Biodiversity

UNESCO: A key actor in the fulfilment of the global biodiversity agenda

• ©Ventoux BR

Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is disappearing at an unprecedented and most likely increasing rate. This situation contradicts the international "2010 Biodiversity Target", which aims at significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Science and governance for conserving and sustainably and equitably using biodiversity are key elements to decrease the rate of its loss. Since its early days, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme has initiated programmes and activities focusing on the diversity and the resources provided by nature, humans' impacts on biodiversity, as well as how biodiversity affects human activities. These initiatives are intended to contribute to the fulfillment of a global biodiversity agenda.

A focus on key biodiversity issues
This section describes a few biodiversity-related domains where the Man and the Biosphere Programme is particularly active and where it brings value-added to other international initiatives on biodiversity: Science and Policy , Biological and Cultural Diversity , Education , Great Apes , etc.

Related links:

• Biodiversity in UNESCO
• International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
• Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity:
  The Role of Sacred Natural Sites and Cultural Landscapes (Proceedings of the Tokyo Symposium)
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Biosphere reserves as biodiversity laboratories
• United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
• Cultural Diversity and Ethics of Science and Technology