Institute of Biodiversity Conservation

The award recognizes the extraordinary commitment shown by the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2020, inter alia, through reducing pressures on Biodiversity and restoring ecosystems, by adopting the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, at its tenth meeting held in Nagoya, Japan in 2010, adopted the new Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 containing 20 headline targets. Under Targets 14 and 15, Parties have agreed that by 2020, they would restore ecosystems of particular importance to water security, human health, livelihoods and well-being and enhance ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks, through conservation and restoration. This target includes the restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems.

Conservation usually involves restoring populations to previous numbers with reactive measures, such as captive breeding programmes, relocation or predator control. However, proactive steps to preserve habitat, such as setting up conservation areas or banning property development, can prevent a vulnerable species from ever reaching critical status.

Addis Ababa/Montreal, 27 July 2011 – The United Nations system joined together at the offices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa on 22 July 2011 for the regional launch for Africa of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB) and to mark the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the [...]