In May: Participate in a biodiveristy day
What is biodiversity and why do we need to help preserve it?
The term biodiversity or biological diversity refers to all species (flora and fauna) that live on the Earth. It can also describe the diversity between individuals of a same species (also known as genetic diversity) and the diversity of ecosystems and how the species that inhabit them interact with each other. This means that biodiversity is all around us and that we, you and me, are part of it.
We all depend on biodiversity and often tend to forget about it. Instead of helping preserve it, we often support processes that incorporate destruction or fragmentation of habitat, multiple forms of pollution, over-exploitation of land and forest and over-production of green house gases leading to climate change, to name just a few. Therefore it is important to reverse this trend and start acknowledging the species and ecosystems we live in. With simple daily actions we can all contribute and make significant changes to help save our planet and its biodiversity. You have been able to find out about a series of actions already through this Sustainability in Action initiative and this month we would like to encourage you to participate in a biodiversity day – either at your work or at home, or maybe even both.
On May 22, every year, the International Biodiversity Day by the United Nations takes place. This initiative aims at increasing understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues with changing topics from year to year. Last year the focus lay on biodiversity and forests and this year Marine Biodiversity is in the spotlight. The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diveristy, Mr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, said that ” … [The Aichi Biodiveristy Targets] address the sustainable harvest of fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants, and the establishment of greater levels of protection for coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services. And by 2015, the multiple anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable ecosystems impacted by climate change or ocean acidification are to be minimized.”
In order to minimize the multiple anthropogenic pressures placed on marine ecosystems every single one of us is asked and required to help save them. In March we asked you to only consume sustainably sourced fish, and outlined ways on how you can easily adapt these changes to your daily lives. This month, how about hosting a special eco-friendly fish picnic on May 22? For example, you could encourage your colleagues at work to bring sandwiches made with sustainably sourced fish, some local and seasonal vegetables and fruit juice to enjoy a ‘lunch-out’ together in the city park or lawn closest to you. Try to walk or bike to the park instead of taking your car and please do not leave any litter behind.
You could even take it a step further and discover local flora and fauna on your walk to the park or you could go visit the closest eco-farm nearby your office. This would then not only help you relax and carry out an activity for biodiversity, but it could also enhance the cohesion in your team. Other great ideas for preserving local biodiversity at your work place include greening the façade of your building or building nests and shelters and setting them up around your company’s building.
Many conservation associations, such as the Bristiol BioBlitz initiative ask for help from volunteers to surveying and monitoring species for them. Therefore please contact your local conservation association, wildlife trust or university (if they have a biology department) and find out if you can be of help.
Putting biodiversity on your plate is also helpful when it comes to food and the Slow Food movement provides an excellent array of ideas and local incentives to help preserve biodiversity in your daily lives.
Do you live close to a beach? If so, the Surfriders Foundation in Europe is asking you to join their beach clean up incentives.
And many more great actions for biodiversity can be found here.