International Day for Biological Diversity 2007

In acknowledgement of the mounting threats and opportunities associated with climate change and biodiversity, the 2007 International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD), on 22 May, was celebrated under the theme “Biodiversity and Climate Change”.

This complemented the designation of 2007 as the International Polar Year and coincided with the UNEP's World Environment Day theme of climate change.

Integration of climate change considerations into CBD programmes of work

In paragraph 8 of decision VIII/30, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD requested the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), to develop draft guidance on how to integrate relevant climate change impacts and response activities into the programmes of work of the Convention.

In preparation for the requested guidance, a number of activities have been implemented with the generous contribution of the Government of Canada. Activities aimed to provide technical and scientific guidance on 1) the integration of biodiversity considerations within adaptation planning (Adaptation Planning Database), 2) the links between the conservation of forest biodiversity and climate change including within the framework of reducing emissions from deforestation, and 3) the links between biodiversity, water, wetlands and climate change. In complement of these activities, the CBD organized a Roundtable on the Interlinkages between Biodiversity and Climate Change in Montreal on 19 and 20 March 2007.