Image credit: Jeff Griffith via Unsplash
Since 2013, when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared the 3rd of March UN World Wildlife Day, nations and organizations around the globe have marked it as a day to celebrate and bring awareness to our world’s diverse wild animal and plant species. But even as we celebrate the natural world and all its glory, World Wildlife Day is also an opportunity to examine the threats that face wildlife and to reflect on and advocate for solutions to protect and restore natural systems.
This year, the theme of World Wildlife Day is “Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration”. Scheduled events will bring together representatives of UN member states, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector in a call for greater awareness of the need to protect key species and ecosystems.
According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, over 40,000 species are threatened with extinction. But that is only the beginning; a 2019 assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that as many as 1 million species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades as a result of human activities.
Continued loss of species, habitats, and ecosystems not only impacts wildlife but all life on Earth. We all rely on healthy natural systems – of which wildlife are a critical part – for our most basic and fundamental needs, including the air we breathe, healthy soils, and drinkable water.
This year, there will be over 40 events held throughout the world to celebrate World Wildlife Day. There will also be a live stream on the official World Wildlife Day youtube channel beginning at 8:00 a.m. (EST).
At OneNature, we strive to celebrate wildlife and our connection with the natural world every day of the year. But World Wildlife Day gives us all a moment to stop and consider how important nature is in our lives, as well as to the future of our communities and the planet itself. We hope you will take a moment today to celebrate wildlife today and every day!