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Spotlight on nature and biodiversity

Ocean Image Bank/Gregory Piper

Nature is humanity’s lifeline. Human health, food, economies and well-being depend on nature. Yet nature is in crisis. One million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. Meanwhile, ecosystem degradation is affecting the well-being of 40 per cent of the global population.

The spotlight on nature and biodiversity highlights updates from around the UN System, from partners and others, helping to call attention to the need for a just, prosperous and sustainable future for all.

22 Apr 2025 15:03

Explore papers on reimagining the human-environment relationship this Earth Day

People on a crop field
Credit: UNEP

 

This International Mother Earth Day, explore a collection of papers on alternative voices on reimagining the human-environment relationship curated by UNEP and the UN University Centre for Policy Research in the lead-up to Stockholm+50 in 2022.

The curated collection of ideas captures, interrogates, and elevates alternative paradigms of the human-nature relationship—existing and new and from various disciplines and societies—creating a space to recast our relationship with the environment and inform future policymaking.

Last updated at
16 Apr 2025 14:15

An action plan for Caspian Seals

Caspian sea recession
Credit: Simon Goodman, University of Leeds

 

As the interim Secretariat of the Tehran Convention, UNEP provides a platform to unite science and policy and prioritize sustainable development across the unique Caspian Sea region.

Dr. Simon Goodman, a prominent researcher on the Caspian Sea at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, together with UNEP and littoral countries, has developed an action plan for Caspian Seals.

A recent paper he led, involving researchers from five countries and published in Nature magazine, finds that a decline in Caspian Sea levels of 5-10 metres will threaten ecosystem integrity, reduce the coverage of marine protected areas by up to 94%, and compromise key infrastructure such as ports. Regional capacity for biodiversity monitoring, conservation planning, and sustainable development must be enhanced, coastal communities supported, and protected areas created with flexible borders, the paper argues among its recommendations.

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14 Apr 2025 18:06

What is the international agreement to protect the high seas and why is it important?

A turtle bobs near the surface of the ocean
Credit: Andalou/via AFP Ozge Elif Kizil

 

This week, delegates from around the world will gather in New York City to discuss what has been called one of the most important environmental accords in recent history: the Agreement on Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). 

The BBNJ Agreement— adopted in 2023— is designed to head off a brewing biodiversity crisis in the high seas. At the meetings in New York, backers are expected to call for dozens of nations to ratify the agreement, which must happen for it to come into force. 

Here’s a closer look at the agreement, and why it’s considered pivotal to the future of the ocean. 

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03 Apr 2025 16:09

Happy Birthday to Jane Goodall!

Last updated at
27 Mar 2025 14:25

A unified call for One Health: Driving implementation, science, policy and investment for global impact

A piece of land with animals
Credit: FAO

 

As global leaders in human, animal, plant and ecosystem health, the Quadripartite collaboration comprising – the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) – reaffirms its unwavering commitment to advancing the One Health approach. This integrated approach is essential to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, plants, and ecosystems and to address health risks at the human-animal-environment interface. Meeting at WOAH headquarters in Paris for the Third Quadripartite Executive Annual Meeting, we call for urgent, strategic, and sustained support and investments to scale up One Health implementation worldwide.

Full statement

Last updated at
21 Mar 2025 12:09

Handover of the Asia Pacific Regional Quadripartite Secretariat

People pose for a photo
Credit: UNEP

 

On 17 March, the Asia Pacific Regional Quadripartite Secretariat completed its chairmanship handover, transitioning from the World Health Organization (WHO) South East Asia to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Asia and the Pacific Office. The handover ceremony was held at the UNEP Asia and the Pacific Office in Bangkok, with representatives from Asia Pacific Quadripartite partners, UNEP Ecosystems Division Director Susan Gardner, and Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific Representative Dechen Tsering in attendance.

The two-day meeting focused on reviewing progress and aligning actions for the coming years to ensure ongoing support for One Health implementation across the region's member states.

More details on the event.

Last updated at
21 Mar 2025 04:49

Earth hour observance by the Convention on Biological Diversity

Forest reflected in a droplet of water
Credit: Unsplash/Heather Wilde

 

On 22 March, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., millions around the world will observe Earth Hour. This is a time to pause and reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature.

As a member of the United Nations family, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is firmly committed to “Greening the Blue." The premises of the Secretariat in Montreal offer smart energy-saving systems that dim non-essential lights in public areas. For Earth Hour, the Secretariat will also pause all activities on social media in a bid to raise awareness of the world’s growing digital footprint. 

Full article

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20 Mar 2025 17:09

How a grassroots financing model is helping Indigenous communities save the Amazon

An aerial view of the Amazon River.
Credit: AFP/Mauro Pimental 

 

In Peru, home to the second-biggest share of the Amazon after Brazil, a combination of factors, including wood extraction, mining, road construction and agricultural expansion, is driving deforestation, reports the International Research Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems (CGIAR). Much of that has happened on Indigenous lands, where poverty often forces community members into land use activities that compound deforestation, the report says. 

A United Nations-backed project is allocating more funds to communities to assist them in conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing forests. 

Find out more.

Last updated at
03 Mar 2025 15:53

Message from UNEP Executive Director on World Wildlife Day

 

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28 Feb 2025 21:07

"Even in challenging times, environmental multilateralism works."- Inger Andersen

Participants celebrating the adoption of the decisions
Photo by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

 

At the resumed session of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), Parties adopted key decisions that will drive the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework forward.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen emphasised the importance of environmental multilateralism in bringing countries together, concluding the work that began in Cali last year.

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Related Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1

Goal 1: No Poverty
+

Goal 2

Goal 2: Zero Hunger
+

Goal 3

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being
+

Goal 6

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
+

Goal 8

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
+

Goal 12

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production
+

Goal 13

Goal 13: Climate Action
+

Goal 14

Goal 14: Life Below Water
+

Goal 15

Goal 15: Life on Land
+
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