UNIS/SGSM/1314
19 May 2023
On the International Day for Biological Diversity, we reflect on our relationship with humanity’s life-support system.
From the air we breathe and the food we eat, to the energy that fuels us and the medicines that heal us, our lives are wholly dependent on healthy ecosystems.
Yet our actions are devastating every corner of the planet.
One million species are at risk of extinction -- the result of habitat degradation, skyrocketing pollution, and the worsening climate crisis.
We must end this war on nature.
Last year’s agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marked an important step – but now is the time to move from agreement to action.
This means ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns.
Redirecting subsidies from nature-destroying activities towards green solutions.
Recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the strongest guardians of our world’s biodiversity.
And pushing governments and businesses to take stronger and faster action against biodiversity loss and the climate crisis.
Let us work together across governments, civil society, and the private sector to secure a sustainable future for all.
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Barbados signed and deposited its instrument of ratification for the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the “Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships”) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 8 May 2025.
Journalists are invited to cover the 34th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) to be held from 19 to 23 May in Vienna, Austria.
"On this Day of Vesak, I extend my warmest wishes to Buddhists worldwide as they commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha." — António Guterres
"In a world plagued by conflict and division, World Press Freedom Day highlights a fundamental truth: Freedom for people depends on freedom of the press." — António Guterres
