World Wildlife Day: Here is the theme, history and significance of this day

On December 20, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed March 3, as World Wildlife Day. At its 68th session, the UNGA decided to dedicate the third day of March to celebrate the wildlife across the world and raise awareness about the dangers that human activities and climate change in turn is posing on it. March 3 has special importance as on this day in 1973 a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was held. Read on to learn more about World Wildlife Day.

World Wildlife Day 2021 Theme

According to the UN’s official website, World Wildlife Day will be celebrated in 2021 under the theme "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet.”  The day will be marked to highlight the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally. It will particularly focus on Indigenous and local communities with historic ties to forested and forest-adjacent areas. The World Wildlife Day 2021 theme is a special one as it aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 13 and 15, and their wide-ranging commitments to alleviating poverty, ensuring sustainable use of resources, and conserving life land.

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World Wildlife Day significance

According to the UN, between 200 and 350 million people live within or adjacent to forested areas around the world. These communities rely heavily on the various ecosystem services provided by forest and forest species for their livelihoods. In fact, they use it to cover their most basic needs, including food, shelter, energy and medicines. Although they are neglected by most civil societies, it cannot be denied that indigenous peoples and local communities are at the forefront of the symbiotic relationship between humans and forest.

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Roughly 28% of the world’s land surface is currently being managed by indigenous peoples as per a UN report. This includes some of the most ecologically intact forests on the planet. The issues that these communities are facing now, include climate change, biodiversity loss and compounded on all of this is the COVID-19 pandemic.

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World Wildlife Day 2021 Events

World Wildlife Day is usually celebrated with a high-level event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. However this year the COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious challenges to the 2021 celebration, which will now be entirely virtual. UN will hold an online event, bringing together representatives of UN Member States, UN System organizations and multilateral environmental agreements, civil society, and the private sector. The discussions will revolve around the theme of "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet".

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