Happy International Year of Biodiversity!
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. The aim of this declaration is to celebrate the diversity of life and raise awareness of the importance of our global biodiversity.
In the UK the International Year of Biodiversity is being coordinated by the IYB-UK partnership hosted at the Natural History Museum. Events will be taking place across the UK throughout the year to:
- Increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity to our lives
- Highlight the continuing pressure faced by our species
- Celebrate the successes achieved so far in conservation
Safeguarding our biodiversity requires effort from everyone and International Year of Biodiversity encourages the global community – individuals, organisations and governments – to work together and take the immediate action needed to ensure a sustainable future for us all.
Sussex Biodiversity Partnership is signed up as a partner organisation in IYB-UK. The partnership gives you the opportunity to promote your work to a national audience and if your organisation is interested in signing up visit the IYB-UK website for more information.
There will be events going on throughout the year and this is your chance to learn more about the natural environment around you and get involved in conserving your local wildlife.
In October a Conference of the Parties signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Nagoya, Japan. This provides an opportunity for the almost 200 countries signed up to the Convention to report on progress towards the target to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. As such Nagoya will be an important milestone for the Convention on Biological Diversity.
