The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is observed on 22 May to promote understanding of biodiversity issues. What was the official 2017 theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity?

Introduction / Context:
The International Day for Biological Diversity is a United Nations observance dedicated to raising awareness about biodiversity and the need to conserve the variety of life on Earth. Each year, a specific theme is chosen to highlight a particular aspect of biodiversity. For 2017, the theme was closely linked to the global focus on tourism and sustainable development. This question checks whether you can recall that specific theme and match it to the correct phrase among the options.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The observance is International Day for Biological Diversity, abbreviated as IDB.
• The day is held every year on 22 May.
• The year asked in the question is 2017.
• Four possible theme statements are given, each relating to biodiversity or related topics.

Concept / Approach:
The official 2017 theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity was Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism. This theme was chosen to align with the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The correct approach is to recall that in 2017, biodiversity campaigns were linked with tourism, and then to select the option that explicitly mentions sustainable tourism in its wording.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the year 2017 and remember that it was declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations.Step 2: Understand that the biodiversity theme for that year was designed to match this tourism focus.Step 3: Look at the options and identify the one that directly mentions sustainable tourism.Step 4: Option A states Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism and clearly connects the two concepts.Step 5: Select option A as the correct answer, because the other options refer to different biodiversity topics or legal instruments.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this information by recalling that United Nations news releases and many environmental websites in 2017 emphasised how tourism, if managed well, can support biodiversity conservation. They repeatedly used the phrase Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism as the official slogan for IDB that year. This is also reflected in exam oriented environment and ecology notes, which mention the same phrase beside the year 2017.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Invasive Alien Species was a theme used in another year to address the threat posed by non native species, but it was not the theme for 2017.

Biodiversity and Agriculture relates to the connection between biodiversity and farming practices and is another separate theme used in earlier discussions.

Convention on Biological Diversity is the name of the international treaty on biodiversity and not a specific annual theme for the 2017 observance.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may sometimes confuse the general subject matter of biodiversity with the particular yearly themes, assuming that any plausible sounding slogan could fit the right year. They may also mix up tourism and agriculture based themes. To avoid this, create a small chart of major environment related days and their themes by year, paying particular attention to those linked to United Nations declared years, such as 2017 for sustainable tourism.

Final Answer:
The correct theme for 2017 is Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism.