Hands up all those who knew that 2010 was to be the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB)? I will not be surprised if this event has passed most people by but the activities are to be launched in London on 25 Nov 09. More details can be found on the
website of the lead organisation, the Natural History Museum.
The United Nations has declared the following aims for the IYB
- to increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity for our well-being;
- to halt the loss of biodiversity, which is currently up to 100 times greater than the rate of natural extinction; and
- to celebrate success stories.
This may not be exciting stuff, but there is a close linkage between ecosystem services (or natural services) such as the provision of water, food and fibre from our moorland, and the carbon storage / sequestration function, and the need to maintain moorland habitats in a healthy, diverse condition. Biodiversity may be an 'old', overused concept, but linked to the latest concept of ecosystem services, it gains a new lease of life.
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