World Environment Day

Each year since 1974, the world celebrates the World Environment Day, on June 5, as a key tool for raising awareness on environmental issues and encouraging action. The World Environment Day is held under a different theme each year, and 2018’s theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution.”  

World Environment Day has been hosted by different countries each year since its inception, with each country holding events and activities that inspire people to protect and preserve the environment. In 2018, India will serve as the host country.

#beatplasticpollution at home

In keeping with its mission to maintain a clean, green Palestinian environment, Birzeit University has designed its campus to include various green spaces around its many faculties and facilities. All in all, green spaces make up about 70 percent of Birzeit University’s campus.

The Gardening Department in the university’s Engineering Office maintains the university’s green areas and regularly prunes and trims the trees and plants.

In addition to the green areas and spaces spread around the campus, the university has recently inaugurated a solar-power station, installed on top of the Omar Aggad Engineering Building, that supplies 259 kilowatts of green energy to the campus.

Biodiversity in Palestine

Palestine’s unique geographic composition and climate have made it the perfect place for a variety of species of plants and animals. The precipitation rates in Palestine, combined with its fertile soil and geographical diversity – Palestine’s landscape includes desert areas, mountaintops, coastal areas, and valleys –  have made it a modern-day natural museum.

Almost 51,000 species of plants and animals live in Palestine, of which there are 30,000 nonvertebrate species, 373 species of birds, 297 species of fish, 92 species of mammals, 82 species of reptiles, and five species of amphibians. Additionally, there are 2850 species of plants in Palestine within 138 genera. (Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics)