This year’s World Migratory Bird Day is on May 14. It is celebrated yearly on every second Saturday of May and October. The commemoration day has been designated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in order to inform about the protection of migratory birds and their habitat as well as raising awareness. This year’s theme is „Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!“ and the focus will lie on the impact of light pollution on migratory birds. Worldwide, artificial light increases around 2 percent every year. Due to this often-underestimated threat the birds’ ability to undertake long-distance migrations is negatively affected. Also, disorientation at night and collisions with buildings occur more frequently.
May 20 was proclaimed World Bee Day by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 and serves as a reminder of the decline of the world bee population as well as their long-term and sustainable protection. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of bees to our biodiversity and survival and underscores the dangers bees are exposed to due to shrinking habitat, lack of food, and toxic pesticides.
May 22 is designated as World Biodiversity Day by the United Nations and this year’s slogan, “Building a shared future for all life”, was chosen to support the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will soon be adopted at the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference #COP15. Biodiversity is the answer to a variety of challenges surrounding sustainable development and is the foundation for climate and health issues, food and water security and sustainable livelihoods. This year, a list of 22 actions for biodiversity has been published to inspire action for nature. Please click here to access the list.
Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea, alongside its many partners, is committed to sustainable development on the Korean peninsula and the preservation of wetlands, birds and biodiversity in South and North Korea and cooperates in numerous projects on these topics.