 How many of us have heard about the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity? Back in 2010, at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan, governments agreed to a Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
The goal of Decade on Biodiversity is to support the implementation of the Plan and to promote its overall vision of living in harmony with nature. The actual Plan is aimed at implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)--which has three objectives: The conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity, the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The point is, biodiversity (the variety of life on earth and its interdependence) matters. Deeply. Desperately. Urgently. Biodiversity is literally life, it is the health of the planet. Diversity makes living things adaptable--and we need all the adaptability we can get, with climate changes, fragmented ecosystems, habitat loss and destruction, diseases, and a host of other ills. But biodiversity is declining globally at an alarming rate. With loss of biodiversity comes loss of genetic diversity, which means fewer kinds in a group that can handle the changes and still thrive--so we are basically diminishing chances at adaptability. As biodiversity disappears, we are actively weakening our resiliency (not to forget our food security). What to do? Safeguarding Space for Nature and securing our future: developing a post-2020 strategy is a symposium (sponsored by the Zoological Society of London and other groups) that is taking place on February 27th-28th in London where international scientists,conservationists, policymakers, community leaders, business people, students and so on, are coming together to discuss what happens beyond the CBD’s targets of protecting at least 17% of land and freshwater and 10% of our oceans by 2020. Over the next few years, governments will be reviewing the current Strategic Plan and considering a new strategy to meet the vision of conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services and a healthy planet for all by 2050, as part of the wider 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Because wildlife populations are declining so rapidly, there are proposals from groups like Nature Needs Half to make 50% of the planet a nature reserve. Some scientists are suggesting integrated patterns of wildlife areas and linkages so that wildlife can move throughout these and preserve genetic diversity between populations. Since world population will continue to grow, and since most of us will continue to live in cities, greening our urban areas, making them more friendly to nature is something that we can all do (more below). But scientists are asking us to look at the peripheries of our cities, where there are opportunities to enhance biodiversity. There are especially cities that are hotspots of biodiversity and need even more focus. From the Atlas of the End of the World, “It is important to note here that although our mapping….is based on particular endangered species, 'biodiversity' does not only mean individual animals and plants; it means the complex web of life which creates a healthy and resilient ecosystem, without which, no city can survive. Cities are generally preoccupied with their commercial and cultural centers whereas----they now need to look to their peripheries, for it is there that nature and culture are at loggerheads and it is there that the long-term environmental health of a city will be largely determined.” So how do we create and support more biodiversity at home, in our neighbourhoods, cities, provinces and country? First off, educate ourselves. Who is doing what? Canada has a biodiversity strategy! Canada has set Biodiversity Goals and Targets for 2020. Our national goals and targets support the global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 adopted by Canada and other Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010. The primary responsibility for conserving biodiversity and ensuring the sustainable use of biological resources is shared among provincial, territorial and federal governments. The Strategy recognizes that governments cannot act alone to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of biological resources and therefore, invites and encourages all Canadians to take action in support of the Strategy. Visit biodivcanada.ca to find out more.
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The best medicine for the winter blues is getting outside as well as planning for the spring! Check out our list of events below to brighten your day.Events are in partnership with Trees Please Hamilton, another joint program of Environment Hamilton and the Hamilton Naturalists' Club.
Rain Gardens & Other Green Infrastructure: Approaches to Manage Storm Water in Hamilton* Tue March 27, 2018 | 7pm-9pm 429 Main St E | Perkins Centre | Free How to Build a Rain Garden 101* Tue April 10th, 2018 | 7pm-9pm 1429 Main St E | Perkins Centre | Free Everything You Need to Know About Gardening with Native Plants* Tue April 17th, 2018 | 7pm-9pm 1429 Main St E | Perkins Centre | Free Native Plant Sale at the Royal Botanical Gardens Sat April 21st, 2018 | 9am Identifying Invasive Plants and What You Can Do* Tue May 29th, 2018 | 7pm-9pm 1429 Main St E | Perkins Centre | Free |
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