Biodiversity Matters International Youth Symposium For 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. 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  

Young people today are needed and can be meaningfully involved in protecting one small ecosystem at a time for their future and for the future of all generations. 

Youth conferences are one way in which young people amplify the impact of their ideas and work. 

At biodiversity symposia such as HabitatNET (Mexico, 2005) and Biodiversity Matters (Canada, 2009), youth from around the world gather to share information ans strategies on youth-led projects that are making a difference.

Here are a few examples of actions that young people, like you, are undertaking: 

:: High school students in Japan are protecting, breeding, and researching local owls. 

:: In Ottawa, Canada, a team of elementary and middle school students are protecting an inner city marsh, and have recorded over 1 340 species.

:: A group of students from Southern India are studying and restoring a young forest sanctuary named Aranya. 

:: Secondary students from Mexico and the United States are working together to protect habitats required by migratory bird species that spend part of their lives in both countries.

These types of projects are becoming a reality becauseyouth are taking initiative and leading the way. 

You can make a difference too! 

Start by attending the next International Youth Symposium for Biodiversity. Join a local environmental group. Or plant a tree at your school as part of The Green Wave (greenwave.cbd.int).For more information, visit: biodiversitymatters.org