Institute of Biodiversity Conservation

The United Nations proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) to increase understanding and awareness of Biodiversity issues. This year, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) proclaimed invasive alien species (IAS) as the theme of IBD 2009. Accordingly, this year’s Ethiopia’s celebration took place in Afar Regional State where IAS have serious impacts on Biodiversity, Agriculture and Health. The following report outlines the cellebration in brief.It was a beautiful sunrise when we left the Metehara Town, the place where we spent the night, to Werer, the place where the IDB was celebrated on 22 May. Almost all the way to Werer is seriously infested by Prosopis juliflora, which was intentionally introduced as an agroforestry species in the late 1970′s. Now, the areas are all ‘its own’, ‘greening’ once dusty semi-desert and home to various endemic plants and animals…

An international committee of scientists responsible for species exploration and classification have released their choices for the planet’s latest top 10 new species. Among them are the tiny (a seahorse the size of a pea), the long (an insect that measures almost 60 centimetres in length) and the old (a fossilised specimen of a live-bearing vertebrate).

In Ethiopia, the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation is marking the day through a number of events. These include a one-day workshop and field visit to sites where invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity, the distribution of brochures, booklets, posters, etc. to relevant institutions working on IAS, raise awareness using the mass media such as the national television, radio, and newspapers