2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). The United Nations launched the IYB on 12 January in Berlin and called on the world to act to slow down the rate of biodiversity loss.

Below you can watch a message on video from the official IYB website. The  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who has said, “Business as usual is not an option.” This means that we cannot continue to watch as biodiversity is lost. We have to prevent more loss because biodiversity is life.

Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, the Executive Secretary of the CBD has also said, “Biodiversity is life and without biodiversity, there is no life on earth. It’s our food. It’s our water. It’s our forest, our fish. So without biodiversity, there is no life. So biodiversity is about our life and life on earth”.

The BirdLife Partnership, which Nature Seychelles part of, is an official partner of the International Year of Biodiversity. BirdLife’s work on birds, habitats, and communities. By using birds it has helped to keep track of how well we are doing to conserve biodiversity. For example here in the Seychelles, improvement of areas where birds live such as Cousin Island Special Reserve,  have not only helped the birds but other animals such as skinks and turtles. Cousin Island has also helped to conserve life in the sea.   And people also benefit when biodiversity is conserved. there is a better environment for people to live in and more food for people to eat. But we have to use biodiversity in a way that ensures that we live some for tomorrow and the future.

Organizations like the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are warning us that we are loosing many species at a rapid rate. “The abundance of species has declined. Species present in rivers, lakes and marshlands have declined by 50%. Declines are alarming in amphibians, mammals, birds in agricultural lands, corals and commonly harvested fish species.” Says IUCN. Most of this loss is caused by humans activities. So we must do something to help these species.

For example, our governments are being asked to balance economic development with maintaining and improving ecosystems and habitats. Farmers are being asked to develop farm diversity and reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizer and adopt organic agriculture practices. 75% of all fisheries are fully exploited or over-fished, therefore there is a need for us to use fisheries well or there will simply be no fish left for tomorrow. And climate change has to be combated to ensure that species survive. At individual level, not wasting, and re-using and re-cycling whatever is used can help to conserve biodiversity.

You can learn more about sustainable living by downloading the “Learning for Sustainable Living Seychelles book” on the publications page.

This year, Nature Seychelles will help create awareness here in Seychelles and around the world about biodiversity by using the media and other information channels. look out for more articles on biodiversity in the coming weeks.