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Brussels, 18 May 2006 - In time for the 22 May 2006, which is the International
Day for Biological Diversity, GreenFacts has published a popularised version
of the Millennium Assessment Report on Biodiversity. It is available at www.greenfacts.org/biodiversity/
in English, and soon also in French, Dutch and Spanish.
The summary was produced in partnership with IUCN (the World Conservation Union),
Countdown 2010 and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity marks the 16th
anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity. According
to this Convention, Biodiversity – the number, variety, and variability
of living organisms – is not just about plants, animals, microorganisms
and their ecosystems, but also about humans and their needs such as food security,
clean air and water, as well as a healthy environment.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) was launched by UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan in 2001 to provide scientific information concerning the consequences
of ecosystem change for human well-being and options for responding to those
changes. It involved over 1300 scientists from 95 countries and produced a series
of assessment reports.
"Only by understanding the environment and how it works, can we make the
necessary decisions to protect it," said Kofi Annan in a message launching
the MA reports. "The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is an unprecedented
contribution to our global mission for development, sustainability and peace."
The Biodiversity Synthesis Report is one of several thematic synthesis reports
published by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. A popularised version of the
overarching synthesis report “Ecosystems and Human Well-being" has
also been published by GreenFacts at www.greenfacts.org/ecosystems/.
About GreenFacts
GreenFacts asbl/vzw is an independent non-profit organization based in Brussels
that publishes faithful on-line summaries of authoritative scientific documents
on environment and health matters in several languages. These summaries are
presented as questions and answers in three levels of detail, making the scientific
consensus easily accessible to non-specialists.GreenFacts was created in 2001
by individuals from scientific institutions, environment and health organizations,
and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased scientific information
on environment and health topics.
Further information
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