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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"This year's International Day of Persons with Disabilities reminds us that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires living up to the promise to leave no one behind, especially the 1.3 billion persons with disabilities worldwide." — António Guterres
"World AIDS Day arrives at a defining moment.AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s." — António Guterres
"The Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is a solemn occasion to pay tribute to those killed or injured by these horrific weapons." — António Guterres
Addressing crimes that affect the environment is key to mitigating and adapting to climate change, highlighted the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the start of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP 28).
