| 29/11/2005
- The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)
has received its second international environmental accolade
for the Representative Areas Programme, the Australian
Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian
Campbell, said today.
The GBRMPA was the joint winner of the 2005 Sultan Qaboos
Prize for Environmental Preservation from UNESCO's Man
and the Biosphere Programme.
Presented at the World Science Forum in Budapest, the
prize acknowledges outstanding contributions to environmental
management.
Senator Campbell said it was a great honour for Australia
to receive commendation for marine conservation.
“The 2005 Sultan Qaboos Prize, and last month’s Gift to
the Earth award from the World Wildlife Fund, acknowledges
Australia’s leading role in marine conservation,” Senator
Campbell said.
“The awards highlight the importance of protecting the
world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, and recognise the
Representative Areas Programme as a comprehensive and
innovative global advance in protecting marine biodiversity
and conservation.
“The Representative Areas Programme has set an international
benchmark, with many international marine experts looking
to implement a similar conservation project in their region.”
In announcing the award, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro
Matsuura praised GBRMPA for its crucial contribution to
conserving the Great Barrier Reef.
“Guided by the principle of balancing conservation and
sustainable use, the GBRMPA has created an innovative
framework that, whilst allowing for reasonable human use,
will still ensure the healthy survival of the coastal
and marine ecosystems,” Senator Campbell said.
The Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation
was made possible through a donation from His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said of Oman. GBRMPA shared
the honour with Mexico’s Dr Ernesto C. Enkerlin-Hoeflich.
The World Wildlife’s fund highest accolade, the Gift to
the Earth award, was presented to GBRMPA at the inaugural
International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Geelong
last month.
GBRMPA Conservation, Heritage and Indigenous Partnerships
Director, Jon Day, will be available for media today (Tuesday
29 November 2005) at 11.00am at the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority Office, Flinders Street, Townsville. |
