The
selected theme carries special significance, coinciding with the designation by
the United Nations General Assembly of 2014 as the “International Year of
Small Island Developing States”. In addition, the theme was chosen to
correspond with decision XI/15, paragraph 1 in which the Conference of the
Parties to the CBD “urges Parties, and
invites other Governments, financial institutions and other relevant
organizations to strengthen the implementation of the programme of work on
island biodiversity”.
Islands
and their surrounding near-shore marine areas constitute unique ecosystems often
comprising many plant and animal species that are endemic − found nowhere else
on Earth. The legacy of a unique evolutionary history, these ecosystems are
irreplaceable treasures. They are also key to the livelihood, economy,
well-being and cultural identity of 600 million islanders − one-tenth of the
world’s population.
With
this in mind, the theme provides a unique opportunity to strengthen existing
initiatives such as the Micronesia Challenge, the Caribbean Challenge
Initiative, the Coral Triangle Initiative and the Phoenix Islands Protected
Area, and new initiatives including the Western Indian Ocean Coastal
Challenges, the proposed Maldives UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the development
of the Charter on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity
on European Islands under the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European
Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
It is
also important to note that the Third International Conference on Small Island
Developing States will take place from 1 to 4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa,
providing an ideal forum to highlight the important work being carried out in
the context of the programme of work on island biodiversity by Parties and
stakeholders.
The
International Day for Biological Diversity provides an opportunity to
communicate and involve the public to build awareness on the value of
biodiversity for human well-being around the world, as well as to communicate
efforts made in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and
the implementation of the three objectives of the Convention. It also
offers an opportunity to highlight other related issues of relevance not only
for Island States but for Parties to the Convention that have island ecosystems
as part of their national biodiversity heritage, including climate change,
marine and coastal biodiversity, invasive alien species, species threatened
with extinction, tourism and biodiversity including the Aichi Biodiversity
Targets on marine protected areas, as well as cross-cutting issues such as
traditional knowledge and customary sustainable use of biodiversity, community
conservation areas (CCAs) and others.
The
Secretariat will develop a variety of outreach materials to help celebrate this
important day including, inter alia, the following:
-
Key messages for the day
-
Web page featuring events and information materials, and links to partner
activities
-
Poster
-
Series of “postcards”
-
Information booklet on the theme of “Island Biodiversity”
Parties,
other Governments and relevant organizations, are invited to share digital
photos (amateur or professional) relevant to the theme of “Island Biodiversity”
for possible use for IDB 2014 outreach materials. The CBD will need to be
granted the rights to use these photos for non-commercial purposes. The photos
could be used for future CBD publications outside of the IDB framework.
Please
send high-quality digital photographs in JPEG, TIFF or PSD format to
secretariat@cbd.int.
Photos of 300
dpi with a physical dimension of at least 10 by 15 centimetres (4 by 6 inches)
will be suitable. When sending, please include information about the content of
the photo, and the name of the person to be credited. If the file size of the
photo(s) exceeds 3 megabytes, kindly inform the Secretariat and an alternate
means to send the photos will be provided.
We look
forward to your contribution to this important event.
The
text of this notification is also available on the CBD website at:
http://www.cbd.int/doc/notifications/2013/ntf-2013-094-idb-en.pdf
Galapagos iguanas
Image by Mike Leveille
