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Following a recommendation of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at their conference in October 2010, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2011 - 2020 as the UN Decade of Biodiversity (Resolution 65/161).

The UN Decade aims to make a contribution to achieving the revised and updated global biodiversity targets agreed at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held last year in Nagoya, Japan.  The biodiversity targets and a new strategy take into consideration the ongoing biodiversity loss on a global scale.

The Resolution (click here for text) requests the UN Secretary General to coordinate the activities of the Decade with the support of the secretariats of the CBD and other biodiversity-related conventions and relevant UN funds, programmes and agencies.  In addition, it invites Member States if possible to contribute to the funding of the activities of the Decade.

The UN Decade of Biodiversity coincides with and supports the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 adopted at CBD COP10.  A strategy to celebrate the Decade will be made available to the Parties by the CBD Secretariat.

The revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs) will be expected, as mandated by CBD COP 10, to cover the full range of activities needed to implement all biodiversity-related conventions (such as the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels).

Extracted and adapted from the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) web site (click here to read the full CMS story.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 January 2011