International Day for Biodiversity 2025: Know the date, theme, history, and significance

International Day for Biological Diversity 2025: This year’s observance will be marked under the theme Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development, which highlights the connection between this initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

International Day of Biological Diversity 2025: Annually celebrated on May 22 every year, know the theme, history, and significance behind the day. (Source: Shutterstock)

International Day of Biodiversity 2025: Annually celebrated on May 22 every year, know the theme, history, and significance behind the day. (Source: Shutterstock)

International Day of Biodiversity 2025: Biological diversity, the concept first coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1985, entails the diversity of all life forms and is the pillar upon which we build civilisations and human existence, and their well-being depends.

According to the UN, around 1 million plant and animal species are at present at risk of moving towards extinction, with human intervention posing a significant threat to biodiversity.

As a result, to address this pressing issue and increase awareness of the urgent need to protect biodiversity globally, the UN established the International Day for Biological Diversity.

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While it was initially marked on 29th December, the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) shifted the observance to May 22nd in 2000, as it commemorates the momentous adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, back in 1992.

This year’s observance will fall on Thursday, May 22, 2025. It will be marked under the theme Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development, which highlights the connection between this initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Just two days to go until #BiodiversityDay!
On 22 May, we celebrate the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 1992—a milestone in protecting life on Earth.
2025 theme: Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development

🔗 https://t.co/mVkwsnwmaT #PartOfThePlan #ForNature pic.twitter.com/FOv0FcYaYB

— UN-Water (@UN_Water) May 20, 2025

It also emphasises the importance of advancing both agendas in tandem, as they mutually support one another, thereby instilling a sense of urgency, as five years are left to meet both near-term targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the SDGs.

UN Secretary-General’s message 2025 on International Biodiversity Day

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