Environmental protection is an important and responsible undertaking to enhance the beauty of the country’s landscape, protect and improve the health of people and provide them with more cultured living conditions.

As society and the economy develop rapidly, it emerges as the more important issue.

Today, it has arisen not as an issue confined to one country or nation, but a very serious international issue.

The rapid development of the economy and science and technology and imbalanced extraction of natural resources produce various kinds of natural environmental changes such as the destruction of natural environment, desertification of land and global warming, threatening the existence, development and future of humankind.

For these reasons, it has become a world trend today to attach importance to the issue of environmental protection.

According to the resolution adopted at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) held in Stockholm in 1972, the 27th UN General Assembly raised environmental protection as an issue common to humankind in the same year and decided to promote international cooperation in this sector and celebrate June 5, when the UNCHE was held, as World Environment Day.

On that day, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) annually organizes events for World Environment Day, which encourages worldwide awareness of and action for the protection of the environment.

It is celebrated in over 100 countries.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day

World Environment Day 2023 will focus on beating plastic pollution and will spotlight solutions to plastic pollution.

The scourge of plastic pollution is a visible threat that impacts every community around the world.

More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year worldwide, half of which are disposables.

Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tons end up in lakes, rivers and seas annually.

Microplastics–tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter–find their way into food, water and air to damage people’s lives and health. And discarded or burnt single-use plastic harms human health and biodiversity and pollutes every ecosystem from mountain tops to the ocean floor.

For the plastic pollution and its detrimental impacts on health and the environment, scientific and technical activities are dynamically conducted to drastically lower the production and consumption of plastic products and develop environment-friendly, renewable and sustainable substitutes. And it has become a trend to protect people and environment by positively encouraging the use of them.

In the DPRK all people are involved in the movement to create environment-friendly natural scenes and clean and hygienic living environment.

As facilities are set up in all places of the living areas to collect household garbage, clean and cultural environment is maintained and improved.

And sewage and waste water which pollute ecosystem in rivers and seas and destroy environment are purified in a scientific way and supervision and control over it tightened to strictly prevent pollution and eliminate its sources.

All people have turned out for the movement to protect and improve the ecological environment of the country.

The country has undergone a complete change in appearance as it steadily pushes ahead with the planting, protection and management of forests and water control as a mid- and long-term undertaking and state affair.