April 22 is International Mother Earth Day

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS: April 22 is the International Mother Earth Day. Initiated by Bolivia, it was declared at the 63rd UN General Assembly session on April 22 2009. The co-authors of the draft bill were more than 50 member countries, as reported by Armenpress. The General Assembly PresidentMiguel d'Escoto Brockmannwelcomed the creation of the International Mother Earth Day, saying: "The International Mother Earth Day promotes a view of the Earth as the entity that sustains all living things found in nature. Inclusiveness is at the heart of International Mother Earth Day, fostering shared responsibilities to rebuild our troubled relationship with nature is a cause that is uniting people around the world”.

The genesis of Earth Day is credited to Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.After witnessing the ravages of the1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, and inspired by the student anti-war movement, he called for anenvironmentalteach-in, later called "Earth Day", to be held on Wednesday, April 22, 1970. More than 20 million people participated that year, and now Earth Day is observed on April 22 each year by more than one billion people and many national governments in 192 countries.

The proclamation of 22 April as International Mother Earth Day is an acknowledgement that the Earth and its ecosystems provide its inhabitants with life and sustenance. It also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.

Recognizing that Mother Earth reflects the interdependence that exists among human beings, other living species and the planet we all inhabit, the General Assembly declared 22 April as International Mother Earth Day (A/RES/63/278) to highlight the need to help improve the lives of children and adults who suffer from the disorder so they can lead full and meaningful lives.