Hírek a nagyvilágból

The theme for this year's International Women's Day, "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality", is well-aligned with the ambitious Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, which integrates gender equality and women's empowerment as a cross-cutting theme across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, making it clear that equality and empowerment are a necessary part of a sustainable future.

Integral to the balance of nature, wildlife nurtures us with a sense of wonder and serves as a source of inspiration.

Biodiversity - the diversity of life on Earth - underpins the natural resources that provide food and livelihoods throughout the world. For many women, biodiversity serves as the cornerstone of their work, their belief systems and their basic survival.

Ratifications by Togo and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has brought the total number of ratifications to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to 72.

It is a pleasure to join you here in Kuala Lumpur for the fourth session of the IPBES Plenary. We come together for a very exciting moment in the history of IPBES, when the Plenary will be presented with the first two assessments for its acceptance and approval.

For three days in Mexico City over 65 women and men working on issues related to gender and biodiversity in Mexico came together to share experiences and provide input into the development of a gender-responsive National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).

First, I would like to congratulate the Arab Society for Fungal Conservation for declaring 20 February as Egyptian Fungus Day. This initiative truly demonstrates commitment towards conservation of biodiversity and promoting the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Official Representatives of the Parties to seven global biodiversity-related conventions met at the United Nations Office in Geneva from 8 to 11 February 2016 to explore ways to strengthen synergies and improve efficiency among the conventions with a view to enhancing their implementation at all levels.

The theme of this conference, "biodiversity for sustainable development", could not come at a better time. Finally, the world is waking up to the essential role of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems for all life on earth, including humans and our well-being. The opportunity for us to make lasting change has arrived.

With the aim to encourage positive action for biodiversity and inspire others by showcasing the notable work of those it honours, nominations are now invited for the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2016. The call for nominations remains open from 15 February to 30 June 2016.