Celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity

The International Day for Biological Diversity, held on 22 May each year, reminds us of the importance of protecting all forms of life on Earth in order to maintain the ecological balance of ecosystems. The loss of this balance by human actions constantly shows us the harmful consequences it entails, such as pandemics, loss of food production, increased damage in the face of natural disasters, contamination of natural environments, etc.

Conserving the fauna and flora that surrounds us, through a responsible use of natural resources in our daily lives, also means ensuring that future generations can depend on healthy ecosystems for water, food, health and well-being.

©Tunisian Ministry of Environment

The theme of this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity is “From Agreement to Action: Rebuilding Biodiversity”. Defined by the United Nations, this slogan defends the idea that, now that we have a globally agreed action plan, we must implement all the measures foreseen in the agreement before 2030.

©Tunisian Ministry of Environment

Celebration of May 22 2023, by Tunisian Civil Society

At IUCN we are convinced that Civil Society has a major role to play in improving territories through local actions. This is why the Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, IUCN-Med, has been supporting young civil society organizations (CSOs) in their biodiversity conservation projects in North Africa since 2014.

In this context, the Tunisian Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with IUCN and UNDP, decided to celebrate this World Day by visiting projects of Tunisian associations benefiting from IUCN-Med’s two CSO support programmes, PPI OSCAN and TransCap. During the visits, the Ministry of Environment and more than 50 participants discovered in the field, the agroforestry plots implemented for better water management and improved resilience of farms to the current climate crisis. Afterwards, a 3-hour hike organized by the organizations of the 2 programs, raised awareness about the fauna and flora in the mountains.

To follow the activities implemented by Civil Society Organisations for nature conservation in North Africa, register to our newsletter: 10.Newsletter – MUBADARAT (mubadarat-uicn.org)