World Wildlife Day 2023: Spotlight on the role of business in conservation

This year's World Wildlife theme, 'Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation', celebrates all conservation efforts, right from inter-governmental initiatives, down to the local scale

The ecological balance of flora and fauna is crucial for the sustainability of human beings and for providing food, medicine, water and a host of other elements to mankind.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed March 3 as World Wildlife Day (WWD), as part of the ongoing initiative to conserve plant and animal life on the Earth. Every year World Wildlife Day is marked to draw attention towards critical factors that maintain the fragile ecosystem in order to  keep the planet going.

Why did the United Nations mark World Wildlife Day?

The United Nations believes that World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the varied and beautiful forms of flora and fauna, and to create awareness about the vast benefits that conversation provides to humanity.

This day brings home to us the utmost need to step up and fight against wildlife crimes and human-induced reduction of species, because destroying wildlife has wide-ranging economic, environmental, and social impacts.

When was World Wildlife Day first celebrated on March 3?

The UNGA proclaimed that March 3 would be celebrated as World Wildlife Day, at its 68th session held on December 20, 2013.

March 3 is also the day when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in the year 1973. The UN aimed to create awareness of the world's wild animals and plants through World Wildlife Day. Now WWD has become a global event dedicated to wildlife.

World Wildlife Day: Theme

This year's World Wildlife theme is "Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation". The theme calls for the celebration of all conservation efforts, right from the inter-governmental level to the local scale. With this theme, the UN tries to cover two major sub-topics:

Marine life and ocean: 70% of our planet is covered by water, and conserving marine life is incredibly important.

Business and Finance: Sustainability and reservation actions need to be funded, and need to be taken in collaboration with businesses. Successful conservation requires business partnerships if the loss of biodiversity is to be reversed.

The theme ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’ will provide greater opportunities to highlight the efforts of those who are making a significant difference and celebrate the bridge that CITES has been for these partnerships to form, making a significant contribution to sustainability, wildlife, and biodiversity conservation.

World Wildlife day is important this year as CITIES is celebrating its 50th anniversary. CITES has sought to build partnerships and reconcile differences between the groups that are guided and governed by its regulations.