What would our world be like without biological diversity and our ecosystems? Would life on Earth be possible without the two? Probably not.

Now consider how our human activities impact biological diversity and ecosystems. Just about every action we take does. These impacts can be negative, positive or neutral. But over the last fifty years, human impact on biological diversity and ecosystems has become increasingly negative.

We can all take steps to help change this. In fact, across our Earth people already are.

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What is Biological Diversity?

Biological diversity -- or biodiversity -- has many definitions. Biodiversity is a term used to encompass all living organisms: from one celled amoeba, to insects, animals and plants. It encompasses the number, variety and variability of living organisms and how these change from one location to another and over time. Biodiversity includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species diversity) and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).

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Convention on Biological Diversity

In 1992, at the Earth Summit in Brazil, the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted and came into force in December 1993. The Convention on Biological Diversity, a Multilateral Environmental Agreement, is the global response to the growing crisis of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is the international treaty to sustain the rich diversity of life on Earth, and recognizes that biological diversity and functioning of ecosystems are what sustain life on the Earth. In 2002, the world set for itself a target to reduce the rate of Biodiversity loss from the global to the national level by 2010.

For more information, please read The Convention on Biodiversity: Year in Review 2007.

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"Biological Diversity and the Convention: From a Canadian Environmental Perspective"

This document was recently commission by the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) to inform non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society at large about the role of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and how it relates to some of the most important biodiversity issues in Canada. This background is prepared in advance of International Biodiversity Day on May 22, 2008 and the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) of the CBD on May 19-30 in Bonn Germany. 

This document includes a brief history of the CBD and a description of the current implementation cycle leading up to the COP9 meeting. This paper also includes elements of recommendations from the environmental community in Canada. RCEN, with the support of Environment Canada, has produced this background paper with the assistance of seven environmental NGOs across Canada.

P.O.W.E.R was one of the NGOs selected to give the Canadian environmental organization's perspective.

You must have Adobe Reader to view this file. Click here to download
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International Biological Diversity Day - May 22

Each year on May 22, people across the planet celebrate biological diversity. This International Biological Diversity Day(IBD) is recognized as a way to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues and to mark the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

 

This year’s theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity is Invasive Species. one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, and to the ecological and economic well-being of society and the planet. This is an opportunity to raise awareness on this problem and discover new ways to deal with this continuous threat to Biological Diversity.

To read more about this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity, please click here:

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Additional Resources

For more information or to learn more about biodiversity and you, please visit these websites:

The Biodiversity Convention Office

(BCO) serves as Canada's National Focal Point for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. The BCO was established by Environment Canada in September 1991 to coordinate Canadian involvement in the negotiations of the Convention. Following Canada's ratification of the Convention in December 1992, attention shifted to development of a Canadian response

Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity

The mission of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity is to organize and fund projects that defend our world’s heritage of agricultural biodiversity and gastronomic traditions. We envision a new agricultural system that respects local cultural identities, the earth’s resources, sustainable animal husbandry, and the health of individual consumers.

Ministry of Natural Resources: Ontario’s Species at Risk

We are lucky to live in a province where there are lots of wild places and wild species. But there are signs that our natural systems - lands, waters, animals and plants - are in trouble. The main threats to wild species in Ontario are habitat loss, pollution, interactions with invasive species and over-harvesting. As a result of these factors, more than 180 of Ontario’s wild species are at risk - that’s over one-third of the species that are at risk in all of Canada. The good news is, by working together, we can protect Ontario's species at risk.

Action Now for Life on Earth: A Video

This video, produced for the opening of the 8th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil in March 2006, talks about the 2010 Target, its importance for life on Earth, and the actions being taken by the global community for its realization.

For additional CBD videos, please click here.

** Please note that this video requires the Macromedia flash player, and a high-speed Internet connection is recommended. **

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre: GLOBIO – Mapping human impacts on the biosphere
The GLOBIO consortium has developed a global-scale spatial model of the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity. The model is designed to produce policy relevant indicators for use in assessments, scenario exercises and exploration of the impacts of policy options. The main indicator produced is the mean abundance of the original species belonging to an ecosystem (MSA): that is, the abundance of native wildlife.

Free images courtesy of PDPhoto.org 

In July youth (12 – 19) from around the world will convene in the Ottawa area to participate in the 2nd World BioDiversity symposium to:

• Share and celebrate with youth from across the Earth what they have been doing to help and get the word out about BioDiversity
• Learn about and participate in a BioBlitz
• Develop methods to implement the Global Youth's Accord for Biodiversity
  

http://www.biodiversitymatters.org/

Last Verified: July 2011