International news

Every year, we use some 500 billion plastic bags. Every year, as much as 13 million tons of plastic finds its way into the ocean. Every year, 17 million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic.

Opening with a traditional greeting from Charles Patton, a respected elder in the Mohawk Community of Kahnawa:ke, the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was celebrated yesterday in Montreal at an event gathering together senior officials from the Government of Canada, the province of Quebec, the City of Montreal, representatives of the diplomatic corps and dignitaries from around the world.

25 years ago, in December 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force. It was the realisation of a project for sustainable development that had taken the world decades to achieve.

The rich variety of life on Earth is essential for the welfare and prosperity of people today and for generations to come.

Statement of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, on the occasion of the Ministerial Roundtable on Forest-based Solutions for Accelerating Achievement of the SDGs, at the thirteenth session of the United Nations Forum On Forests, New York, 7 May 2018.

Rachel Carson, the late American biologist and conservationist, suggested "there is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds... something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter."

The May 2018 edition of the Global Partnership for Business and Biodiversity newsletter is now available.

Plastic is everywhere, a part of our daily lives. However, the convenience of plastics now threatens the very survival of our planet.

Statement of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cristiana Pasca Palmer, on the occasion of the Seventeenth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations Headquarters, 16 to 27 April 2018

On 12 April, Sir David Attenborough joins the head of the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity and a panel from government, business and civil society to discuss how to mobilise global action to tackle what is said to be the greatest threat to humanity: the biodiversity crisis.