fever, Ebola, Covid-19 etc), Bush fires, Black Soot, etc, all these things  threaten to bring down Mother Earth, and its inhabitants.

This is a reminder from major  environmentalist, Andah Wai-Ogusu to all those who joined  the zoom meeting to mark the 2020 World Environment Day same  day  the Greenway of Life Initiative was launched.
"First we hope they add our voices to the awareness campaign for climation action, people  will learn the culture of sustainable environment lifestyle, that  we call the green way of live." Victoria Nyeche told BBC.

And that the  Niger Delta environment will better,  because we believe that if our environment is better, the quality of life will surely be better, she added.
"Nature is a gift that needs to be nurtured, If it is  nurtured, a balance will be created. For instance the butterfly and the earthworm are important for pollination and soil fertility. They  are creatures also exposed to danger yet they are  very important species.
Wen we make time for Nature we make time for sustainable exploitation of nature, we make time for balance and harmony. We make time for women."

The way the  ecological balance  is  being disturbed by man through their  activities till it becomes hard for the earth to renew itself, Very soon all this May  starve us of the ecological services provided by the earth which  include food, water, air and so on. These things make the earth comfortable for humans to stay, Wai-Ogosu tok.

" there are several ways and scales of activities that we, humans, can use to quickly reduce pollution. Recycling, conserving energy, reducing the emissions from cars by using public transport or carpooling ( joining odas for car). These are the things we need to look into".

Nature is the  natural Earth and the things in  it , Water, trees, forests, birds and animals are part of nature, according to experts. But nature always faces threat of destruction from their environment - the different populations of life species that are on Earth. The food we eat, the air we breathe and water we drink come from nature.

Monalisa Chinda


Monalisa Chinda is a popular Nollywood actress and Tv show host in Nigeria. For the Un Ambassador and Nollywood actress, Monalisa Chinda Coker, who is one of the pioneers of the new initiative, said going green is the way. According to her; “we need to support nature, we need a good environment that can sustain our lives naturally. Let’s promote, project and protect our environment.“

After Nyeche had selflessly pioneered the planting of over 4,000 trees and educated citizens within the Port-harcourt metropolis, Nyeche believes that as a team, we can do more.
Timeline of World Environment Day since 2006
“The purpose of the world environment Day is to give voice to environmental issues and to make people active agent of fair and sustainable development; it has raised the awareness concerning the importance of community in environmental action; it also promotes partnerships to ensure that there is a safe thriving future for nations and populations..”

WED 2006 theme was "Deserts and Desertification" and Algeria hosted celebrations for Algiers.
WED 2007 theme was "Melting Ice? - A Hot Topic", Tromsø hosted it  for Norway.
The 2008 edition slogan was "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy", and it was hosted by  Wellington, New Zealand. 

In 2009, the theme was “Your Planet Needs You-Unite to Combat Climate Change”, Mexico was the host and they launched their commitment to fight and combat climate change, through the employment or carbon credits. Also, they took part in the UNEP “Billion Tree Planting Campaign”.
I’m 2010 was all about biodiversity and it was hosted in Rwanda.
In 2011, UNEP dedicated the world emvday to the safe gulf our planets lungs; The Forest. Forests cover 31% of land and primary forest covers 36% of the world forested areas.
In 2012, Rio de Janeiro was the host of the world Environment Day celebration under the slogan “Think, Eat, Save”. The United Nation reminded us that one third of all food produce fails to make it from the farm land to our tables, and this means that we waste 1.3billion tonnes of food, which is worth 1,000 billion dollars. This amount would be enough to feed the 870 million people that are suffering from hunger around the world  and also reduce CO2 emissions to a very large extent. 

Then again, 2014 was dedicated to the sea, with a theme Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level!”  In other time reside awareness about this problem that island nations are facing because the rise in sea level.

In 2015, WED was hosted in Milan, Italy under the theme “Seven Billion people, one planet, consume with care”. That year, WED was the most popular subject on twitter in over 20 countries.

“Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife” was the theme of the 2016 edition hosted in Angola.
2017 edition was hosted under the slogan “Connecting people with Nature” to highlight the significant role we play in protecting the planet. The official celebrations takes place in Canada. In 2018, it was hosted in India and the purpose was to “Beat plastic pollution”, for 2019, WED wants to focus their efforts to “Beat Air pollution”, an issue China chose. China has been seriously affected by this environmental problem.

Monalisa Chinda is a popular Nollywood Actress and TV Show host in Nigeria.Image copyrightMONALISA CHINDA
Greenway of Life Initiative
The use of behavioral change is what the Greenway of Life Initiative plan to adopt: Media Based Environmental awareness campaign, School Based Environmental Activities, Community Based Environmental activities ( Green Communities), Industry based Environmental activities (Green Economy), Plastic recycling Campaigns/Advocacy, Tree Planting Events, Climate Change and Global warming seminars, Environmental Documentary Screening for schools and communities, Environmental Research programs, Markets, Beach and Community Clean Up projects, and Mainstreaming gender in Climate change.