President of UNEP's Governing Council on International Day for Biological Diversity
Every year, on 22 May, we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity, proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations eleven years ago to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with the objective to raise awareness of issues related to biodiversity.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, adopted in October 2010 during the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations represents a major step forward in protecting biodiversity, while contributing to justice and social equity and will reinforce the third objective of the Convention.
This year, to coincide with the International Year of Forests, the theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity is "Biological Diversity and Forests". Forests illustrate perfectly the paramount importance that biodiversity and ecosystems offer to humanity, as well as the important part played by local communities and indigenous peoples in their management and conservation.
Conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity is a key component for the furtherance of a more sustainable development model and the green economy, with a view to achieving the equitable well-being of the world population, while being mindful of and respecting the environment.
Conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity are, nevertheless, a challenge for society as a whole, and require the support, collaboration and the involvement of all social and economic actors. Each and everyone of us, at an individual and collective level, can and have the duty to contribute to this common purpose, which will translate into the well-being of our society and of future generations.