The theme of International Day for Biological Diversity 2019 is “Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health”.
Chances are you have access to a greater variety of food than your parents or your grandparents once did. But even as the offerings become more diverse, the global diet as a whole - what people actually eat - is becoming more similar, and this is dangerous.
This year’s celebrations of the International Day for Biological Diversity, on 22 May, focus on biodiversity as the foundation for our food and health and a key catalyst to transforming food systems and improving human health.
The theme aims to spread awareness of the dependency of our food systems, nutrition, and health on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.
For example:
- A larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops
- Greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms
- Healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters
Did you know?
In the last 100 years:
- More than 90% of crop varieties have disappeared from farmers’ fields.
- Half of the breeds of many domestic animals have been lost
- All of the world’s 17 main fishing grounds are now being fished at or above their sustainable limits.
Currently locally-varied food production systems are under threat, including related indigenous, traditional and local knowledge. With this decline, agrobiodiversity is disappearing, as well as essential knowledge of traditional medicine and local foods. The loss of diverse diets is directly linked to diseases or health risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity and malnutrition, and has a direct impact on the availability of traditional medicines.
Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach to preserving biodiversity. Almost all cultures have their roots in our biological diversity in some way or form.