The International Day for Biological Diversity
(or World Biodiversity Day) is celebrated
annually on 22 May. United Nations established the day for the promotion of
biodiversity issues.
The International Day
for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the United Nations Post-2015
Development Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals. In this larger initiative
of international cooperation, the topic of biodiversity concerns people
involved in sustainable agricultre; desertification; land degradation and
drought; water and sanitation; health and sustainable development; energy; science,
technology and innovation; knowledge-sharing and capacity-building; urban
resilience and adaptation; sustainable transport; climate change and disaster
risk reduction; oceans and seas; forests; vulnerable groups including
indigenous peoples; and food security.
The critical role of
biodiversity in sustainable development was recognized in the Rio+20 document,
"The World We Want: A Future for All".
The 2017 Theme is
“Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism.” Diversity in species, ecosystems, and
landscapes attracts tourism and promotes economic growth. In turn, a
well-managed tourism sector can help reduce threats to wildlife, and can maintain
or increase biodiversity through tourism revenue.
The celebration of
the International Day for Biological Diversity under the theme “Biodiversity
and Sustainable Tourism” is an opportunity to raise awareness of the important
contribution of sustainable tourism both to economic growth and to the
conservation of biodiversity.
The UN General
Assembly announced the day in 1993 and it was celebrated on 29 December each
year until 2000. On 20 December 2000, the date was shifted to commemorate the
adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity on 22 May 1992 at the Rio
Earth Summit.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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