Millions of plants, animals and micro-organisms populate the various ecosystems of Planet Earth giving life to the biosphere, or those terrestrial areas where environmental conditions allow the development of life. This caleidoscopic and interconnected network of living beings is the essence of our Planet where biological, physical and inorganic components coexist and interact each other. Not by chance, the International Day for Biodiversity (IDB) #BiodiversityDay is celebrated every year on the 22nd May, in the footsteps of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held on the 22nd May 1992 to lay the foundations for the global protection of biological systems.
This year's edition is meant to strengthen the involvement of all parties in pursuit of common objectives to stop the negative trend of biodiversity loss. Be Part of the Plan #PartOfThePlan is the catchphrase referring to The Biodiversity Plan, For Life on Earth following up the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) within the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15). The Parties joining GBF commit themself to setting national targets to implement targeted initiatives in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
« As we mark this Day for Biological Diversity, let us commit to be Part of the Plan. Let us act urgently to put biodiversity on a path to recovery. And let us build ambition to CBD COP16 in October to protect the planet and create a more sustainable future for us all », António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations.
The Biodiversity Plan encourages a greater cooperation with different actors involved, notably: governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, non-governmental organizations, lawmakers, businesses and individuals. In other words, the basic idea is that everyone can make a contribution. David Cooper, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), pointed out: « The chosen theme is a call to action to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity ».
These are the premises for two major events in progress taking place in Nairobi (Kenya): the 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA, 13th-18th May) and the 4th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI, 21st-29th May). The African summits are being developing the take-action in view of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) that will be carried out in Colombia from the 21st October to the 1st November 2024.
« Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity. We all rely on the natural world because our societies and economies depend on it. But we have to understand also that nature is in trouble. The crisis of biodiversity and nature loss and the crisis of pollution and waste is what we call the triple planet crisis. At UNEP, we are pushing humanity's relationship with nature to a breaking point. Enviromental multilateralism is booming for nature and for people. (...) The biodiversity Plan is a blueprint for a healthy nature and biodiversity (... and) everyone has a role to play », Inger Andersen - Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme - UNEP.
The International Day for Biodiversity is then designed to act as a driving force to protect and restore Nature throughout the year, as well as to move towards forms of sustainable economics, social and intergenerational collaboration to prosper with Nature, to invest and collaborate for Nature.
Biodiversity in a nutshell.
The term Biodiversity was first coined in 1988 by Edward O.Wilson, American entomologist to define Biological Diversity. In particular, it expresses the number, variety and variability of living organisms and how these vary from one environment to another over time. Human impacts on wildlife is therefore integral part of biodiversity giving us (human beings) the chance to improve our footprint in order to reduce negative effects and externalities.
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity defines Biodiversity as the variety and variability of living organisms compared to the ecological systems in which they live, measuring the genetic, species and ecosystem diversities. The latter corresponds to the number and abundance of various habitats, living communities and ecosystems within which different organisms live and evolve.
Species diversity includes the richness of species, which can be measured in terms of the number of the same species present in a given area, or the frequency of different species, considering their rarity or abundance in a specific territory or habitat. Genetic diversity implies the difference of genes within given species, corresponding to the whole genetic heritage to which all the organisms that populate the Earth contribute. ***
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By Maurice Abbati
>> Journalist, Editor, Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist.
>> Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication" by Springer International Publishing.
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