The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) was a year-long celebration of

biological diversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') lev ...

and its importance, taking place internationally in 2010. Coinciding with the date of the

2010 Biodiversity Target The 2010 Biodiversity Target was an overall conservation target aiming to halt the decline of biodiversity by the end of 2010. The world largely failed to meet the target. History of the 2010 Biodiversity Target It was first adopted by EU Heads of ...

, the year was declared by the 61st session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 2006. It was meant to help raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity through activities and events, to influence decision makers, and "to elevate biological diversity nearer to the top of the political agenda".

Background

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (Resolution 61/203). This year coincided 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 Secretariat of the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD), based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, was coordinating the International Year of Biodiversity campaign. Established at the

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1992, the

is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. The CBD has near-universal participation, with 193 Parties.

Main goals in UN view

The main goals of the International Year of Biodiversity were to: * Enhance public awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity and of the underlying threats to biodiversity * Raise awareness of the accomplishments to save biodiversity that had been realized by communities and governments * Promote innovative solutions to reduce the threats to biodiversity * Encourage individuals, organizations and governments to act immediately to halt

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...

* Start dialog between stakeholders for what to do in the post-2010 period

Slogan

::: '' Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life.''

References

The information above, for the most part, is based on the official websites of the Convention on Biological Diversity and of the International Year of Biodiversity.

External links

International Year of Biodiversity

Convention on Biological Diversity

Internet sources for the International Year of Biodiversity (by vifabio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Year Of Biodiversity Biodiversity, International Year of Biodiversity Environmental science 2010 in international relations 2010 in science 2010 in the environment Convention on Biological Diversity

Background

Main goals in UN view

Slogan

See also

References

External links