Barbados will join worldwide celebrations to mark International Biodiversity Day on Sunday, May 22.
Under the global theme for 2016: Mainstreaming Biodiversity; Sustaining People and their Livelihoods, the Ministry of the Environment and Drainage will this year focus on the vital role of biodiversity for the current and future wellbeing of humanity, and promote the wise use of ecosystems.
Biodiversity is the foundation for life and for the essential services provided by ecosystems.
It underpins peoples??? livelihoods and sustainable development in all areas of activity, including in such economic sectors as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism.
To create a greater awareness of the importance of biodiversity in Barbados, the Ministry, as the focal point for the Convention on Biological Diversity, will conduct school tours with students from Ellerton Primary, St. Bartholomew Primary, St. Christopher Primary and Wesley Hall Infants School.
The students will tour Medford???s Craft World to see how it uses the island???s biodiversity in a sustainable manner, and the National Conservation Commission (NCC) to observe its contribution to the national goal of sustainable development.
These tours will commence on Tuesday, May 24, when students from St. Bartholomew???s Primary visit Medford???s Craft World at 10:30 a.m., before proceeding to the NCC at noon.
Students from the Wesley Hall Infants, Ellerton and St. Christopher???s Primary, will visit Medford???s Craft World at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 25, Thursday, May 26, and Friday, May 27, respectively. The students will also visit the NCC at 11:45 a.m. on their respective dates.
julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb