Today (Thursday 22 May) is the International Day for Biological Diversity 2025, and this year's theme is "Harmony with nature and sustainable development".
Biological diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, but it also includes genetic differences within species, such as varieties of crop and breeds of livestock, and the variety of ecosystems, like lakes, forests, deserts and agricultural landscapes, that host multiple kind of interactions among their members (humans, plants and animals).
Biological diversity resources are the pillars upon which we build civilisations:
But loss of biodiversity threatens all, including our health. It has been proven that biodiversity loss could expand zoonoses, diseases transmitted from animals to humans. On the other hand, if we keep biodiversity intact, it offers excellent tools to fight against pandemics like those caused by coronaviruses.
Some key information on harmony and sustainable development include:
While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to future generations, the number of species is being significantly reduced by certain human activities.
Harmony with nature and sustainable development
As the global community is called to re-examine our relationship to the natural world one thing is certain, despite all our technological advances we are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our:
This involves respecting, protecting, and repairing our biological wealth.
In December 2022, the world came together and agreed on a global plan to transform our relationship with nature. The adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets 23 targets for 2030 and five global goals for 2050 to stop and reverse the loss of nature in 25 years. Some of its goals include:
This year's theme highlights how this plan for nature connects with the SDGs, showing that both agendas must advance together as they support one another.
It also aims to instill a sense of urgency - we must act now. We only have five years to meet both the near-term targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the SDGs.
How to get involved
Acting for biodiversity can take a diversity of forms. A whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is crucial for the implementation of the 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework and SDGs.
"Whole-of-society" means that, while governments are responsible for developing and enacting public policy, legal and administrative measures for implementation, everyone in society should contribute.
Individuals can contribute by purchasing choices as consumers and decisions as investors, individuals can send powerful signals to companies, markets and the economy about the importance of shifting away from models and products that harm nature. An example of this could be by adjusting dietary preferences and paying attention to grocery product labels, consumers can catalyse the shift to more sustainable agrifood systems.
No action is too small and everyone can incorporate adjustments into their daily routines. Whether it is minimising water waste, consuming locally grown foods, or composting food scraps, simple actions contribute to reducing pressure on ecosystems and to protecting biodiversity.
Business and financial institutions can get involved by assessing, managing and disclosing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities feeding into evidence-based management frameworks that, in turn, foster transparency and accountability. This essential exercise lies at the core of the required transformative change towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns powered by biodiversity-friendly business models and value chains.
For more information on this subject, see:
