By: Eva Mach

On April 22, IOM joined millions around the world to celebrate Earth Day and bring attention to the importance of environmental protection.

Beyond our support for humane migration solutions, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, is stepping up its efforts to reduce its ecological footprint. Recognizing that a healthy environment is intrinsically linked to the well-being and resilience of migrants and host communities, IOM launched its programme on environmental sustainability in 2017 and made an institutional commitment to mainstream this issue at the strategic, programmatic and facility levels.

This year’s Earth Day was dedicated to the aspiration to change our relationship with plastics. The End Plastic Pollution theme aims to draw attention to the exponential growth of plastics and its negative impact on the environment, from poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, and littering our beaches and landscapes.

On this occasion, IOM is participating in the recently launched UN system wide campaign designed to improve waste management practices in UN offices around the world.

The Say Yes to Less campaign is designed to engage staff in efforts to improve waste management practices and suggests ways in which staff can contribute to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.