Beautiful Nature: June 2017

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

The Youth Guide To Biodiversity - Dedicated To All The Youths Worldwide

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition, Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Last pages...Verbatim.

Glossary

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Glossary) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission. Verbatim.

List of Species

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Annex B) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission. Verbatim.

mosquito on red petal.

© iStock

In addition to one or more common names, every internationally recognised species has a unique scientific name. It consists of two names, usually Latin or Greek words, that are always italicised (or underlined if the name is written by hand). The first name is the genus (generic name), and begins with a capital letter; the second is the species (specific name), and is written in lower-case.

Contributors And Organisations - Annex A

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Annex A) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission. Verbatim.

A rooster in a market near Totonicapan, Guatemala.
© Lénaïg Allain-Le Drogo (age 14)

Conclusion - Chapter 13

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Jennifer Corriero and Ping Ya-Lee, TakingITGlobal, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 13) Youth and United Nations global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

Now that you have read through the Six Simple Steps Towards Change, you are ready to lead your own biodiversity action project to success. Remember that these steps are only guidelines and you may want to set your own path. There is no perfect system or path to success because each situation is unique.

6. Have A Lasting Impact

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

Monitoring your project throughout each stage will help you to best respond to changes that occur along the way and have a lasting impact. It is helpful to set out indicators or measures of success to make sure you stay on track. The more specific your indicator, the easier it will be to achieve your achievements.

5.Plan And Get Moving - Develop An Action Plan

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

© FAO /Riccardo Gangale

By now you have identified biodiversity issues of concern, you’ve learned more about the issues, and have recognised your skills and those of your team. You have also learned about the importance of networking and connecting with people who can help you to achieve your goals. You are ready to develop and implement an action PLAN.

Biodiversity Matters International Youth Symposium For Biodiversity

Chapter 13. Michael Leveille and Daniel Bisaccio. Verbatim.

“The sharing of information and collaboration with students from other nations bring us closer together and help us all to realise that we do indeed live in a global village.”

Clint Monaghan, delegate director Second International Youth Symposium for Diversity

Community Action To Improve The Environment

Chapter 13. Kate Buchanan, WAGGGS. Verbatim.

Member Organisations of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) carry out many projects around the world.

Here are two examples of projects tackling environmental issues.

Both projects won an Olave Award for outstanding community service work at the WAGGGS World Conference in 2008.

Girl Guides of Malaysia: “Recycling for Unity” project

3. Lead And Get Others Involved - Lead Your Project To Success

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

Identifying your skills and characteristics will help you LEAD your project to success. Start by understanding your own strengths and needs, and then consider how creating a team could help you better achieve your goals. Helping your team members identify and leverage their own strengths and talents for the project is an important part of leadership. It is also important to ensure that all those involved are able to share in the vision of what you are trying to achieve.

The United Nations Decade On Biodiversity

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Jennifer Corriero and Ping Ya-Lee, TakingITGlobal, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 13) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 13. David Ainsworth, CBD. Verbatim.

You are part of nature’s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it.

Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, supports the living systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on. We know that our actions are causing biodiversity to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate. These losses are irreversible, make our lives poorer and damage the life support systems we rely on every day. But we can prevent them.

Identify And Get Informed - Identify The Issues

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

Refer Back to your reflections on the biological resources that you would like to conserve, protect or restore. Now you can IDENTIFY and narrow down the biodiversity issues that are more important to you.

Case Study: Elluminate Fire And Ice Organic Garden Project

Chapter 13. Annika Su, Taiwan. Verbatim.

Annika Su (left) and her classmates, Ruo-chi Kong, Huei-chu Wu and Yu-yin Tsai, at Fongsi Junior High School, Taiwan, accept a 2009 Global Junior Challenge

award on behalf of the Elluminate Fire & Ice Organic Garden Project.

© Cindea Hung

In 2006, Abel Machado School in the tiny community of Massambará, Vassouras, Brazil, participated in an online event that challenged schools to implement one activity to combat climate change in their local area. The event was organised by the non‑profit global collaboration initiative, Fire & Ice, started by Elluminate, an e-learning and virtual conferencing technology provider based in Canada.

Case Study: Mt. Kenya Youth Initiative For Ecosystem Restoration

Chapter 13. Sylvia Wambui Wachira, Kenya. Verbatim.

Sylvia Wambui Wachira (left) plants a tree

seedling with a student at Kabiru-ini secondary

school, Karatina, Kenya.

© Sylvia Wambui Wachira

The Mt. Kenya Youth Initiative for Ecosystem Restoration (MKYIER) is a volunteer-run community organisation, founded by urban and rural youth, to address deforestation in the Nyeri North district of Kenya.

Sylvia Wambui Wachira, MKYIER co-founder and programme manager, describes how she and her friends started the organisation and how they empowered a new generation of forest stewards, one school at a time:

Ask Yourself

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

1. Reflect And Get InspiredReflect On Your Passions

Take a moment to REFLECT on the biodiversity issues that matter most to you. Imagine a world of unlimited natural beauty and diversity, where humans live in harmony with the Earth's biological and natural systems. What would that world look like?

Six Simple Steps Towards Change

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

These Six Simple Steps Towards Change have been adapted from the Guide to Action, created by TakingITGlobal, in consultation with young global leaders from around the world.

You can use these steps to help you to plan and execute your own biodiversity project:

1. Reflect and Get Inspired

2. Identify and Get Informed

3. Lead and Get Others Involved

4. Get Connected

5. Plan and Get Moving

6. Have a Lasting Impact

Biodiversity and You - Chapter 13

Chapter 13. Verbatim.

Translucent butterfly in France.

© Zoe Hamelin (age 19)

After reading this guide and learning about the importance of biodiversity and the threats to biodiversity, get ready to take action on the issues that matter most to you. Young people around the world are leading successful projects to protect and restore the biosphere. Now it’s your turn to take action: learn the six simple steps that you can take to start an action project that will help to ensure that the world’s biological resources are protected for future generations.

Major Conventions, Treaties, And Organisations That Work On Biodiversity Globally

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Claudia Lewis, Plan C Initiative, Carlos L. de la Rosa, Catalina Island Conservancy, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 12) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Putting The Pieces Together - You Can Make The Difference

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

We can all make a contribution in supporting biodiversity conservation efforts. While most of us would be content to act locally on biodiversity issues that are most accessible to us, we all have the potential to make a difference at both the national and global level.

You can also find out and contribute to local, national and international programmes and projects in a variety of ways:

The Cudbury Cocoa Partnership

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Harvested mature cacao fruits (yellow) and

fresh cocoa beans (white).

For more infpormation, visit: www.innovation.cadbury.com/ourresponsibilities/cadburycocoapartnership/Pages/cadburycocoapartnership.aspx

The Earthshare programme assesses the impact of cocoa farming on biodiversity. Universities, students and volunteers work together to collect scientific information needed to help preserve biodiversity, to improve farming practices and to increase productivity.

How Non-Governmental And Civil Society Organisations Help To Conserve Biodiversity

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

At the core of many biodiversity efforts are non-governmental organisations, or NGOs. An NGO is an organisation that is not part of a government; it exists for the purpose of advancing and promoting the common good, working in partnership with communities, governments and businesses to realise important goals that benefit all of society (see box: “The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership”).

Local Communities And Grassroots Actions...Continued #2

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Local Community Involvement In Biodiversity Protection In Mexico

The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico is home to some 2 000 people, mainly of Mayan descent. Its mission is to integrate human activities with the rich biodiversity of the region without harming the natural environment. Including local people in its management helps to maintain the balance between pure conservation and the need for sustainable use of resources by the local community.

Local Communities And Grassroots Actions...Continued #1

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

The Srinharaja Forest Reserve is Sri Lanka’s last piece of fairly intact and viable tropical rainforest. The communities that depend on this forest for their subsistence have created village-level community organisations that have a say in biodiversity conservation decisions.

Working in partnership with government organisations, these community CSOs actively manage and promote projects such as special zoning for various types of uses, research on selective logging and conservation of endemic flora and fauna. These organisations help change attitudes of other local residents about conservation and lead to observable results. Since the project began, for instance, illegal logging in the area has been reduced by up to 75 percent.

Local Communities and Grassroots Actions

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

The success of conservation programmes and measures, whether government initiated or not, ultimately depends on human behaviour and community action.

This is especially true of international-level programmes. No matter how clever a strategy to conserve biodiversity may be, or how strict the international treaties ratified are, unless people in the relevant areas embrace them, success is impossible or short-lived at best.

What Can Countries Do To Protect Biodiversity?

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

There are many types of actions that can be implemented at national or sub-national level to tackle biodiversity issues.

These include:

National Ang Sub-National Action

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Each country in the world is unique; even neighbouring countries often have different histories, customs, forms of government, needs, languages and sometimes unique ecosystems. Given this, conservation programmes must therefore be tailored to the specific conditions of a country.

The Convention Of The Conservation Of Migratory Species Of Wild Animals

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Verbatim from the bottom of the map: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

Also known as CMS or the Bonn Convention, this 1993 international intergovernmental treaty sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species across the planet. At present it includes 113 countries from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The Importance of International Level Action

Chapter 12. Verbatim.

Many issues related to biodiversity transcend political boundaries, so what a particular country does or does not do affects others.

Here are some examples where international level actions are important:

:: International fishing regulations are needed to help prevent the over-exploitation of marine resources.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Tuesday, June 6, 2017