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| | | International Year of Biodiversity 2010 |
Maintained by CoML
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| | What is biodiversity? | | |  Biodiversity means the variety of life at all scales – from genetic diversity within a species, to the number of species and the diversity of ecosystems. E.O. Wilson coined the word ‘biodiversity’ in 1986. In 1993, recognizing the threats to biodiversity from human actions, countries agreed to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
On a small scale, genetically distinct sub populations and subspecies need to be conserved to maintain the range of functions and values. At a larger scale, the diversity of community types present in a region, such as on rocky coasts, deltas, sandy beaches, coral reefs merit conservation to maintain ecosystem functions. An example would be the multi-species fish complexes, which are harvested commercially from the Gulf of Mexico, with its diverse communities of estuarine mudflats, coral reefs and the broad continental shelf.
Adapted from Begon, M; Townsend, C R; Harper, J L. (2005). Ecology. From Individuals to Ecosystems. Blackwell Publishing Ltd | | Photo title: Greek sponge divers photographed in Tarpon Springs, Florida (USA) about 1931 | | Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives courtesy HMAP, Census of Marine Life | | | | Why 2010? | | |  Marine biodiversity events throughout 2010 have included the inauguration on 21 January at UNESCO in Paris, the launch of the film Océans from Galatée Films, France on 27 January, the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May, World Oceans Day on 8 June and the release of the first Census of Marine Life on 4 October. For more activities.
In April 2002, biodiversity conservation was taken to a higher level when the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed themselves to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. This target was subsequently endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the United Nations General Assembly and was incorporated as a new target under the Millennium Development Goals. At the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) held in Japan in October 2010, the Parties undertook an in-depth review of their marine and coastal program. Global Biodiversity Outlook is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with its third edition Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 launched in 2010. | | Photo title: Making the film Océans | | Photo credit: Mathieu Simonet, Galatée Films | | | | Marine Biodiversity and the Census of Marine Life | | | The Census of Marine Life, a foundation partner of the UN Atlas of the Oceans, is a global network of 2000 researchers in more than 80 nations. They have been engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. Partnerships among the Census of Marine Life, the Encyclopaedia of Life and the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) will go far towards documenting all 230,000 known marine species. The world's first comprehensive Census of Marine Life - past, present, and future - was released in London, UK on 4 October 2010.
The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) established under the Census of Marine Life (CoML), has expanded to provide identification and location information on more than 167,000 marine species. OBIS now has 27.7 million records from 13 regional nodes around the globe. OBIS is a globally integrated, geo-referenced quantitative information system which serves as a clearinghouse for Census data. In June 2009, the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) adopted a resolution accepting OBIS into its International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) program to ensure its continuity beyond 2010. More details on this are available on the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) site. |  | | Photo title: Census of Marine Life logo | | Photo credit: Census of Marine Life | | | | |
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