The theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on Monday, centres on moving from talk to action: build back biodiversity.
“On the International Day for Biological Diversity, we reflect on our relationship with humanity’s life-support system, from the air we breathe and the food we eat, to the energy that fuels us and the medicines that heal us, our lives are wholly dependent on healthy ecosystems,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.
“Yet, our actions are devastating every corner of the planet: 1 million species are at risk of extinction, the result of habitat degradation, skyrocketing pollution, and the worsening climate crisis.”
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 from illegal logging to poaching wildlife.
A total of 196 nations have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is the international legal instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”.
Marking an important step forward, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, saw all parties committing to setting national targets to implement it. At the forthcoming Conference of the Parties in 2024 in Türkiye, the world will take stock of the targets and commitments that have been set.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners launched an online platform for non-governmental groups’ commitments from around the world, from a rain forest protection project in Côte d’Ivoire to a marine conservation effort in Cambodia. To date, 212 commitments have been pledged.