International Biodiversity Day 2020: Our Solutions are in Nature
22nd May- every year, the world celebrates ‘International Biodiversity Day’! The International Day for Biological Diversity is a United Nations-sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.
As it has been established, nature is critical to our survival: nature provides us with our oxygen, regulates our weather patterns, pollinates our crops, and produces our food, feed, and fiber.
But, Mother Nature has been violated for years now; it is costing the natural resources of all kinds to deplete in the most dangerous and violent way possible:
- Illicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife continue to thwart conservation efforts, with nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants reported in illegal trade involving 120 countries.
- Of the 8,300 animal breeds known, 8 percent are extinct and 22 percent are at risk of extinction.
- Of the over 80,000 tree species, less than 1 percent has been studied for potential use.
- Fish provide 20 percent of animal protein to about 3 billion people. Only ten species provide about 30 percent of marine capture fisheries and ten species provide about 50 percent of aquaculture production.
Convention on Biological Diversity:
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international legally-binding treaty. The CBD entered into force on 29 December 1993. It has 3 main objectives:
- The conservation of biological diversity
- The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
- The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
In 2020 the Convention on Biological Diversity will adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework as a stepping stone towards the 2050 vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’. In its decision14/34 the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a comprehensive and participatory process for the preparation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
The negotiations to develop the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, prior to the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, will be undertaken by a dedicated open-ended inter-sessional working group under the leadership of its two co-chairs, Mr. Francis Ogwal (Uganda) and Mr. Basile van Havre (Canada) and overseen by the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties.
Significance of the Day:
The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
When first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in late 1993, 29th December (the date of entry into force of the Convention of Biological Diversity), was designated The International Day for Biological Diversity.
In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted 22 May as IDB, to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the ‘Nairobi Final Act of the Conference’ for the ‘Adoption of the Agreed Text’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This was partly done because it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out suitable celebrations for the date of 29 December, given the number of holidays that coincide around that time of year.
The theme for this year:
As the global community is called to re-examine our relationship to the natural world, one thing is certain: despite all our technological advances we are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy, just to name a few. The theme ‘Our Solutions are in Nature’ emphasizes hope, solidarity, and the importance of working together at all levels to build a future of life in harmony with nature.
The theme will cover 3 essential topics:
- The importance of knowledge and science
- Raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity
- The day of the observance will issue a call to action.
While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to future generations, the number of species is being significantly reduced by certain human activities. Given the importance of public education and awareness about this issue, this day is important for better survival of future us!
