International Day for Biological Diversity

The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) is a United Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues. It is currently held on May 22.
The International Day for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals. In this larger initiative of international cooperation, the topic of biodiversity concerns stakeholders in sustainable agriculture; desertification, land degradation and drought; water and sanitation; health and sustainable development; energy; science, technology and innovation, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building; urban resilience and adaptation; sustainable transport; climate change and disaster risk reduction; oceans and seas; forests; vulnerable groups including indigenous peoples; and food security. The critical role of biodiversity in sustainable development was recognized in a Rio+20 outcome document, "The World We Want: A Future for All".
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. On December 20, 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.
Activities.
Coinciding with the observance of International Day for Biological Diversity, in May 2011 Indonesian Forestry Minister inaugurated the Ciwalen Canopy Trail that is long and wide at an elevation of above the ground at Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, West Java, to accommodate five to ten people in one trip.
The 2014 theme of Island Biodiversity was chosen because islands provide a rich source of biodiversity for plants, animals, fish and forestry products. Many indigenous fruits and green leafy vegetables are rich in micronutrients. According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, two out of every three deaths can be attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These can result from a change in diets linked to consumption of highly processed imported products, while local crop species are abandoned or reduced in the local diet. As a consequence, island representatives meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May 2014 stressed that serious consideration should be given to more research and policy action with the aim of increasing diet diversity.