 The theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity in 2010 is
Biodiversity for Development and Poverty Alleviation. Celebration
on this theme provides unique opportunity to raise public awareness on
the importance of biodiversity to sustainable development
and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. The theme is
particularly pertinent in 2010, as this is the International Year of
Biodiversity and it is the target year for the 2010 Biodiversity
Target. In 2002, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
committed to achieve by 2010 a signi ficant reduction of the current
rate of biodiversity loss as a contribution to poverty alleviation and
to the benefit of all life on Earth.
Actions to achieve the 2010 Biodiversity Target were incorporated in
the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development adopted in Johannesburg in September 2002 and later
endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Subsequently, the
2010 Biodiversity Target was incorporated as a new target under Goal 7
(to “Ensure environmental sustainability”)
of the MDGs.
Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use with equitable sharing
of benefits derived from its natural services are the basis of human
well-being. Vital signs for biodiversity are plummeting and the
related ecosystem services seriously undermined. Biodiversity benefits are being threatened by development choices that ignore the full
value of these natural services to us all and particularly
the poorest. Reversing this negative trend is not only possible, but
essential to human well-being.
Global responses to biodiversity loss and the strategies for its
conservation need to be reinforced and re-tooled to reverse the
current trend of continued loss. The conservation, sustainable use,
and equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity require
integration across policy reforms and institutional strengthening.
Country leadership and increased support from development cooperation
are critical for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
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