2. Contents
• What is environment?
• About WED (World Environment Day)
• Our main environmental problems!
• WED 2010 (Theme… which & why?)
• What is Biodiversity?
• What do we get from biodiversity?
• Threats to biodiversity!
• How are we facing biodiversity loss?
• Goals, message & strategy
• Conclusion
3. What
is
Environment ?
Environment
means
Surroundings.
4. About
World Environment Day
• Commemorated on 5 June since 1972, WED is one of the
principal vehicles through which the UN stimulates
worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages
political attention and action.
• The World Environment Day theme selected for 2010 is
BIODIVERSITY and the slogan is MANY SPECIES, ONE
PLANET, ONE FUTURE.
• World Environment Day (WED) 2010 is aimed to be the
biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive,
environmental action.
5. What are our Main
Environmental Problems?
• Environmental problems can generally be
grouped into three categories:
1. Resource Depletion
2. Pollution
3. Loss of Biodiversity
7. WED 2010
WHY THIS THEME?
• Humans are among only a handful of species
whose populations are growing, while most
animals and plants are becoming rarer and fewer.
• It echoes the urgent call to conserve the
diversity of life on our planet. A world without
biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of
people and millions of species all share the same
planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer
and more prosperous future.
8. Many Species. One Planet. One
Future
• Did you know that you are one in a million? Or
more precisely, one of millions on this wondrous
planet - anywhere in fact between an estimated
5 million to 100 million species.
• A total of 17,291 species are known to be
threatened with extinction – from little-known
plants and insects to charismatic birds and
mammals. This is just the tip of the iceberg;
many species disappear before they are even
discovered.
11. WHAT ACTUALLY BIODIVERSITY
IS?
•Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth and the
essential interdependence of all living things.
• Scientists have identified more than 2 million species.
Tens of millions -- remain unknown.
•The tremendous variety of life on Earth is made
possible by complex interactions among all living things
including microscopic species like algae and mites.
12. There are 3 components of
biodiversity
1. Diversity of genes
Chihuahuas, beagles, and huskies are all dogs—
but they're not the same because their genes
are different.
Chihuahua Beagle Huskies
13. There are 3 components of
biodiversity
2. Diversity of species
For example, monkeys, dragonflies, and meadow
beauties are all different species.
Saki Monkey Golden Skimmer Meadow Beauty
14. There are 3 components of
biodiversity
3. Variety of ecosystems
Prairies, Ponds, and tropical rain forests are all ecosystems.
Each one is different, with its own set of species living in it.
Paines Prairie Florida Sand hill Pond
Hoh Rain Forest
15. What do we get from
biodiversity?
Biodiversity is one of Earth’s greatest natural
resources. When biodiversity is lost, significant
value to the biosphere and to humanity may
be lost along with it.
Biodiversity’s benefits to society include
contributions to
• Oxygen
• Food
• Clean Water
• Medicine
• Aesthetics
• Medicine
• Agriculture services
17. Should we be concerned about
biodiversity?
What we know:
The Earth is losing species at an alarming rate!
• Some scientists estimate that as many as 3
species per hour are going extinct and 20,000
extinctions occur each year.
• when species of plants and animals go extinct,
many other species are affected.
18. Threats to biodiversity
Habitat destruction
Pollution
Species Introductions
Global Climate Change
Exploitation
19. 2010 Biodiversity Target
“To achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction
of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the
global, regional and national level, as a
contribution to poverty alleviation and to the
benefit of all life on Earth”
20. What factors lead to
biodiversity loss?
• Land use change
• Climate change
• Invasive species
• Overexploitation
• Pollution
• Changes in human population
21. Goals
• Raise awareness of:
– How biodiversity is important
for our lives
– What people have already
done to save biodiversity
• Promote new and novel ways to
safeguard biodiversity
• Encourage people to take
immediate steps to reduce the
rate of loss of biodiversity
• Initiate dialogue on steps for the
post- 2010 period
22. Communications Campaign
• Create excitement around the discovery that
people are part of nature
• Highlight the huge opportunity we are presented
with in the International Year of Biodiversity
• Create a strong sense of optimism that it is not
too late to act
• Be honest about the urgency of the challenge.
NOW is the time to act.
23. MAIN MESSAGES
• Biodiversity is important for
human well-being
• The current rate of biodiversity
loss is severe, by some
accounts up to 100 times the
natural rate of extinction
• We need to work together to
halt this loss. Many “success
stories” point the way to the
future
24. Strategy
• Provide a global message which offers
partners the chance to highlight their work
and activities
• Create information products that highlight
success stories and the work of the
Convention
• Take advantage of existing international and
national events to promote the biodiversity
agenda to new audiences and mobilise their
support
25. Conserving Biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity often demands that individuals change
their habits or the way they earn their living. It is often helpful
to offer some reward or incentive to the people or
communities involved.
• The United States government, for example,
has offered tax credits to people who’ve
installed solar panels or bought hybrid cars.
• Many communities in Africa, Central America,
and Southeast Asia have set aside land for
national parks and nature reserves, like
Thailand’s Elephant Nature Park, to attract
tourist dollars.
• In some Australian communities, farmers
were paid to plant trees along rivers and
streams as part of wildlife corridors connecting
forest fragments.
26. Conserving Biodiversity (CONTD..)
• The use of carbon credits is one strategy
aimed at encouraging industries to cut fossil
fuels use.
• Companies are allowed to release a certain
amount of carbon into the environment. Any
unused carbon may be sold back at a set
market value or traded to other companies.
• This strategy encourages industries to pay for
lower-emission machinery and to adopt
carbon-saving practices.
Editor's Notes
The United Nations General Assembly (decision 61/203) has proclaimed 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. This year coincides with the 2010 Biodiversity Target adopted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and by Heads of State and government at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The UN identified the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as focal point for the Year... and, on behalf of the Secretariat, I welcome you into the International Year of Biodiversity.
In decision VI/26, the Conference of the Parties (COP) adopted the Strategic Plan for the CBD. In the Plan's mission statement, Parties committed themselves to a more effective and coherent implementation of the three objectives of the Convention, to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. The 2010 Biodiversity Target was subsequently endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the United Nations General Assembly at the 2005 World Summit. The Summit also highlighted the essential role of biodiversity in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, especially the targets to halve the incidence of poverty and hunger by 2015. It recognized that the Convention is the key international instrument on biodiversity. Unfortunately it seems that the 2010 Target will not be reached on time, but there are good news…
Through the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 we hope to reflect the goals of organizations working all over the world to safeguard biodiversity. As such, the objectives of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 are as follows: Enhance public awareness of the importance of safeguarding biodiversity and of the underlying threats to biodiversity. Raise awareness of the accomplishments to save biodiversity that have already been realized by communities and governments. Encourage individuals, organizations and governments to take the immediate steps needed to halt the loss of biodiversity. Promote innovative solutions to reduce the threats to biodiversity. Start dialogue between stakeholders for the steps to be taken in the post-2010 period.
Talking about biodiversity isn’t easy. It is a complex, scientific subject that encompasses everything and everyone. However, biodiversity is also an inspiring and exciting story – it is the story of life and the systems that sustain it. If we want to motivate people around the world to take action to safeguard biodiversity, we need to help them discover the amazing connections between themselves and the world around them, and then realize the consequences of biodiversity loss as well as the huge benefits we will all share if we conserve and use it sustainably. Excitement, opportunity, optimism, urgency This is a real challenge, and we need to get our communications just right in order to succeed. It is vital that our communications.... ...create excitement around the discovery that people are part of nature and intertwined with biodiversity. ...highlight the huge opportunity we are presented with, to safeguard biodiversity and create better lives for us all. ...create a strong sense of optimism that it’s not too late to act, and that together we can make a huge difference. ...are honest about the urgency of the challenge. Now is the time for action. What our messages do Our messages are designed to lay the foundations for your call to action. They aim to do this by following these objectives: Remove the perception that people are disconnected from biodiversity. Raise awareness of the threats of biodiversity loss and the benefits of safeguarding it. Promote a sense of urgency for action to halt the loss of biodiversity, and encourage people to act now. What the partner’s messages need to do Using the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 messages as a foundation, your messages should do the following: Urge your target audiences to take action. Provide a list of specific actions they can take to safeguard biodiversity in your area. Provide guidance for how to take action.
The International Year of Biodiversity conveys three key messages: • Biodiversity is important for the well-being of all humans on the planet. Without such diversity we would all be poorer, in economic, social and cultural terms. • The current rate of loss of biodiversity is severe. We are losing species at a rate that is by some accounts up to 100 times the natural rate of extinction. Each disappearance weakens the ability of ecosystems to provide valuable services to us. Each disappearance means the permanent loss of something precious and unique. • There is no time to wait. We need to work together in our own lives, but also as communities, national and global citizens to halt this loss of biodiversity. The good news is that some have already started: -There are examples of people who are working together to save biodiversity and to reduce the impact of human activities on the web of life. Their successes point the way to the future. -The global scientific community is already mobilized to provide the knowledge and tools that can help others to save biodiversity. -National and global leaders have expressed their willingness to talk to each other and set in place the policies needed to halt biodiversity loss, even if it will be realized after 2010. Additional notes: These messages are drawn from Global Biodiversity Outlook 3. The Secretariat will create global level messages, which can be adjusted for local audiences.
