In 2013, the United Nations established World Wildlife Day and set March 3 as the date the day is marked.
The day was established to create awareness, celebrate the world's wild animals and plant species and recognise the contribution of wild animals in the coexistence between people and the planet.
The day is essential as it marks the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an agreement adopted in 1973 that regulates the international trade of endangered plants and wild animals.
World Wildlife Day serves to encourage the global community to contribute and participate in conservation efforts, campaigns and projects of both animal and plant species.
The 2025 theme is “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet".
The United Nations (UN) estimates that around one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction from active threats such as destruction of their habitats, pollution, climate change issues and poaching.
''With more than 1 million species now estimated to be threatened with extinction amid the intensifying triple planetary crisis, innovative finance for wildlife conservation has never been more urgent,'' a UN report says.
''Over half of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is dependent on nature, making biodiversity loss an increasing threat to financial stability and livelihoods.''The
World Wildlife Day 2025 (WWD2025) provide a platform for exchanging ideas, showcasing solutions and advancing the conversation on how innovative finance can contribute to halting biodiversity loss, raising the interest of private sector stakeholders to invest in wildlife conservation, and creating a sustainable future.
Various organisations, such as the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP), International Fund for Animal Welfare, Jackson Wild, and Wildlabs, among others, are several groups that aim to bring together stakeholders for exchanging and exploring innovative financing mechanisms that mobilise resources for wildlife conservation during World Wildlife Day this year.
The organisations also seek to provide a knowledge base for stakeholders, including youth, civil society, national governments, and relevant UN agencies, to access data and insights on innovative finance
Biodiversity, which refers to the variety of all living things and their interactions in a habitat, plays a key role in balancing ecosystems and ensuring their sustainance.
Therefore, the Wildlife Conservation Finance is also about the conservation of plant and animal species in the wild and contributing to the conservation of the planet's biodiversity that sustains all ecosystems and communities worldwide.
