Food, water and health for all

The United Nations proclaimed May 22 as the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

When first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in late 1993, December 29 (the date of entry into force of the Convention of Biological Diversity) was designated as the International Day for Biological Diversity.

In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted May 22 as IBD, to commemorate the adoption of the text of the convention on May 22, 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Hamdallah Zedan, executive secretary of the CBD, notified all parties on December 18, 2003 of the theme for International Biodiversity Day 2004: Biodiversity: Food, Water and Health for All, noting that it was chosen to reflect the CBD's firm commitment to achieving the millennium development goals.

Mr Zedan also underlined the importance of marking IBD in this 10th anniversary year of the entry into force of the convention.

Biodiversity is the source of the essential goods and ecological services that constitute the source of life for all. The celebration each year of the International Day for Biological Diversity is an occasion to reflect on our responsibility to safeguard this precious heritage for future generations.

The secretariat encourages the parties and stakeholders to reach out to young people by assisting teachers to develop biodiversity information and activity programmes for students of all ages, by involving them in local celebrations of the International Biological Diversity Day and by publicly recognising outstanding biodiversity-related school projects.

While awareness of biodiversity issues should never be far from our thoughts, the fact of concentrating public awareness efforts on a single date enables the CBD and different countries worldwide to focus attention on biodiversity issues and the goals of the convention around the world at a single time.

How can this be achieved in the Maltese islands? Certainly by encouraging school activities on the importance of biodiversity and its conservation and through TV and radio programmes in order to inform and encourage the public to take a more active role in biodiversity protection, newspapers and magazines dedicating space to discuss and inform the reading public and by the authorities encouraging activities and measures in favour of local biodiversity conservation research and protection.

Local councils can inform constituents of the need for a healthy quality of life through increased action for biodiversity protection.

The main issues that need to be considered at national level are: 1) Biodiversity research for improved policy and education; 2) policy updates for effective actions and 3) education at various levels and in both formal and informal ways to increase participation and effective action by all citizens.

The Malta National Bioplatform would like to see the Maltese islands take up the challenge of becoming proactive toward biodiversity conservation. The realisation that basic necessities such as food, water and health derive benefits from a rich and healthy biodiversity is vital.

For more details go to www.bioplatformmalta.org

Kindly send in your planned activities on and after May 22. We will be glad to put them on our website as valid contributions to our biodiversity conservation aims. Also send in your views and suggestions on how biodiversity research and policy may improve in the Maltese islands.

On the occasion of this year's International Day for Biological Diversity, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan stresses the fact that failure to stop biodiversity loss [is] too awful to contemplate and adds:

"Every individual, local community, sector and organisation, whether private, public, national, international or non-governmental, has an obligation and an interest in changing outlooks through education and by example, thereby helping to end thoughtless or deliberate waste and destruction."

Dr Vella, a conservation biologist, is coordinator of the National Biodiversity Platform - Malta.