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2010

International Year of Biodiversity

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth: biodiversity. The celebrations for the International Year of Biodiversity are led by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) takes place during 2010. This coincides with the 2010 biodiversity target adopted by the Parties to tbe Convention on Biological Diversity and by Heads of State and Government at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.

The celebrations will seek to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity to human well-being. Within this context, the International Year of Biodiversity will seek to encourage a global discussion on the extent to which the goals of the Convention and relevant Millennium Development Goals have been met, including a celebration of successes. The objective is to have these discussions culminate in a commitment, by the global community, to reinforce these goals beyond 2010.

Links

	Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 web site
	Countdown 2010 International Year of Biodiversity
	Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity 2010
	Climate Change and Biological Diversity
	Biodiversity, climate change and Poverty

Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, February 2010, Trondheim, Norway
Twelve messages are the final outcome of the sixth Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity, “Getting the biodiversity targets right – working for sustainable development” held in Trondheim during February 1-5, 2010. The main messages identified in the chairman's report are:
The 2010 target has inspired action, but will not be reached in full Biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystem services have increasingly dangerous consequences for human well-being, even survival for some societies Urgent action is needed to address the loss of biodiversity, especially to avoid tipping points Biodiversity is the natural capital for sustainable development Inaction is more expensive than action Many more economic sectors than we realize depend on biodiversity Biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked Implementation! Implementation! Implementation! Now is the time to scale up our science and knowledge We need to communicate that biodiversity matters Substantially more resources are needed Getting the biodiversity targets right

Climate Change and Biological Diversity

The threat to biodiversity

Climate Change is defined as a variation either in the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period, typically decades or longer. It encompasses temperature increases, sea-level rises, changes in precipitation patterns, and increases in the frequency of extreme weather events.

Biodiversity and Climate Change are closely linked, and each impacts upon the other: biodiversity is threatened by human-induced climate change, but biodiversity resources can reduce the impacts of climate change on population and ecosystems.

	IPCC Technical Paper V: Climate Change and Biodiversity

Biodiversity, Climate Change and Poverty

Biodiversity is key to how well people can adapt to climate change, how effectively landscapes absorb and store carbon, and how effective vegetation and ecosystems are in reducing the adverse impacts of climate change.
Large-scale projects such as protecting substantial areas of forest can conserve biodiversity and capture carbon, but the poor will need to be involved in any planning and decision-making.
Priority should be given to local initiatives that use local knowledge and approaches to deliver multiple benefits, such as traditional farming systems that conserve genetic and ecosystem diversity, sustain local adaptation, sequester carbon and reduce poverty.

	Biodiversity, climate change and poverty: exploring the links. An IIED briefing Hannah Reid and Krystyna Swiderska, Feb 2008. IIED

Page last updated February 8, 2010