Get behind nature on International Day of Biological Diversity

Today is a day to celebrate life! Today is International Day for Biological Diversity and this year's focus is Biodiversity for Sustainable Devlopment.

This is a a huge theme central to the future of biodiversity and human wellbeing. We cannot continue to treat the loss of biodiversity as an issue separate from the core concerns of society. We will be much more likely to achieve objectives such as reducing poverty and improving the health, wealth and security of present and future generations if we give biodiversity and ecosystem services the priority they deserve.

Targets set to significantly reduce he rate of biodiversity loss and the reduction of poverty have been missed in recent years. Further massive losses of biodiversity are increasingly likely, with inevitable consequences for human wellbeing, unless we act to address the underlying causes.

These are big challenges, and there are no simple solutions.

And the threats to nature continue.

Today our urgent attention is focused on Europe where the laws that help biodiversity and sustainability are under threat. That's why the BirdLife Partnership has joined together with more than 100 environmental organisations to mobilise the general public to tell the EU Commission that they want Europe’s nature laws to be maintained, better implemented and enforced. 

The BirdLife International Partnership has an impressive track record of working locally, nationally and globally to create the environmental conditions for sustainable development. Working with communities, government, and across sectors in some of the world’s biologically most important places, BirdLife Partners are demonstrating that it is possible to bring about the changes required for living sustainably on our planet Earth.

On BirdLife's datazone you can access case studies on biodiversity conservation and sustainability from the links listed below.

Nature underpins ecosystem services, livelihoods and human wellbeing

• Nearly half of all bird species are used directly by people
• Birds control insect pests in farmlands and forests
• Nature and people’s wellbeing: examples from Europe
• 'Nature-friendly' fish-farming techniques in Hungary bring economic benefits
• ‘Birding routes’ in South Africa: integrating livelihood development with biodiversity conservation
• Ecosystem services demonstrate the socio-economic value of Important Bird Areas
• The sustainable use of wetland resources can benefit both wildlife and local communities
• Understanding local needs: the role of Important Bird Areas in peoples livelihoods 
• Community led wetland restoration in Nigeria
• Managing coastal wetlands for people and biodiversity in the Humber estuary, UK
• Safeguarding wetland ecosystems is vital for local communities
• Developing sustainable livelihood options will help communities adapt to climate change
• Healthy forests are benefiting local livelihoods in Pakistan
• Mangrove ecosystems provide numerous benefits including protection against sea level rise 

Unsustainable practices are degrading the natural capital on which we all depend

• Human impacts on the planet are growing—to the extent that we are compromising our own future
• Biodiversity must be conserved to achieve sustainable development
• In current global markets, oil palm plantations are valued more highly than ancient forest
• The perverse economics of habitat conversion
• Globally, agricultural land has expanded six-fold since 1700 and Endemic Bird Areas have suffered
• Agricultural expansion is a major threat to birds, and appears to be increasing in importance
• The past 40 years have seen dramatic increases in global production of tropical export commodities
• Farming is destroying the Brazilian cerrado—one of the world's richest savannas 
• US corn ethanol boom is putting pressure on declining grassland birds in the Prairie Pothole Region
• Sugarcane plantations in the Tana River Delta threaten Kenyan birds, biodiversity and livelihoods
• Agricultural intensification threatens Important Bird Areas in Europe
• Agricultural intensification has caused the decline of many common bird species in Europe
• The forests of Asia, in particular, have suffered from unsustainable forestry practices
• The rapid loss of Paraguay's Atlantic Forest and the status of protected areas
• In Papua New Guinea, deforestation for oil palm plantations is causing declines in endemic birds
• Biofuel plantations on forested lands: double jeopardy for biodiversity and climate
• Overexploitation is a threat to many large and conspicuous bird species
• Unsustainable exploitation of birds is most prevalent in Asia
• Fisheries are targeting smaller fish with serious implications for seabirds 

We must invest more in nature

• How much do we value wild nature?
• Those who benefit from biodiversity conservation should pay the costs
• More needs to be invested in biodiversity conservation, especially in developing countries
• An effective African Protected Areas network needs more resources but represents excellent value
• A strategy to finance conservation of protected areas: an example from Madagascar
• Security or sustainability first? The fate of Endemic Bird Areas depends on the choices we make
• Using direct payments as an incentive for Important Bird Area conservation in Madagascar

Mainstreaming sustainable practice amongst grassroots groups, governments and the private sector

• Business needs to take biodiversity on board
• Finding ways to offset private sector impacts on biodiversity
• A local cooperative has improved livelihood and resource management at an IBA in Rwanda
• Empowering local communities can lead to better natural resource management
• Towards sustainable hunting in the Middle East
• The traditional approach of Hima: conserving Important Bird Areas and empowering local people
• Working with Community Forest Users Groups in Nepal
• Grassroots groups unite against unsustainable development in the Gulf of Thailand 
• Strategic partnership: CEMEX, the global cement and aggregates company, and BirdLife International
• Developing a market-based solution to the bird trade in Indonesia
• Wildlife-friendly farming versus land sparing
• Sustainable, locally-driven forestry can be more desirable than an outright logging ban
• Local self-regulation can be more effective at ensuring sustainable resource use than outright ban
• Rewilding may offer a sustainable alternative to traditional management