A focus on key biodiversity issues
This section describes a few biodiversity-related domains where UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme is particularly active and where it brings value-added to other international initiatives on biodiversity:

• Biodiversity Science and Policy: Biodiversity is a complex area, and there are many scientific aspects of it that require further elucidation. Scientific information on biodiversity is important to help to build the basis on which to take informed policy decisions.

• Biological and cultural diversity: Natural systems cannot be understood, conserved and managed without the recognition and respect of the human cultures that shape them. Together, biological and cultural diversity hold the key to ensuring resilience in both ecological and social systems and understanding the links between nature and culture is crucial for its safeguard. UNESCO’s involvement in sacred natural sites and cultural landscapes as areas of biodiversity conservation is an obvious outcome of the shared work it carries out in the natural sciences and culture sectors. Another good example of the strong linkages between cultural heritage and biological diversity conservation can bee seen in the project “Quranic Botanic Gardens network” in the Arabian Peninsula developed by the UNESCO Doha Office.

• Biodiversity Education: UNESCO works with a number of constituencies in promoting education and outreach on biodiversity, combating desertification, climate change, ecosystem services and other issues that are key to achieving sustainable development. UNESCO is also the United Nations designated leader agency of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-20014).

• Great apes: Gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans are on the very edge of extinction. Yet their survival is directly depending on our capacity to counteract habitat fragmentation - one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. UNESCO has united with key international partners to address the crisis.

Read an overview of all UNESCO activities related to biodiversity (PDF format)

Related links

• Press Coverage:
  International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
• Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity:
  The Role of Sacred Natural Sites and Cultural Landscapes (Proceedings of the Tokyo Symposium)
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Biosphere reserves as biodiversity laboratories
• United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
• Cultural and ethical concerns