Institute of Biodiversity Conservation

Addis Ababa 11 May 2008 – A one day training workshop on Gender Mainstreaming in Biodiversity Conservation was conducted to Create awareness on gender and development concepts, highlight the conditions of women in Ethiopia, the Legal and affirmative actions taken by the government, show opportunities and future directions to address gender, insight the Importance of mainstreaming gender in development programs, particularly in Biodiversity.

Montreal: 6 June 2008 –World Environment Day was celebrated in Montreal yesterday by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Montreal diplomatic community by the hoisting for the first time of the United Nations flag at the entrance to the Montreal World Trade Centre, which has been host to the Convention Secretariat since January 1996. Also participating in the event was the President of the Group of 77 and China at the United Nations in New York. The theme of this year’s Day is “Climate change: kicking the CO2 habit”.

There is nowhere else quite like it on Earth. More like hell say the very few who have made it there. It is a place where rivers die, boiling water spurts out of rocks and smoke curls up from holes in the ground. The landscape is dotted with bright yellow sulphur fields, green crystal pools and sparkling salt beds. This is the Danakil Depression, a basin in north-eastern Ethiopia, close to the Red Sea.

The United Nations proclaimed 22 May the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. With respect to this proclamation the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (IBC)/Ethiopia and its key stakeholders and collaborators have celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) at Wendo Genet where remnant natural forests are found and the oldest and highly productive Forestry and Natural Resources College is located. On 21 May 2008, all the invited guests and IBC staffs visited the Wondo Genet Field Genebank and Mr. Belachew Wassihun, Head of Medicinal Plants Genetic Resources Department (IBC), gave a brief explanation about the conservation activities since the establishment of this field Genebank to conserve the genetic resources of Medicinal, Horticultural, Forage and Pasture plants.

Bonn, 30 May 2008 –Representatives of 191 Parties and over 100 ministers have produced significant new measures to increase the network of protected areas and to negotiate an international set of rules on access to and sharing of the benefits of the rich genetic resources of the world. In so doing, they made a major contribution to the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target.