[getsmart-l] The International Day for Biological Diversity 22 May 2008 - Biodiversity and Agriculture

[John O'Gorman]

http://www.cbd.int/ibd/2008/

The International Day for Biological Diversity 
22 May 2008
Biodiversity and Agriculture

Agriculture is a key example of how human activities have profound impacts on the ecosystems of our planet. 

This year’s theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD), “Biodiversity and Agriculture,” seeks to highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture not only to preserve biodiversity, but also to ensure that we will be able to feed the world, maintain agricultural livelihoods, and enhance human well being into the 21st century and beyond. 


  a.. What's New 
  b.. Key Messages 
  c.. Preserving while Producing 
International Year of the Potato 2008 
The celebration of the International Year of the Potato (IYP) will raise awareness of the importance of the potato - and of agriculture in general - in addressing issues of global concern, including hunger, poverty and threats to the environment. More »


The Future Control of Food - A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual Property, Biodiversity and Food Security 
Launched in February 2008, The Future Control of Food - A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual Property, Biodiversity and Food Security is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity and food security. Edited by Geoff Tansey and Tasmin Rajotte, and published by Earthscan and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), to read more » 

Canada-International Biodiversity Day 2008 
On May 22, events will take place around the world to emphasize the value of agricultural biodiversity for food security, human nutrition and improved rural livelihoods. These events will highlight the need for actions to halt the loss of agricultural biodiversity and to enhance the contributions that rural landscapes make to human well-being. More » 

EnviroZine: Environment Canada’s Online Newsmagazine, April 10, 2008 
Celebrate Pollinators This Spring. Did you know that one in every three bites of the food we eat -- from fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts and seeds -- is the result of pollination? Did you also know that insect pollination is responsible for $1 billion worth of fruits and vegetables in Canada alone every year? More » 

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_Biological_Diversity
International Day for Biological Diversity
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The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) is a UN-sanctioned international holiday for the promotion of biodiversity issues. It is currently held on May 22.
Recently, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), indicated that climate change is likely to become the dominant direct driver of biodiversity loss by the end of the century. Current climate change estimates predict increases in temperatures of 1.4°C to 5.8°C by 2100. This will affect species in several ways such as: changes in distribution; increased extinction rates; changes in reproduction timings; and changes in length of growing seasons for plants.

>From its creation by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in 1993 until 2000, it was held on December 29 to celebrate the day the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect. In December 2000, the date was shifted to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on May 22, 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, and partly to avoid the many other holidays that occur in late December.

The rich variety of life on Earth has always had to deal with a changing climate. However, the unprecedented pace of change we are presently experiencing is so rapid that a great number of species can not adapt fast enough to the new conditions, or move to regions more suited for their survival due to habitat fragmentation. In fact, recent estimates show that up to a million species may become extinct as a result of climate change.

On the positive side, biodiversity can help to reduce the effects of climate change on the world’s population and ecosystems. Indeed, the links between biodiversity and climate change run both ways: biodiversity is threatened by climate change, but biodiversity resources can reduce the impacts of climate change. It is therefore crucial to conserve biodiversity that is especially sensitive to climate change, preserve habitats so as to facilitate the long-term adaptation of biodiversity, improve our understanding of climate change and biodiversity linkages, and fully integrate biodiversity considerations into mitigation and adaptation plans. If the threats of biodiversity loss and climate change are tackled together, the prospects for adapting successfully to the challenges of the coming decades will be very much improved. This constitutes the overall message for this year’s celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity.

The Secretariat of the CBD lists what has been done throughout the years to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity.
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