World Wildlife Day 2019 celebrates marine life

Photo from UNDP

United Nations World Wildlife Day has been celebrating the sheer diversity of plants and animals for six years now by raising awareness on the threats they're facing through a series of events across the globe. 

Inspired by UN's 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs)—life below water—this year marks the first ever World Wildlife Day to celebrate the huge importance of marine life in our everyday lives. It also commemorates the establishment of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), a treaty which underscores the protection of all endangered plants and animals.

This event gives the opportunity to highlight critical issues faced by marine life, commend successful initiatives for their conservation and scale up future endeavors towards sustaining them for future generations.

One of the major concerns that this campaign addresses is plastic pollution, in which 57 countries have already vowed to reduce their use of single-use and non-recoverable plastics.  

It's a step further to know more about the marine species we need to protect. And SeaLifeBase hosts this information. If you're keen to dive deep into the threatened non-fish marine species in the Philippines (and around the world), you may visit SeaLifeBase.