International Year of Biodiversity launched
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Monday, 11, Jan 2010 12:20
By Sarah Garrod.
Biodiversity is being celebrated by the United Nations this year, with 2010 named the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB).
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has launched the global event, which aims to face the global extinction crisis head on, and safeguard endangered species before it is too late.
International activities will aim to promote biodiversity, highlighting that "all life on earth depends upon species, ecosystems and natural resources".
In Brazil on Friday the event was launched at the margins of the Second Curitiba Meeting on Cities and Biodiversity which was attended by 95 participants, including representatives of 18 cities from around the world and the national focal points for the Convention on Biological Diversity from Canada, the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
The official global launch is being held in Berlin today, organised by German chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Well managed natural resources are crucial to sustainable development, supporting peaceful communities, encouraging well-balanced economic growth and helping reduce poverty," said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, director general of IUCN.
"Protecting biodiversity protects valuable assets that are vital to the global economy."
IUCN is calling for ambitious but realistic biodiversity targets, which can be clearly measured and put into practice. It also wants more research on the status of biodiversity, more protected natural areas, on land and sea, and closer collaboration with the business community to find new ways of combining conservation and commerce.
Greater public awareness of the plight of the world's biodiversity has also been made a top priority, with a number of events organised around the globe in association with the IYB; including events at London's Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.