Biodiversity Day Messages

WED // 10.3.2021

Messages for the International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May 2022: "Building a shared future for all life"

On this page, you can find messages in support of biodiversity from governments and key figures in environmental sustainability. Messages from civil society, including individuals, are on the community messages page.

Guidelines for submitting messages

UNSG

Message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations

PDF: عربي - Deutsch - English - Español - Français - Русский - 中文

Message from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Watch on YouTube | PDF | mp4 (with no subtitles) | prproj file

Messages from COP Presidencies

	COP 3 Presidency: Argentina H.E. Mr. Juan Cabandié, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development
	COP 7 Presidency: Malaysia H.E. Mr. Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Bin Hassan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
	COP 9 Presidency: Germany H.E. Ms. Steffi Lemke, Minister of the Environment
	COP 10 Presidency: Japan H.E. Dr. Michael Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Minister of the Environment Watch on YouTube \| PDF
	COP 15 Presidency: China H.E. Mr. Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment

Messages from Governments

	Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Md. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
	Bhutan We Are Biodiversity
	Burkina Faso S.E. Dr. Maminata Traoré/Coulibaly, Ministre de l’Environnement, de l’énergie, de l’eau et de l’assainissement
	Canada H.E. Mr. Steven Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment
	Chad S.E. M. Mahamat Ahmat Lazina, Ministre de l’Environnement, de Ia Pêche et du Développement Durable
	India Mr. Justin Mohan, Secretary, National Biodiversity Authority
	Morocco S.E. Mme. Leïla Benali, Ministre de la Transition Énergétique et du Développement Durable
	Democratic Republic of the Congo S.E. Mme. Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Ministre de l’Environnement, du Développement durable et du Bassin du Congo, coordonnatrice technique de la Commission climat du Bassin du Congo
	Singapore H.E. Mr. Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration

Messages from UN Agencies

	AEWA Mr. Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
	CITES Ms. Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General, Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
	CMS Ms. Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Statement (PDF Format - 115Kb)
	FAO Mr. QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
	GEF Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO, Global Environment Facility Watch on YouTube \| Press Release
	IPBES Ms. Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary, Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
	Minamata Convention Ms. Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary, Minamata Convention on Mercury
	UNDP Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme Watch on YouTube \| Press Release (en - es - fr)
	UNEP Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme
	UNFCCC Ms. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Watch on YouTube \| PDF

Messages from Subnational Governments

Argentina - Senate
Mr. Pablo Daniel Blanco, Senador Nacional

Messages from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities

	IIFB Mr. Ramiro Batzin, Co-president, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity
	FILAC Sr. Gabriel Muyuy Jacanamejoy, Secretario Técnico, Fondo para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de América Latina y el Caribe
	SWBCN Kirant Indigenous wishes from Nepal for Biodiversity Day

Messages from Organizations

	ACB Ms. Theresa Mundita Lim, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
	OTCA Ms. María Alexandra Moreira López, Secretaria General, Organización del Tratado de Cooperación Amazónica
	BNT Mr. Eric Carey, Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust
	EcoSikh Ravneet Singh, Project Manager
	GPC Prof. K. C. Bansal, Member, Board of Directors, Global Plant Council
	ICLEI Ms. Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
	PIRT Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation on behalf of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme serving as PIRT Secretariat
	Ramsar Ms. Martha Rojas-Urrego, Secretary General, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
	SPREP Mr. Sefanaia Nawadra, Director General, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
	UNEP-WCMC Mr. Neville Ash, Director, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
	WCF Ms. Bardha Kushutani von Kappelgaard, Project Director, on behalf of World Climate Foundation
	WEF Ms. Akanksha Khatri, Head, Nature and Biodiversity, World Economic Forum
	WWF Mr. Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International
	WWF Mr. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Leader of Climate and Energy, World Wildlife Fund

Past messages

Messages for the International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May 2021: "We're part of the solution"

Message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Biodiversity Day 2021

Subtitles: العربية - English - Español - Français - Português - Русский - Swahili - 中文

Transcript: العربية - English - Español - Français - Italiano - Português - Русский - Swahili - 中文

Video files (mp4): العربية - English - Español - Français - Português - Русский - Swahili - 中文 - no subtitles

Audio (mp3)

Message from the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on Biodiversity Day 2021

Transcript - Video file (mp4)

Messages from COP Presidencies

	COP 2 Presidency: Indonesia - H.E. Dr. Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Minister of Environment and Forestry
	COP 5 Presidency: Kenya - H.E. Mr. Keriako Tobiko, CBS, SC; Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry
	COP 6 Presidency: The Netherlands - H.E. Ms. Carola Schouten, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Transcript
	COP 7 Presidency: Malaysia - H.E. Datuk Seri Dr. Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Transcript
	COP 8 Presidency: Brazil - H.E. Mr. Ricardo Salles, Minister of the Environment
	COP 9 Presidency: Germany - H.E. Ms. Svenja Schulze, Minister of the Environment
	COP 10 Presidency: Japan - H.E. Mr. Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment Transcript
	COP 11 Presidency: India: H.E Mr. Prakash Jaadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
	COP 15 Presidency: China - H.E. Mr. Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment

Messages from Governments

	Bangladesh - H.E. Md. Shahab Uddin MP, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
	Canada - H.E. Mr. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
	European Commission - H.E. Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner
	Grenada - H.E. Mr. Simon Stiell, Minister with Responsibility for Climate Resilience and Environment
	India - Mr. J. Justin Mohan, Secretary, National Biodiversity Authority (see also COP11 Presidency above)
	Republic of Congo - H.E. Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Tourism and Environment

Messages from UN Agencies

	AEWA - Mr. Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary, Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
	CGIAR - Mr. Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director-General of the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), CGIAR
	CITES - Ms. Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Transcript
	CMS - Ms. Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
	FAO - Mr. Qu Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Transcript
	GEF - Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility
	IPBES - Ms. Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
	IPPC - Mr. Avetik Nersisyan, Officer in Charge, Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention
	ITPGRFA - Mr Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
	UN - Mr. David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
	UNCCD - Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
	UNDESA - Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
	UNEP - Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme
	World Bank - Mr. David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group

Messages from Subnational Governments

Bonn, Germany - Ms. Katja Dörner, Mayor

Watch in German

Messages from Organizations

	AMEE - Dr. Carlos A Faerron Guzman, Associate Director, Planetary Health Alliance and Dr. Judith Singleton, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy, Queensland University of Technology
	ACB - Ms. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Transcript
	BGCI - Mr. Paul Smith, Secretary General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International
	GPC - Mr. K.C. Bansal, Member, Board of Directors, Global Plant Council Written statement
	ICAR - Mr. Dipankar Saha, Head, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute
	IDE - Irish Doctors for the Environment
	Jane Goodall Institute - Ms. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace
	Ramsar - Ms. Martha Rojas Urrego, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
	WWF International - Mr. Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International

For messages between 2002 and 2020, please visit the individual pages.