Many Species. One Planet. One Future. Did you know that you are one in a million? Or more precisely, one of millions on this wondrous planet - anywhere in fact between an estimated 5 million to 100 million species. Scientist have only managed to identify about 2 million species so far. If you think about it, that means there a huge amount we still don't know about our planet or whom we share it with. What we do know though is that humans are among only a handful of species whose populations are growing, while most animals and plants are becoming rarer and fewer. A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with extinction – from little-known plants and insects to charismatic birds and mammals. This is just the tip of the iceberg; many species disappear before they are even discovered. The reason? Human activities. With our present approach to development, we have caused the clearing of much of the original forest, drained half of the world’s wetlands, depleted three quarters of all fish stocks, and emitted enough heat-trapping gases to keep our planet warming for centuries to come. We have put our foot on the accelerator, making species extinctions occur at up to 1000 times the natural rate. As a result, we are increasingly risking the loss of the very foundation of our own survival. The variety of life on our planet – known as ‘biodiversity’ – gives us our food, clothes, fuel, medicine and much, much more. You may not think that a beetle in your backyard or grass growing by the roadside has a fundamental connection to you - but it does. When even one species is taken out of the intricate web of life, the results can be catastrophic. For this reason, the United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. It is an opportunity to stress the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, reflect on our achievements to safeguard it and encourage a redoubling of our efforts to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. The theme of WED 2010 is “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” It echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of people and millions of species all share the same planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. As we celebrate WED, let us consider carefully the actions each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on Earth. Through WED, we can employ our individual and collective power to stem the tide of extinction. Our conservation action has brought some species back from the brink, and has restored some vital natural habitats around the world. On WED, let us resolve to do much more, and much faster, to win the race against extinction!

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon Biodiversity, the incredible variety of life on Earth that sustains us, is in peril. Species are becoming extinct at the fastest rate ever recorded. Most of these extinctions are tied to human activities that are polluting and depleting water resources, changing and degrading habitats and altering the global climate. From frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects, thousands of species are in jeopardy. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”, echoes the call of the International Year of Biodiversity to stop this mass extinction and raise awareness about the vital importance of the millions of species that inhabit our planet’s soils, forests, oceans, coral reefs and mountains. Our health, well-being and sustainable future depend on this intricate, delicate web of ecosystems and life. The global host of the 2010 WED celebration is Rwanda. This small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa is rapidly earning a reputation as a green pioneer. Home to 52 threatened species, including the rare mountain gorilla, Rwanda is showing how environmental sustainability can be woven into the fabric of a country’s economic growth. Despite its many challenges, including poverty and widespread land degradation, the “land of a thousand hills” is working to reforest, embrace renewable energies, pursue sustainable agriculture and develop a green vision for the future. This year, Kigali will be the heartbeat of a global, multicultural, intergenerational celebration of our planet, its millions of species and the countless ways in which life on Earth is interconnected. On World Environment Day, I appeal to everyone – from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito – to help us sound the alarm. Get involved, speak out. Learn and teach others. Show leadership and help clean up. Reconnect with nature, our life force. Together, we can develop a new vision for biodiversity: Many Species. One Planet. One Future. return to top UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner The urgency to better manage the planet’s natural assets is a key theme of World Environment Day 2010, coming as it does half way through the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity. Every year, an estimated $2 to $ 5 trillion is lost--almost without notice or comment-- from the global economy as a result of the degradation and destruction of the planet’s nature-based resources. The near invisibility in national accounts of biological diversity and of the economically-important services of ecosystems such as forests and freshwaters is short changing the planet and its people. 2010 is a year in which this status quo needs to be firmly and decisively challenged in order to halt the loss of species and catalyse a far more intelligent management of the natural world. This is a central thrust of the Green Economy, an initiative of UNEP and a response to the multiple challenges, but also multiple opportunities at hand. It is gaining resonance and traction across the globe among world leaders, businesses, citizens and the UN system. Rwanda, the main host for global WED celebrations in 2010, is a shining example of how transformational change can be embraced-- not only in developed but also forward-looking developing economies. President Kagame has raised the environmental bar across the Continent and indeed the world by calling for a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy. In doing so he articulated a new direction for action on poverty alleviation by linking the future of Africa’s economy with investing in environmental sustainability. The public give politicians the license to operate. If the Green Economy is to take root world-wide, the time has come to galvanize governments in part by building community awareness and public action from the grass roots up. WED 2010’s theme is Many Species; One Planet; One Future—it is high time that the one species with the power to make positive change recognized these fundamental facts.