From SBurgiel@defenders.org Sat Jun 19 14:39:34 2004
Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 09:14:19 -0400
From: Stas Burgiel
To: biodiv-l
Subject: [biodiv-l] Education Tool: Explaining the Benefits of Biodiversity
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From:"Will Rogowski"
To:
Subject:Explaining the Benefits of Biodiversity to People
Date sent: Tue, 25 May 2004 11:48:05 +0100
Some of you will have seen this already - so my apologies for any
cross-postings – but I think it’s worth a second look.
Hi
A Free Audio Information & Education Tool
Explaining the Benefits of Biodiversity to People
As you will know, International Biological Diversity Day fell on
Saturday 22nd May this year and as UNEP World Conservation Monitoring
Centre is United Nations Environment Programme’s centre for
biodiversity
we have made a contribution by creating an educational website which
explains the true meaning of biodiversity in easy to understand
“consumer focussed” language.
The interactive presentation is based around the UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity
Benefits People posters, which are also available to download and print
from the same site. The presentation has been created using the latest
software called Macromedia Breeze – this is an automated
presentation
with full audio commentary – if you have speakers, please have them
switched on – if you don’t then you can see the full transcript
of the
commentary by clicking to the notes box in the bottom left hand corner.
You can also adjust the size of screen to virtually full size should you
wish.
This website also has useful links to:
Defining Biodiversity
UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity series of publications
Biodiversity Assessment
Biodiversity Posters (for download and print)
It is designed to be used as an information and education tool and will
be available in CD ROM in the not too distant future. Educators can use
this in the classroom, the public and private sector can also use this
in supporting presentations whenever needed – the website tool is
free
of charge, the CD may be at additional cost including P&P – all we
ask
as that this is clearly acknowledged to UNEP-WCMC.
Please click to: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/biodiversity/index.htm
Also see press release below and in attached file.
Hope that you will all find this helpful.
Very best wishes
Will Rogowski
Head of Marketing & Communications
United Nations Environment Programme
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
219 Huntingdon Road
Cambridge, CB3 0DL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136
Email: will.rogowski@unep-wcmc.org
BIODIVERSITY BENEFITS PEOPLE: Celebrating International Biodiversity
Day, 22nd May 2004
Sustainable use of the world’s natural resources is vital for our
survival, well-being and future prosperity
Stop and look around you. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see evidence
of
how the earth’s resources help you survive. Food, clothes, clean
water
supplies, housing and medicine are among our most basic needs, but it is
easy to forget that we owe their existence to the complex interaction
among ecosystems within our natural world.
The 22nd May 2004 marks the annual celebration of International
Biodiversity Day - an occasion to reflect on the true value of nature
and the protection it affords us. This year’s theme, Biodiversity:
Food,
Water and Health for All, has been chosen to highlight the link between
the environment and human well-being that so many of us take for
granted.
To celebrate International Biodiversity Day, the United Nations
Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
has developed an online audio presentation entitled ‘Biodiversity
Benefits People’, which can be downloaded free-of-charge from the
Centre’s website. Peter Hall, Director of Biodiversity Information
Services at UNEP-WCMC, emphasises its educational value. “The
presentation outlines the dangers that threaten fragile ecosystems and
identifies the enormous benefits, goods and services we take from the
earth’s living resources. We hope that educators and the media will
use
this presentation to inform a broader audience of these critical
issues.”
Global consumption patterns show that the wealthy nations are driving
the depletion of our living resources, while the poor struggle to
survive. Our oceans, plant life and animal species are under increasing
threat from pollution and over-exploitation. But everyone is entitled to
reap the benefits of biodiversity, both now and in the future, making
commitment to political agendas a priority. International agreements
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted after the 1992
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, play a crucial role in conserving and
managing biodiversity. The Millennium Development Goals, set up in 2000,
also recognise the vital importance of biodiversity in sustaining
livelihoods, especially in the developing world.
Mark Collins, Director of UNEP-WCMC, stresses the need to increase
knowledge about biodiversity and its benefits. “International
Biodiversity Day is an important opportunity to draw attention to how
much the environment contributes to our lives. Gaining a wider
understanding of biodiversity issues encourages positive action at all
levels, from families recycling their household waste to governments
establishing political aims such as the target to reduce biodiversity
loss by 2010.”
-ENDS-
Notes for editors:
UNEP-WCMC is the United Nations centre of excellence for biodiversity.
The Centre promotes wiser decision-making and a sustainable future by
providing the information and policy support needed for the conservation
and sustainable management of the living world.
For more information on International Biodiversity Day, visit
www.biodiv.org
For further information relating to this press release, please contact:
Will Rogowski
Head of Marketing & Communications
United Nations Environment Programme
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
219 Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0DL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136
Email: will.rogowski@unep-wcmc.org
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