IKI projects celebrate the Day for Biological Diversity

IKI projects worldwide contributed to the International Day for Biodiversity.

Since 2000, the International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated every year on 22 May. This year’s topic of the Day for Biodiversity was “Mainstreaming Biodiversity; Sustaining People and their Livelihoods”. For this reason, emphasis of the activities was put on ecosystem services and their essential importance as source of life for all human beings. Different projects of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) joined this event with several activities.

For instance the IKI project Sustainable Management of Costal and Marine Protected Areas works in India and released several films about threats for costal and marine biodiversity. One of the films explains for example what measures have been taken so far in order to protect the unique biodiversity of India’s more than 7000km coast line. In the context of the Day for Biodiversity, volunteers met for a clean-up event at Velas beach in the federal state Maharashtra. The beach is nesting ground of the Olive Ridley Turtle that lays its eggs in the sand. In addition, the project organized a nature trek with presentations about bird watching and snakes.

Moreover, different discussions about biodiversity management and the importance of biodiversity for human well-being took place.

On the Philippines, different IKI projects set up several activities. The IKI project on Forest and Climate Protection in Panay on the Philippines organized a clean-up event in Igbaclag Cave and its surrounding forest in San Remigio. The action aimed at the local population in order to strengthen the awareness of the importance to keep trash out of the cave and the forest, and to maintain the forest around the cave in a good condition. Another project started a country-wide photo competition under the slogan “Selfie for biodiversity” to attract young people in particular for nature conservation and to participate in actions.

A three-day exhibit held at a Training Center for Biodiversity Management highlighted stories of the importance of biodiversity and its link to the livelihood of the community through videos, photos and short stories.
Another project in the three provinces Albay, Davao Oriental and Eastern Sama set up different activities involving local partners, schools and shopping centres, highlighting habitat protection for the Philippine Eagle and its nesting sites.

The IKI project “Global Ideas” of the TV-broadcaster Deutsche Welle presents the fight for the conservation of our planet of four different indigenous communities in Tanzania, Palau, Guatemala and Australia on its multimedia internet platform. Another video deals with the problems of biodiversity protection in the face of poor financial resources. With the example of the IKI project BIOFIN the video shows how long-term financing improves biodiversity protection.

The International Day for Biodiversity is an initiative of the United Nations and reminds of 22 May 1992 when an agreement was achieved on the text of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In order to preserve the unique variety of ecosystems, species and genes of our planet, the United Nations proclaimed the Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020. The 13th meeting of the contracting parties takes places from 4-17 December 2016 in the Mexican city Cancún.

Through its International Climate Initiative (IKI) the BMUB supports so far 161 biodiversity-relevant projects with EUR 657 million in funding, which support partner countries with the implementation of the Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity for the 2011-2020 period.