International Year of Biodiversity

Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) will take place in 2010. This year coincides with the 2010 biodiversity target adopted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 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 and political awareness of the importance of biological diversity to human well-being. Within this context the IYB 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 in achieving the 2010 target.

The objective is to have these discussions culminate in a commitment, by the global community, to reinforce these goals beyond 2010.
The International Year of Biodiversity is an important contribution to implementation of the programme of work on communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) of the CBD and the mandate under its Article 13.

IYB is an opportunity for Parties to the CBD to communicate the national implementation of the CBD, and to take steps to mainstream biodiversity considerations into education, and the work of important economic sectors.
The International Day for Biological Diversity is 22 May and in 2010 the theme will be ‘Biodiversity for Development’.

Information provided by the Convention on Biological Diversity (www.cbd.int) - click here to see the implementation plan t (201 KB.pdf) .