Tiny though some may be, islands play a huge role in
sustaining life on the planet – making up less than 5 per cent of
Earth’s landmass, they are home to 20 per cent of all bird, reptile and
plant species – and protecting their fragile ecosystems from
ill-considered development, polluted waters and invasive species is the
main focus of this year’s International Day for Biodiversity.
While islands and their surrounding near-shore marine areas face
immense challenges, especially those triggered by a rapidly warming
planet, the head of the Convention on Biological Diversity (
CBD)
is convinced there are “bright spots;” that the innovation, experience
and knowledge of islands and the communities that thrive among them can
contribute significantly to the conservation and sustainable use of
Earth’s biodiversity and natural resources.
“That’s the big agenda this year,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza
Dias, the Convention’s Executive Secretary, in an interview with the UN
News Centre. On the
International Day
and throughout 2014, the CBD Secretariat will aim to boost overall
support for islands party to the Convention and States parties that have
island territories to make better use of existing solutions, enhance
partnerships and mobilize more global attention to the threats islands
face.
Along these lines, the UN will be convening the
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States
from 1 to 4 September in Apia, Samoa, to focus worldwide attention on
the sustainable development of this unique group of countries.
 |
| Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias (left),
Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, speaks at special event on the occasion of the International
Day for Biological Diversity (22 May), on the theme "Water and
Biodiversity". UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz |
“We plan to keep up the momentum generated by the [spotlight cast on] islands and oceans at the 2012
Rio+20
conference,” said Mr. Dias, referring to the culmination of a series of
landmark UN meetings on sustainable development. Rio+20 was preceded in
2002 by the Johannesburg World Summit, which itself was preceded by the
historic 1992 Earth Summit, where nations agreed on what have become
known as the “Rio conventions:” the UN Climate Change Convention (
UNFCCC); the
Convention on Desertification; and the CBD itself.
 |
| Sunset in Havana. UN Photo/Milton Grant |
Noting the inextricable link between the fate of island biodiversity
and islands themselves, under pressure as they are from many of the same
threats, he said: “Islands are isolated and they have precious
biodiversity that is unique to them; if we lose this biodiversity…it its
gone forever,” he said, explaining why it is so vitally important to
keep the issue at the top of the development agenda.
“[They] are fragile ecosystems, facing threats from desertification,
as well as unsustainable fishing, forestry and agriculture.
Increasingly, with the onset of climate change, they are also being
threatened by sea-level rise and ocean acidification,” he added.
Major drivers of biodiversity loss are invasive alien species – both
animals and plants ¬– that colonize an island, out-compete the native
fauna and flora and destroy them. For a species to become invasive it
must “arrive, survive and thrive,” according to the CBD.
 |
| Mangroves Cut in Hera, Timor-Leste. UN Photo/Martine Perret |
And while it may be hard to imagine, surrounded as they are by water,
islands are often negatively impacted by desertification. “Some are in
regions with less rainfall. Some have poor irrigation [systems] or
manage ecosystems unsustainably. But generally, it’s driven by climate
change: it’s getting hotter and drier in many island regions,” Mr. Dias
said.
This led him to make a passionate plea for stepping up protection for
the world’s coral reefs: “[They] are like the ‘rainforests of the
oceans.’ Coral reefs are the richest ecosystems in the oceans, and
islands are where they are concentrated.”
 |
| Fishing off Atauro Island, Timor-Leste. UN Photo/Martine Perret |
Unfortunately, coral reefs are under serious threat –“perhaps the
most threatened ecosystems on Earth” – from overfishing, pollution and
of course, climate change. “As the water gets warmer, sea levels rise,
and as we put more CO2 into the atmosphere, the water filters that,” he
said, underscoring that reefs can be seriously damaged if their food
sources are disrupted or the waters around them become too acidic. “It’s
a huge challenge,” he lamented.
Against this backdrop, the CBD will be working with all countries to promote the aims of the
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020,
including Aichi Biodiversity Targets, adopted in Nagoya, Japan and
bolstered by the General Assembly’s decision in 2010 to declare the
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.
 |
| Marine Wildlife off Atauro Island, Timor-Leste. UN Photo/Martine Perret |
“We will be making a big push for partnerships and capacity-building
so that all countries can enhance their implementation of the strategy”
said Mr. Dias, explaining that the Strategy’s
20 targets
are grouped in five goals: reducing underlying causes of biodiversity
loss by tackling socio-economic drivers such as unsustainable production
and consumption; addressing “direct drivers” such as deforestation,
pollution, and unsustainable fisheries; boosting conservation efforts;
enhancing benefits to society; and enhancing instruments to help
implement the agenda.
As part of efforts on the International Day, the CBD along with the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) are launching the
Island Bright Spots in Conservation and Sustainability
report, which affirms that even though islands are more at risk than
ever before, leaders of island countries and countries with islands have
made visionary commitments at local, national, regional and global
levels.
 |
| Aerial views of the approach to Dili, Baucau. UN Photo/Martine Perret |
“The whole idea is to bring together and disseminate solutions to
help islands deal with threats. That’s the ‘bright spot.’ We don’t only
want to [highlight] the challenges, we want to show that there are some
good solutions,” he said, echoing the report’s focus on inspiring
projects to create or expand land and marine protected areas; tackle
invasive species; and address the impacts of climate change.
The report highlights, among other examples, the 2005 Micronesia
Challenge –¬ calling on the region to conserve 30 per cent of coastal
waters and 20 per cent of land by 2020 ¬– which demonstrates how
inspired political momentum leads to diverse initiatives on the ground.
The similar Caribbean Challenge Initiative, launched 2008, provides a
model for leveraging large-scale public and private sector commitment
towards common goals.
 |
| Egrets gliding over the small body of water in Tasi-tolu, Dili. UN Photo/Martine Perret | |
Egrets gliding over the small body of water in Tasi-tolu, Dili. UN Photo/Martine Perret
“We need to disseminate these lessons learned and encourage countries
and civil society organizations to make better use of them,” said Mr.
Dias. “We hope all countries will be able to make good use of this
information and develop initiatives to highlight the relevance of
biodiversity for their sustainable development.”
UNESCO and Island Biodiversity,
This
year, the International Day for Biological Diversity is dedicated to
“island biodiversity,” in line with the designation by the United
Nations General Assembly of 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States.
In September, Samoa will host the Third International Conference of
Small Island Developing States. UNESCO is helping to prepare this major
event, which will help to shape a new global sustainable development
agenda to follow 2015. This agenda must recognize the importance of
Small Island Developing States for global sustainable development.
Island biodiversity is essential here. Many islands and archipelagos
have evolved unique biodiversity over time, with a high rate of endemism
and particular conservation challenges, with species on small islands
being particularly vulnerable to extinction.
The livelihoods and
cultural identities of islanders have always been inextricably linked to
biodiversity. However, with the presence of people and associated
biodiversity —crops, livestock and pests—the risk of extinction to
native biodiversity is especially high, and novel communities of species
have largely replaced native island biodiversity in many places. Today,
climate change, natural disasters, and skewed development are
threatening the sustainability of human communities on islands as well
as island biodiversity.
UNESCO is acting to address these
challenges. The sub Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves (20
members) and the Network for Pacific Biosphere Reserves (10 members)
belong to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under UNESCO’s Man and
the Biosphere Programme. The World Heritage Convention
also includes many natural sites on islands.
UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission is building the
leadership capacity of the directors of marine and coastal sciences
institutes, with a focus on Small Island Developing States, where
livelihoods depend heavily on marine resources. The Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission’s
Ocean Biogeographic Information System is a gateway to the world's ocean biodiversity and biogeographic data and information,
building and maintaining a global alliance of over 500 institutions in
56 countries, including in Small Island Developing States.
UNESCO is also working through such initiatives as
Climate Frontlines and Sandwatch , to build the capacities of islanders and to develop networks that help communities to self-
organise and create their own resources that are culturally sensitive
and scientifically sound. This includes initiatives to help conserve
island biodiversity.
Throughout all of this, UNESCO is
committed to working with all partners for the implementation of the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, and the Organization is contributing full-steam to
preparing a successful Third International Conference of Small Island
Developing States. As we shape the post-2015 development agenda, we must
recognise the importance of island biodiversity and work together to
ensure the conservation of this precious and irreplaceable natural
resource, which is the basis of human
well-being.
Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May 2014.
in the city
in the country
in the forest
or on the coast
