International Day for Biological Diversity – 22 May 2023

International Day for Biological Diversity - 22 May 2023

The United Nations has proclaimed 22 May International Day for Biological Diversity to create awareness of biodiversity issues. Biological diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals, and microorganisms, but it also includes genetic differences within each species. Biodiversity is a complex yet growing topic of interest not only to scientists, but also to policymakers across the globe. Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Biodiversity can include everything from towering redwood trees to tiny, single-cell algae that are impossible to see without a microscope. All species are interconnected. They depend on one another. Forests provide homes for animals. Animals eat plants. The plants need healthy soil to grow. Fungi help decompose organisms to fertilize the soil. Bees and other insects carry pollen from one plant to another, which enables the plants to reproduce. With less biodiversity, these connections weaken and sometimes break, harming all the species in the ecosystem.

A common way to measure biodiversity is to count the total number of species living within a particular area. Tropical regions, areas that are warm year-round, have the most biodiversity. Temperate regions, which have warm summers and cold winters, have less biodiversity. Regions with cold or dry conditions, such as mountaintops and deserts, have even less. The closer a region is to the Equator, the greater the biodiversity. Some places in the world have many endemic species, species that exist only in that place. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa is home to about 6,200 plant species found nowhere else in the world.

While Earth’s biodiversity is so rich that many species have yet to be discovered, many species are being threatened with extinction due to human activities, putting the Earth’s biodiversity at risk.

One million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. Meanwhile, ecosystem degradation is affecting the well-being of 40% of the global population.

Some areas in the world, such as areas of Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, the southwestern United States, and Madagascar, have more biodiversity than others.

Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food production, as it ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species harvested for food. Access to a sufficiency of a nutritious variety of food is a fundamental determinant of health.

Humanity impacts the planet's biodiversity in multiple ways, both deliberate and accidental. The biggest threat to biodiversity to date has been the way humans have reshaped natural habitats to make way for farmland, or to obtain natural resources, but as climate change worsens it will have a growing impact on ecosystems. Loss of biodiversity threatens all, including our health. Biodiversity loss also means that we are losing, before discovery, many of nature's chemicals and genes, of the kind that have already provided humankind with enormous health benefits.

The theme for 2023 is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity" which builds on the results of COP 15.

Conservation efforts are necessary to preserve biodiversity and protect endangered species and their habitats.

International Day for Biological Diversity PosterInternational Day for Biological Diversity Poster (2.04 MB)

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