International Day for Biological Diversity – 22nd May
International Day for Biological Diversity – 22nd May
The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It is a measure of variation of the genetic, species and eco-system level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth’s surface and contain about 90% of the world’s species. Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. While Earth’s biodiversity is so rich that many species have yet to be discovered, many species are being threatened with extinction due to human activities, putting the Earth’s magnificent biodiversity at risk.
More than 99.9% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth’s current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described.
There are approximately 8.7 million terrestrial species and 2.2 million oceanic species.
The five main threats to biodiversity are habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species, and climate change.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was entered in to force by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) by December 1993 and presently 192 Countries and the European Union are participated to the convention. The CBD is an international legally binding treaty and is the main document regarding sustainable development. Its three main goals are 1) conservation of biological diversity, 2) sustainable use of biological components, and 3) fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots. Species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life.Sri Lanka is one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots identified in the world and has the highest biodiversity per unit area of land amongst Asian countries.
– Source: Internet –