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International Day for Biological Diversity
[6.21.2003 | ]
The International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22nd, raised a red flag about the fragility of our natural environment. With 33 UNESCO World Heritage sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger many due to threats to biodiversity and fragile ecosystems- the need to protect natural areas containing globally-significant biodiversity and fragile ecosystems is more urgent than ever.
World Heritage sites are inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger when they are at risk of losing the very attributes for which they were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. To date, there are 20 natural sites inscribed on the Danger List, including five natural parks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ichkeul National Park in Tunisia and the Everglades National Park in the United States of America. The goal of the Danger List is to generate international solidarity for the assistance needed (ie: funds, training, expertise, etc.) to restore the sites qualities and preserve it for future generations to enjoy.
"Biodiversity is an essential heritage for all humankind, declared United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan on this years Biological Diversity Day. Stopping its loss, and guaranteeing the continued functioning of the earth's ecosystems - both marine and terrestrial should be a high priority for everyone, he added. "International and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and each and every individual have a role to play in changing entrenched outlooks and ending destructive patterns of behaviour...".
In commenting on the role of UNESCO World Heritage Centres new partnerships initiative (PaCt) in protecting biodiversity, Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, highlighted the UNESCO - UN Foundation Partnership that has been in place since 1999. The UN Foundation has mobilized, through the work of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNDP and a number of other intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, US$ 30-40 million for biodiversity conservation in designated and potential World Heritage sites harbouring globally significant biodiversity, said Bandarin. These funds are being used to control and eradicate invasive species threatening the unique fauna and flora of Galapagos, pay guard salaries and other basic operational costs for the maintenance of the World Heritage sites in conflict-ridden regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and promote innovative ways of designing cluster and transborder World Heritage area nominations in Central African, Indo-Malayan and Madagascar rainforests as well as in the tropical coastal and marine waters if the Caribbean and the Pacific, he concluded.
Several other UNESCO and UN agency projects financed by the UNF and a number of partners, including the private sector, implement projects linking sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation and provide ample opportunities for the "involvement of local communities" as stressed by Mr. Annan. The wide ranging appeal of World Heritage for biodiversity conservation has triggered the interest of a growing number of well known international conservation NGOs who are reaching out to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and its technical advisor The World Conservation Union (IUCN) to launch projects in support of World Heritage biodiversity conservation.
In November 2002, when the World Heritage Convention celebrated its 30th anniversary in Venice, Italy, UNESCO, UNF and the Conservation International (CI) of USA announced a US$ 15 million partnership for World Heritage biodiversity conservation for the period 2003-2005. In a workshop held in Trieste, Italy in connection with the 30th anniversary celebrations in Venice, Fauna and Flora International (FFI) of the United Kingdom pledged that it will work with the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO and IUCN to set up a Rapid Response Facility to mitigate threats to World Heritage Biodiversity sites.
According to Mr Ishwaran, the World Heritage Centre is in close contact with the Montreal-based Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and a Memorandum of Co-operation between the two Conventions is currently under discussion.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has recently published the Proceedings of a Marine Biodiversity Workshop, which is available online: http://whc.unesco.org/series/papers_04.pdf
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