by Flavia Pansieri, Executive Coordinator, United Nations Volunteers

05 June 2009

Bonn, Germany: The theme of this year's World Environment Day is 'Your planet needs you! Unite to combat climate change'. This theme reflects the spirit of volunteerism – contributing to a common goal out of free will and solidarity with our planet and our fellow human beings – and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme fully subscribes to it.

Climate change impacts us all, but will hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Ensuring environmental sustainability and protecting the most vulnerable will require the ingenuity and solidarity of every citizen. But through voluntary action, all of us can take responsibility for this big challenge. Taken together, all our small actions can lead to big results.

UNV mobilizes volunteers to contribute onsite and online (www.onlinevolunteering.org) to peace and development, including tackling environmental challenges. On this day I would like to highlight our programmatic focus on natural resource management, sustainable livelihoods, community-based adaptation, disaster risk reduction and the need to improve food security.

By working particularly at community and local levels, UNV improves access to opportunities and the delivery of services, promotes inclusion and participation in development, mobilizes communities, and integrates the concept of volunteerism into development programming. The promotion of volunteerism for environmental purposes involves strengthening the capacity of volunteer-involving organizations and local networks, as well as engaging individual volunteers.

On 5 December, exactly six months from now, UNV will celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD), which falls 48 hours before the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. To celebrate IVD and to remind us of our common commitment to the environment, the theme of the Day will be: 'Volunteering for our Planet'.

I would hereby like to encourage each of us to do our part in combating climate change: to show that action is needed but tangible results are possible; and to demonstrate to the conference participants in Copenhagen that we can all make a difference together.

See also the statements of the United Nations Secretary-General and the UNDP Adminstrator.