World Wildlife Day ​is being observed today

#WorldWildlifeDay; #oceanlife; #UNEnvironment’sWildforLifecampaign; #AdrianGrenier

Toronto, Mar 3 (Canadian-Media): World Wildlife Day (WWD) was proclaimed on March 3 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2013 and has become the most important global annual event dedicated to wildlife, media reports said.

World Wild Life Day. Image credit: www.wildlifeday.org

On this very day the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed to raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants.

Underwater life is severely impacted by an “onslaught of threats,” but we already have the tools to positively influence ocean conservation, the UN said in a statement while declaring Mar 3 as WWD.

The theme of 2019 WWD is “Life Below Water: for people and planet.”

WWD has, for the first time, focused on life below water and recognizes the crucial importance of marine species to human development, and how marine biodiversity can be saved for future generations.

For thousands of years, marine wildlife had been providing coastal biodiversity to some three billion people for their livelihood and enriching lives culturally, spiritually and recreationally. 

But the over-exploitation of marine species, pollution, the loss of coastal habitats and climate change are posing great threats to human activity  both for the planet’s oceans and for human lives, particularly in coastal communities. 

Factors such as warming sea temperatures, ocean acidification and a range of land-based activities have caused the loss of half the world’s coral reefs and  nearly one-third of fish stocks are being consumed at unsustainable levels.

This year, UN Environment’s Wild for Life campaign, which aims to conserve wildlife on land and oceans, has ramped up its awareness-raising efforts.

In an exclusive interview with UN News, Adrian Grenier -- who was designated a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2018 in recognition of his long-standing environmental activism -- said that we can all make a contribution to improving the oceans and marine life: “Overfishing is a problem, so we want to reduce it as much as possible; consider where food comes from; and make sure it's organic, because a lot of the chemicals in pesticides sprayed on crops end up running off into rivers, and can poison the sea.”

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​