The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. It is intended to be "a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives". Countless initiatives will be organized to communicate the importance of biodiversity and encourage us all to take action to reduce the accelerating loss of biodiversity worldwide.

Whether we are aware of it or not, our lives are tightly linked with biodiversity in so many ways. This enormous variety of other animals and plants - including the places they live and their surrounding environments - provide us with the food, fuel, medicine and other essentials we simply cannot live without.

When biodiversity is lost it impoverishes us all and weakens the ability of the living ecosystems, on which we depend, to cope with growing threats such as climate change.
Yet this rich diversity is being lost at an ever accelerating rate because of us humans, all over the world.

"Counter the perception that people are disconnected from Nature"

Hence, the 2010 biodiversity year is about so much more than ethics and protecting endangered species from us humans; it is about finding ways to conserve and use biodiversity in sustainable and fair ways and manage ecosystems for improved human well-being.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon put it this way in November 2009 at the start of the pre-celebrations:

- In this International Year, we must counter the perception that people are disconnected from our natural environment. We must increase understanding of the implications of losing biodiversity. In 2010, I call on every country and each citizen of our planet to engage in a global alliance to protect life on Earth.

All in all, the International Year of Biodiversity is a unique opportunity to increase understanding of the vital role that biodiversity plays in sustaining life on Earth.

Go to the official International Year of Biodiversity website to find out a more about:

- The important role biodiversity plays in our lives and what is happening to it.
- What people are doing around the world to combat biodiversity loss
- How people are celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity
- Some of the resources available to you in your celebrations