The Second Curitiba Meeting on Cities and Biodiversity

At the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly and with a view of engaging all stakeholders for protecting life on Earth, 2010 has been declared as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). To mark this important event, Brazil, one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, convened in Curitiba an international event to celebrate the richness of life on Earth. The celebration, which took place on the margins of the Second Curitiba Meeting on Cities and Biodiversity, on 6-8 January 2010, was attended by 95 participants, including representatives of 18 cities from around the world and the national focal points for the Convention on Biological Diversity from Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Other participants included specialists in urban biodiversity and green infrastructure, NGOs and ICLEI, a partner in the CBD Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity. Aside from Mayor Beto Richa of Curitiba, plenary speakers included Acting Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira of Brazil, Minister Mah Bow Tan of Singapore and Ms. Kobie Brand, ICLEI Director for the African region. Mayor Juergen Nimptsch of Bonn sent a video message in which he committed to support the CBD´s Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity.

To read more about the Curitiba Cities and Biodiversity Meeting, and the celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity, see the following press release.