A pinch of history

1992: during the world summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro the Convention on Biological Diversity (“the Convention”) is presented and signed by numerous governments, including Belgium

1995: the Belgian government designates the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences as Belgian National Focal Point to the Convention on Biological Diversity

1996: the ratification procedure of the convention with all competent federal and federated authorities in Belgium is successfully concluded and Belgium becomes Party to the Convention; a first version of the Belgian Clearing House Mechanism site is launched

1997: publication of the first Belgian national report with a state of affairs of the implementation of the Convention in and by our country

1999: organisation of a first seminar by the National Focal Point: “the implementation by Belgium of the Convention on Biological Diversity: a state of affairs”

2003: the publication of Biodiversity in Belgium [LINK] marks the first exhaustive inventory of biodiversity in our country

2004: the National Focal Point publishes “Biodiversiteit in België: een overzicht / Biodiversité en Belgique : un aperçu”, a first brochure intended to inform the public at large

2005: the National Focal Point and the multimedia team of RBINS receive the Ford Award for “AMAI, the Belgian natural treasures”, an interactive tool that showcases the biodiversity in our country in a different way

2006: Belgium publishes its first national biodiversity strategy; this strategy is revised and updated in 2013

2007: the information and engagement campaign “VIP for biodiversity” is launched; in 2010 it culminates in the campaign “www.ikgeeflevenaanmijnplaneet.be / www.jedonnevieamaplanete.be”

2008: in collaboration with the federated entities and other partners, and in conjunction with the international day for biological diversity, a seminar on “no agriculture without biodiversity” is organised during the agriculture fair of Libramont

2010: the United Nations proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity; Belgium organises numerous activities to highlight biodiversity and to raise the subject on the policy agenda, including during the Belgian Presidency of the EU

2012: Gust and Suzette [LINK] focus on marine biodiversity in the framework of the traditional international day for biological diversity

2012: a mid-term state of play of the national strategy is developed

2013: public consultation and publication of "Biodiversity 2020, Update of Belgium's National Strategy"

2014: the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment confirm their year-long fruitful collaboration by signing a framework agreement facilitating common actions in support of biodiversity; the web site www.levedebijen.be / www.vivelesabeilles.be is launched

2016: launch of the campaign "1001 ideas - 1001 decisions - 1001 actions: save biodiversity" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Belgian ratification of the Biodiversity Convention; follow us through the social media: Twitter - Facebook - YouTube