The International Day of the Tropics is observed on June 29 annually. It highlights the challenges faced by the nations of the Tropics and the opportunities their citizens have access to.
The nations of the tropics are those that fall between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. The majority of Africa, ASEAN countries, Gulf nations, and a significant part of South America fall in the region. The central and the southern parts of India also fall between the two imaginary lines on the globe.
In 2014, 12 leading tropical research institutions collaborated to come up with a State of the Tropics Report. This report, in a way, was the SWOT analysis of the region, which is increasingly becoming important. Exactly two years after this report was tabled, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/267. This resolution called for June 29 to be observed as the International Day of the Tropics every year.
The day is aimed at increasing awareness about the region and the challenges faced by it. It recognises that the impact of the issues faced by the nations of the Tropics is felt all across the world. Separately, the day also underlines the important role that these countries have to play to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, unlike other international days, there is no annual theme for each International Day of the Tropics.