Context:
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on 3rd March.
2024 Theme: Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation
Historical Background
- On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March as World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.
- The date is the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.
Key Highlights of this year World Wildlife Day
- It encourages exploration of existing digital innovations, addresses intersectional discrepancies, and envisions inclusive digital connectivity for all people and the planet.
- This year, the CITES Secretariat has teamed up with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), WILDLABS, Jackson Wild, and the International Foundation for Animal Welfare to promote the vital discussions.
- With 183 Member States, CITES remains one of the world’s most powerful tools for biodiversity conservation through the regulation of trade in wild fauna and flora.
Wildlife and Technology:
- Technological advancements have significantly improved various aspects of wildlife conservation, including research, communication, tracking, and DNA analysis, challenges such as uneven access, environmental pollution, and unsustainable technology use impede achieving universal digital inclusion by 2030.
World Wildlife Day 2024 and India
- WWF EIACP PC-RP [(Environmental Information, Awareness, Capacity Building and Livelihood Programme), Resource Partner (RP)] under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change celebrated World Wildlife Day, 2024, by organizing various activities at Okhla Bird Sanctuary, one of the places blessed with a rich biodiversity focusing Mission LiFE (An India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.)
Significance
- It is an important global awareness event for the protection and conservation of animals.