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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:
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.
#DoOneThingToday to help conserve the world’s biodiversity
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.
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Deforestation continues at a worrying pace worldwide, except in temperate and boreal countries. It is caused by the race for land, underpinned by population growth and rising global demand for “deforestation-prone” products. Moreover, with climate change, mega-fires are now posing unprecedented threats to forests.
The Marseille Manifesto aims to capture a limited number of key messages that are globally and currently relevant and which relate to the Congress proceedings, including any notable and important commitments and announcements that emerged from Congress events. The focus is on the post-Covid recovery, the biodiversity crisis and climate emergency.
Following four busy and inspirational days of work, the Forum concluded its deliberations. During another bustling day, participants attended thematic sessions and high-level dialogues during the morning. In the afternoon, seven thematic plenaries outlined the main take-home messages from the Forum’s discussions, followed by the official Forum closing plenary.
While 2019 saw a general rise in all types of financial assets, 2020 turned out to be a tumultuous year. The coronavirus pandemic triggered sharp falls in February- March, followed by a sharp rebound from the end of March to the end of August, thanks to unprecedented monetary and fiscal support from the world’s major central banks and governments. The second wave of Covid-19 permitted further corrections in September and October, before a year-end upturn linked to excellent news on the vaccine front.
We hereby invite you to join the ceremony online. Due to the current German restrictions related to Covid-19, participation is made possible virtually. Please use the following link to follow the ceremony online on September 7th, at 10:00 a.m. CEST....
Let's commit together to "save the world's last lung and net positive tropical carbon balance" ... Download your invitation...
High-Level Event on International Engagement for the Protection of the Congo Basin Ecosystems and their vicinity. Theme: · Biodiversity and climate finance for the Congo basin rainforest and their vicinity, as a cost-effective nature-based solution. Date: September 05, 2021. September 5, 2021... Please download the press invitations...
To read: 'My hope is to see international action match the critical need'; Take part in the IUCN World Conservation Congress; GEF publishes data on IATI platform in transparency push; Integrated programming in the Global Environment Facility
The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) is hosting its Third Wildlife Forum with the aim of exploring how to support the implementation of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework ahead of the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to be held in Kunming, China.
Written by a group of experts specializing in conservation in Central Africa, with the financial support of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP) and the European Union (EU), through the BIOPAMA and RIOFAC projects, as well as GIZ, “Protected Areas of Central Africa: Status 2020” follows a first edition published in 2015, which has now become the flagship publication on protected areas in the region.
The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs is pleased to invite you, in person or virtually, to the event organized on Wednesday 8 September at 6.30 p.m. at the French Pavilion on the occasion of the IUCN World Congress in Marseille: "Alliance for the conservation of rainforests".
The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, The Gabonese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The National Group for Rainforests, the French Advisers for Foreign Trade and Africa Business Forum, Institut Choiseul, all supporting the Alliance for the Conservation of Rainforests, request the pleasure of your participation, during the IUCN World Congress in Marseille, to the event they jointly organize on Monday, September 6 at 5pm on the French pavilion, in person and virtually : "Creation of a Business Forum for implementation of sustainable value chains in Africa".
The Tropical Forest Symposium is therefore aimed at policy makers (in Germany and abroad), the German and international (expert) public as well as at tropical forest countries and donor nations. Please find the invitation to the Tropical Forest Symposium, which you can follow online on September 8th, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m CEST.
Indigenous territories in the Bolivian, Brazilian and Colombian Amazon avoid between 42.8 million and 59.7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. To commemorate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, David Kaimowitz explains why it’s time to join forces with indigenous peoples for the good of the planet.
On 17 February this year, Aruká Juma, the last elder of the Juma people in Brazil’s Amazonian rainforest, died of COVID-19. According to NGO Instituto Socioambiental, he is one of more than a thousand indigenous people to have died from the virus in Brazil, where COVID-19 has affected more than 150 native groups.
Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns has been one of the greatest global challenges over the past fifty years. With the adoption of Sustainable Development Goal 12, “Ensure sustainable consumption and production,” and rising interest in the circular economy model, there is an opportunity to set systems-wide goals for all societies, recognizing that key drivers and solutions lie in our economic, financial and governance decision-making.
The 9th Meeting of the CBFP Governing Council was held on Friday 16 July 2021 in Douala Cameroon by video conference at the Hotel La Falaise. This meeting was part of the CBFP's cooperation framework, which provides for the CBFP Council to meet twice a year, and followed Experts Meeting to follow up on the N'Djamena Conference on the development of country investment plans focusing on zoonoses, transhumance, the fight against cross-border poaching, security and sustainable development between the Sahel and the Congo Basin, which was held from 12 to 15 July 2021 at the same venue.
The matter of the Democratic Republic of the Congo taking over the rotating chairmanship of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in 2022 was discussed by President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and Mr. Gilberto Da Piedade Verrissimo, Chairman of the sub-regional economic organization’s commission on Monday, 2 August 2021 at the City of the African Union.
Videoconference, 30 July 2021 – Convened by His Excellency Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, President of the Republic of the Congo, Head of State, Current Chair of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the XIXth Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECCAS took place.
We are pleased to inform you that INTERHOLCO's headquarters are moving to a new office in Baar. Effective Monday, 23 August 2021, our new business address will be as follows: Neuhofstrasse 25, 6340 Baar, Switzerland. Business hours and telephone numbers will stay the same. Please update your contact book.
Central Africa currently has more than 200 protected areas covering a total of 800 000 km², or twice the size of Cameroon. Across the 10 countries of the region, the number and size of protected areas have doubled in the last 20 years.
The Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin Arlette SOUDAN-NONAULT, granted an audience to Dr Christian RUCK, Facilitator of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report is the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.
Please download the July newsletter of the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas. This month, some good news. On the one hand, no cases of COVID 19 have been detected in the region and the possibility of reopening the Park to tourism is being considered.
Slated to hold from 3 to 5 August 2021 in Brazzaville (Congo), the workshop will gather agriculture and forestry experts from the 11 ECCAS member countries, representatives of the African Union, COMIFAC, NEPAD, civil society organizations, and development partners (UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, BDEAC, CIFOR), among others.
Berlin, August 05, 2021, Sweden has officially joined the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP). In this connection, Sweden believes its activities in Africa fall in line with the principles outlined in the cooperation framework of CBFP members and COMIFAC’s convergence plan with which it has familiarised itself, aimed at promoting sustainable management of ecosystems and conservation of biodiversity in Central Africa.
Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, hosted a series of three workshops from 14 to 25 June 2021 at the Hotel PEFACO Maya Maya. The first workshop focused on the planning and consultation of the Network of Young Leaders for the Sustainable Management of Central African Forest Ecosystems (REJEFAC), the second on the Network of Parliamentarians for the Sustainable Management of Central African Forest Ecosystems (REPAR) and the third on the African Women's Network for Sustainable Development (REFADD).
The Honourable Dr. Christian Ruck, Federal Republic of Germany CBFP Facilitator gives a new impetus to the implementation of the N'Djaména Declaration - Douala (Cameroon) - 12 to 15 July 2002, an Expert follow-up meeting to the N’Djamena Conference was held to develop country investment plans geared towards transboundary transhumance, zoonoses, the fight against transboundary poaching, security and sustainable development between the Sahel and the Congo Basin. The Country Expert Meeting was held with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the technical support of the Federal Republic of Germany CBFP Facilitation and the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), GIZ BSB Yamoussa Project. The Press Release, the proposed political / institutional support, the roadmap for country investment plans and N’Djamena 2 and the task force specifications are available for download on the CBFP website...
On 19 July 2021, during its 44th session, the World Heritage Committee decided to remove Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) from the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger due to improvements in its state of conservation.
The human-wildlife conflict report: “A future for all: the need for human-wildlife coexistence” was published on July 8, detailing the complex nature of human-wildlife conflict, its impacts and how to address them so that people and animals can coexist peacefully. This pack raises awareness of the report, its significance and encourages people to raise greater awareness on the issue.
Results of the work of the geographical block WEST. Please download the Document here below:
Results of the work of the geographical block WEST. Please download the Document here below:
Results of the work of the geographical block CENTER. Please download the Document here below:
The weather in DS continues to be strange this year. In principle we should be going through a short dry period within the rainy season at the moment, for the rains to restart in August but the reality is that the rainy season has not yet started. There is so much uncertainty on what will happen now.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board at its twenty-ninth meeting, has allocated USD 500 million in GCF resources for new climate projects, and taken significant steps to strengthen results management for its growing portfolio. During the meeting, four (04) new climate projects were approved and will mobilise a total sum of USD 2,949 million for climate action in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with three of the four new projects targeting support to the most vulnerable countries including Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and African states.