2010 Intl. Year of Biodiversity and Rapprochement of Cultures

(January 5, 2010) The current year 2010 is being observed by the United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity and the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. In a bid to curb the unprecedented loss of the world's species due to human activity – at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression – the UN is focussing on biodiversity, with a slew of events highlighting the vital role the phenomenon plays in maintaining the life support system on planet Earth. “Humans are part of nature's rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it,” the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said in summarizing the Year's main message, with its focus on raising awareness to generate public pressure for action by the world's decision makers. It said that biodiversity losses caused “by human activity are irreversible, impoverish us all and damage the life support systems we rely on every day.” “But said we can prevent them,” it added. 2010 is also being marked as International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. The goal of the observance is to make the rapprochement of cultures the hallmark of all policy-making at local, national, regional and international levels, involving the greatest number of relevant stakeholders.