Vietnam has planned various activities to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity 2023 (May 22), according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).

"A ceremony will be held to mark the day. In addition, a workshop will be held to coordinate actions to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Other activities will include planting trees, releasing wild animals in Ba Be National Park in Bac Kan Province and painting and photo exhibitions on nature and biodiversity conservation," MoNRE said in a release.

The ministry stressed that the activities aim to highlight the importance of biodiversity for human life and raise public awareness on the conservation and use of biodiversity values to contribute to the country's sustainable development.

A corner of the Dam Nai mangrove forest in Vietnam's southern province of Ninh Thuan. Photo: VNA

According to Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan, Vietnam issued an action plan on biodiversity in 1995, shortly after becoming a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

"In 2013, the Prime Minister also approved the National Biodiversity to 2020, with a vision to 2030. The law on environmental protection came into force in 2022. To curb biodiversity loss, the Government has built the National Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2050," Nhan said.

The strategy encourages NGOs, businesses, and people to participate in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

"Under the strategy, Vietnam has made efforts to ensure that no wild species go extinct, improve the populations of at least ten endangered species, and collect and preserve at least 100,000 genetic resources," the deputy minister added.

Citing statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, he said 90 percent of crop varieties and half of the breeds of many domestic animals have disappeared in the past ten decades.

Vietnam, which is home to 10% of the world's mammal, bird and fish species, is also at risk of biodiversity loss and imbalance, Nhan said, noting that more than 70% of the country's population depends on agriculture and forests.

"Biodiversity plays an important role in ensuring Vietnam's food security, genetic resources, and medicine sources," the official stressed, urging other ministries and sectors to conduct communication activities to raise public awareness.

"Campaigns to promote biodiversity protection in localities, green consumption, and combat wildlife trafficking are also needed," Minister Nhan said, recommending the implementation of conservation models that include poverty reduction.

The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day), celebrated every year on May 22, is a United Nations-sanctioned international day to promote biodiversity issues.

The International Day for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda. It aims to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.