The Zimbabwe Youth Biodiversity (ZYBN) works to connect, empower and support youth across Zimbabwe to take action on biodiversity and related issues. We, organize workshops to train young people, and participate as youth delegation at local and international biodiversity negotiations to hold our government accountable and to support government led initiatives. With the support of other aligned organizations and individuals, we mobilize youth on the ground across Zimbabwe to learn, grow and act together on the biodiversity crisis for a just and sustainable future.
Our Story
The Zimbabwe Youth Biodiversity Network (ZYBN) is a registered organization and national chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN). It was founded on 26 October 2017, following the first GYBN Capacity Building Workshop, which was attended by the founding chapter coordinator, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2017. ZYBN was created out of the need to advocate for youth participation in biodiversity policy and management at all levels and to create a platform for young people to engage and mobilize for action.
What is biodiversity?
Short for ‘biological diversity’, it is the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. From genes and chromosomes to animals, plants, and ecosystems, biodiversity is the web of life that governs all ecological interactions.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) officially defines biodiversity as, “The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”
Why is it important?
Although biodiversity has been undervalued and often taken for granted by modern societies, it’s existence is the basis for a wide range of ecosystem services from food to fibers, climate regulation, pollination to recreational services.