The Union for the Mediterranean calls for preserving Mediterranean biodiversity in relaunching sustainable growth

May 26, 2020
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The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) joined the celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity as an excellent opportunity to increase awareness on biodiversity issues in the Mediterranean. Held under the theme, ‘Our Solutions are in Nature’, this year’s International Day underlines how biodiversity is not only the answer to a number of sustainable development challenges, but also crucial in safeguarding public health.

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated how vulnerable this increasing loss of biodiversity makes us and how important it is to restore the balance between human activities and nature. The IPBES Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem (2019) found that biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, with up to one million species facing the threat of extinction, many within decades.

The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, highlighted: “Sustainable cooperation mechanisms for biodiversity need more than ever to be at the heart of recovery plans after the COVID-19 pandemic. Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems are high on the agenda of the UfM, as they are crucial to preventing, and building resilience to, future outbreaks and providing immediate business and investment opportunities for restoring the region’s economy.”

 

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Press Release

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)

Countries covered:

  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Morocco
  • Palestine *
  • Syria *
  • Tunisia