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CITES - “Sustaining all life on Earth” announced as theme of World Wildlife Day 2020
Geneva, 19 November 2019: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) announced today the theme of United Nations World Wildlife Day 2020: “Sustaining all life on Earth”.
The year 2020, known as a “biodiversity super year”, will host several major global events that place biodiversity at the forefront of the global sustainable development agenda. It provides a unique opportunity to deliver transformative progress for the conservation and sustainable use of the species of wild animals and plants in response to global sustainable development challenges that can best be addressed with nature-based solutions.
The theme of World Wildlife Day 2020, “Sustaining all life on earth”, encompasses all wild animal and plant species as a component of biodiversity as well as the livelihoods of people, especially those who live closest to the nature. It also underlines the importance of sustainable use of natural resources in support of the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Goal 14 (Life Below Water), Goal 15 (Life on Land), Goal 1 (No Poverty) and Goal 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns).
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said: “Wildlife, namely the species of both wild animals and plants for the purpose of World Wildlife Day, is an integral part of the world’s biological diversity which has the greatest resonance with the general public. In the run-up to and on World Wildlife Day 2020 we will raise awareness of the multitude of benefits of wildlife to people, the interlinkages between the various components of biodiversity and the threats they are facing. It is also a good opportunity to call on governments around the world, civil society, private sector and individuals to add their voices and take actions to help conserve wildlife and ensure sustainable use before it’s too late”.
The CITES Secretariat, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and other UN system organizations, Member States, biodiversity-related conventions and civil society, are unrolling a series of global and national events and social media activities around World Wildlife Day 2020, including a high-level event at the UN Headquarters in New York on 3 March, a film festival and international youth art competition.
In line with the UN General Assembly Resolution proclaiming World Wildlife Day, the CITES Secretariat calls on all member States and organizations of the United Nations system and other global, regional and sub-regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and all interested individuals, to:
observe and raise awareness of the theme for World Wildlife Day 2020;
associate the celebrations with major national and international conservation events;
build collaborative partnerships;
organize campaigns to support the conservation and sustainable use of wild animals and plants and use targeted strategies to influence consumer behaviour and reduce demand for illegally-sourced wildlife and their products;
make use of the World Wildlife Day logo as widely as possible.
More information on the values of wildlife as a component of biodiversity, the interlinkage between genetic, species and ecosystem diversity, the various threats facing wildlife, and promotional materials to illustrate the theme will be made available at a later stage on the World Wildlife Day website and social media channels.
On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March – the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 – as UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants.
The UNGA resolution also designated the CITES Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. World Wildlife Day has now become the most important global annual event dedicated to wildlife.
World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2020 under the theme "Sustaining all life on Earth", encompassing all wild animal and plant species as key components of the world's biodiversity. This aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 14 and 15, and their wide-ranging commitments on alleviating poverty, ensuring sustainable use of resources, and on conserving life both on land and below water to halt biodiversity loss.
Earth is home to countless species of fauna and flora – too many to even attempt counting. This rich diversity, and the billions of years during which its myriad elements have interacted, are precisely what has made our planet inhabitable for all living creatures, including humans. Historically, we have depended on the constant interplay and interlinkages between all elements of the biosphere for all our needs: the air we breathe, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the materials we need for all purposes. However, unsustainable human activities and overexploitation of the species and natural resources that make up the habitats and ecosystems of all wildlife are imperiling the world’s biodiversity. Nearly a quarter of all species are presently at risk of going extinct in the coming decades, and their demise would only speed up the disappearance of countless others, putting us in danger as well.
This study therefore evaluated the contribution of NTFP valorisation to the livelihood assets of local people around the northern periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR), East Cameroon. To achieve this objective, data collected from 215 households in 32 villages were analyzed using factor analysis, Mann–Whitney U tests, and structural equation modelling.
(Business in Cameroon) - On September 4, 2020, the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo, signed two decrees temporarily suspending the operations of about twenty wood processing units in the Littoral region.
Here are some key elements on the update of the EUTR (European Timber Regulation) through the action of the European Union and EU member States to ensure its proper application, as well as an overview of the new Chinese forest law.
The Office on the Commemoration of the UN’s 75th Anniversary issued an update on the results of a global consultation on people’s fears and hopes for the future, on which respondents are “remarkably unified” across the world. Since January 2020, over one million respondents have participated, covering all UN Member States and Observer States.
Cameroon withdraws the decree of 14 July 2020 "classifying a 68,385 hectare portion of forest as State property, constituted as a forest management unit called FMU 07 006, located in the Nkam and Sanaga Maritime Divisions, Littoral Region".
Guillaume Manjolo recalled that Germany already supported the DRC in the years 1972 and 1982, in the construction of the Inga 1 site. Germany is coming back this time with an important dimension of strategy for the development of the energy sector in the DRC.
At the invitation of His Excellency Ali BONGO ONDIMBA, President of the Gabonese Republic, current President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the XVllth Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government was held on 30 July, 2020 by videoconference
At the invitation of Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Cameroon Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, current President of the Council of Ministers in charge of Forestry and/or Environment of COMIFAC member countries was held on 20 August 2020 by videoconference.
To read: EU and UK launch consultations on policies to reduce deforestation in supply chains; A win for Ebo forest, an unsettling broader picture in Cameroon; Mercosur disarray exposes EU Trade policy weakness...
This week saw the launch of the 5th edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5), the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It is a periodic report that summarises the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.
To read: British actor Peter Egan became the first ambassador of the Limbe Wildlife Centre; MINFOF-ZSL-LWC joint operation to rescue 8 endangered African grey parrots in South; Mandrill: Opened access to the densely grassed strip left fallow...
The experience of the BSB Yamoussa Binational Complex with the use of the Integrated Management Effectiveness tool. An integrated vision of the BSB Yamoussa Binational Complex, consisting of the parks of Bouba Ndjidda, in Cameroon, and Sena Oura, in Chad, fol-lowed by a critical analysis of the state of the sites, allowed effi nition of tai-lor-made interventions.
Following its Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests in 2019, the European Commission has finally opened a questionnaire-based consultation on policies needed to reduce deforestation and forest degradation associated with EU consumption of forest-risk commodities.
This online course organized by IFED in partnership with Queen's University of Canada will be delivered by high level lecturers. Professionals with positive experiences on REDD++ management and PES will also share their experiences you learners. Please also see hereafter the poster which summarizes the articulations of this training that scheduled from 05 to 09 October 2020.
Top 10 Lenders & Underwriters (2016-2020 April): See the 10 banks and investors with the highest financial exposure in loans and underwriting to forest-risk sector companies in Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa and Brazil. These findings are based on research carried out by forestsandfinance.org using this methodology to identify corporate loans, credit and underwriting facilities provided to the selected companies.
DAKAR (Reuters) - Cameroon has backtracked on a decision to allow industrial logging in one of the region’s least exploited rainforests, home to rare gorillas, tool-wielding chimpanzees and giant frogs.
I have been following with keen interest the ongoing debate on Ebo Forest. It represents the struggle of a country trying to balance developmental aspirations with ecological and cultural identity.
The Global Center on Adaptation today announced the launch of its regional office in Côte d’Ivoire. Hosted by the African Development Bank at its headquarters in the Ivorian capital Abidjan, GCA Africa will work with partners across the continent to scale and accelerate adaptation action that protects African communities from the impacts of climate change.
In view of the sanitary situation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, France and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have decided to postpone the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which was to be held in January 2021 in Marseille. New dates for the event will be announced in due course.
FOREST EDUCATION here is related to FORESTS, TREES OUTSIDE FORESTS, AND OTHER WOODED LAND (i.e., natural forests, forest plantations, woodlands, agroforestry systems and urban forests). It includes education delivered through programmes of forestry and forest sciences as well as programmes of broader scope, (e.g., natural resource management, environmental sciences).
The Strategy -Halting the dramatic loss of biodiversity requires a bold new approach for protected areas in terms of scope, structure, accountability and financing. As an instrument to serve this strategy we introduce the Legacy Landscapes Fund.
Following a negotiation process which was begun at the G7 Biarritz summit, then at the United Nations General Assembly, and spearheaded by our country, France and its partners, countries in the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin and South-East Asia, and European donor countries agreed on the text of a Charter establishing the Alliance for Rainforests.
One hundred twenty-eight environmental and human rights NGOs and experts today warn that a United Nations drive to increase global protected areas such as national parks could lead to severe human rights violations and cause irreversible social harm for some of the world’s poorest people.
To read: ATIBT welcomes RIFFEAC !; Deforestation is a political choice, but not a goal; PARTNERSHIP MFLS FOREZIENNE AND ISELI; ATIBT is relaying two EU public consultations including one on the EUTR. You can answer until November 26, 2020…
Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses to terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it provides1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity3; however, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge4.
Wildlife populations have fallen by more than two-thirds in less than 50 years, according to a major report by the conservation group WWF. The report says this "catastrophic decline" shows no sign of slowing.
To read: ITTO Fellowship Programme is open for applications; Nominations open for 2021 Wangari Maathai award; Air your views on future of forest education—deadline extended to participate in global survey…
´The science is clear, and the world’s top economic authorities agree: To safeguard human civilization as we know it, we must fundamentally change the way our societies and economies operate´.
To read: A new report from EcoAgriculture Partners reviews models of integrated landscape finance; Leaders of 1000 Landscapes Hold Strategy Workshop; Using Integrated Landscape Management to Scale Agroforestry: Examples from Ecuador.
Already in the late 1970s, EcoAgriculture Partners´ Sara Scherr and Louise Buck experienced the promise that agroforestry holds: improving livelihood security for smallholders, especially women and children. As they were working with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry’ (ICRAF) in Kenya, they were studying and promoting agroforestry as an approach to farming that integrates production and conservation functions.
To read: WFC 2021 in Seoul : Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests; Gabon : Inauguration of the new Precious Woods CEB factory by Minister Lee White; Important update - Study Overview of the private sector in the Republic of Congo…
There is less than a month to go before the UN General Assembly High-Level week which will, for the first time in history, be largely online. The UN Global Compact is inviting our entire network to attend Uniting Business LIVE, an online gathering of global business and sustainability leaders on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly from 21–23 September.
To read : Implementation of FLEGT REDD CERTIFICATION project activities in the DRC; Continuation of TRACER-DR project Communication in Gabon with FRMI and BRAINFOREST; ATIBT publishes its study on the impact of COVID-19 on the forest sector in the Republic of Congo…
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, 17th August 2020—Congolese artisanal fishers are increasingly turning to shark fishing because of increased scarcity of other stocks overfished by industrial fisheries: urgent legislative and management improvements are needed to prevent a collapse of shark fishing and protect local livelihoods finds a new TRAFFIC report.
Enrico Celio is a senior scientist with the chair “Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems” at ETH Zürich, and was a visiting fellow at EcoAgriculture Partners in 2018 in Washington, DC. He is interested in understanding how landscapes can be developed and managed in an inclusive and process-oriented way.
