(Photo by Polina Shulbaeva)

Background

As the global community considers the mid-term review of the revised Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2020), the post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals, there has been a corresponding rise in interest in the biological and cultural dimensions of diversity; the interactions between them; their connection to social and economic development; as well as their role in building resilience against natural and human induced change and more broadly the power of local action. Issues of cultural and biological diversity, community conservation and the power of local action are indeed at the heart of the three goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They have inspired the SCBD, together with a number of partners, including Korean Civil Society and local communities to develop a weekend of activities to celebrate, draw attention to and consider the possible contributions of biological and cultural diversity, community conservation, customary sustainable use and the power of local action to the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the Aichi targets.

Proposed Programme

The proposed weekend of activities was an interactive participatory experience including multi-stakeholder international and local perspectives. The programme was designed to bridge the gap between nature and culture in the context of the issues considered by COP 12.