The official closing ceremony of the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) will take place in Kanazawa, Japan on 18 and 19 December.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

The IYB won the coveted Best Green International Campaign Award.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations has designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) to celebrate the importance of biodiversity and highlight the different threats facing this irreplaceable natural wealth across the globe.

UNESCO: Global Deal to Protect Nature

Through the IYB, UNESCO actively brought its know-how in the science, education, culture and communication of biodiversity issues to making the IYB a lasting success for the future of life on the planet.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

Throughout the IYB steady progress was made towards the establishment of an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) on the model of the IPCC, pivotal in assessing the science and raising global awareness of climate change.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

In January 2010, to launch the IYB, UNESCO organized a high-level event in Paris, launched the official IYB travelling exhibit with a wide range of partners in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Environment Facility, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Airbus.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

The IYB activities, including those of UNESCO, contributed significantly to the successful outcome of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) which took place in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010 where a new ten-year strategic plan and a new international treaty on access and benefit sharing from genetic resources were adopted.

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples