International Day for Biological Diversity – May 22nd
guest | May 22nd, 2012 in : cost of getting it wrong, days of significance, General
Yesterday we celebrated cultural diversity, today biodiversity!
Today’s date marks the anniversary for the day in 1992 spring when the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted by the United Nations at a conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness and understanding of biodiversity issues.
Last year the Guardian wrote an article about the importance of this day and reported shocking facts. Janet Potocnik, a European commissionaire for environment, wrote, that, “during the 20th century, the human population grew by four times and economic output by 40 times. We increased our fossil fuel use by 16 times, our fishing catches by 35 and our water use by 9.” In addition, she wrote that the number of species on or planet is declining at an alarming rate, and that in the EU alone “up to one quarter of animal species is threatened with extinction and 88% of our fish stocks are over-exploited.” This year’s theme, thus, is Marine Biodiversity.
International Day for Biological Diversity is perhaps the most visible in schools around the world but ideally the day would also push more biodiversity issues into politics.
Potocnik concludes her article with an Indian prophecy. It goes, “Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”
International Day for Biological Diversity exists to alarm us of the direction where we are currently going.
Also in May:
World No-Tobacco Day – May 31st
International Day for UN Peacekeepers – May 29th
The Day of Cyrillic Alphabet – May 24th
Cultural Diversity Day – May 21st
Cultural Diversity Day: A Special ‘Hello!’
World Day Against Homophobia – May 17th
World Telecommunications and Information Society Day – May 17th
Mastering the Art of Cheek Kissing
International Day of Families – May 15th
World Fair Trade Day – May 12th
Red Cross Crescent Day – May 8th
World Press Freedom Day – May 3rd
Tags: Biodiversity, extinction, species, United Nations
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 