UNESCO & Biodiversity
Context
The loss or degradation of biodiversity, now occurring at an unprecedented pace at local and global levels is a threat to our environment, economies, cultures and societies. It is changing our conception of ourselves and our place in the world. Human impact on biodiversity, ecosystems and climate continues to grow and the complexity and diversity of the range of services that flow from biodiversity are often unknown and undervalued.
In October 2010, in Japan, governments agreed to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets as the basis for halting and eventually reversing the loss of biodiversity of the planet. To build support and momentum for this urgent task, the United Nations General Assembly at its 65th session declared the period 2011-2020 to be “the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, with a view to contributing to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011-2020” (Resolution 65/161).
Throughout the Decade, building on the rich legacy of the International Year of Biodiversity, 2010, UNESCO will make significant contributions to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and increase substantially Member State’s awareness of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
UNESCO aims to strengthen the biodiversity science-policy interface through its contribution to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).