22 May 2009 - On the International
Day for Biological Diversity in 2008, a
ripple was started that's turning into a
wave around the world: the Green Wave for
biodiversity.
The Green Wave is a
project designed to support the objectives
of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
the world's international treaty that promotes
the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity and the fair and equitable
sharing of benefits derived from genetic
resources.
The project aims to
help raise awareness and educate young people
- tomorrow's leaders and citizens - on the
loss of biodiversity that's taking place
across the world and the need to take action
to preserve life on Earth.
The "wave"
takes place on the International Day for
Biodiversity which, this year, brings attention
to the problem of invasive alien species
brought into a place by careless human activities
and one of the biggest threats to local
biodiversity worldwide. Through The Green
Wave, children and youth in schools across
the world have been learning about this
and planting native trees!
Each year on the 22 May,
in participating schools around the world,
children and youth plant a tree at 10:00
am local time, creating a "green wave"
across time-zones. Participants upload photos
and text to The Green Wave website to share
their stories with others. An interactive
map goes live in the evening at 20:10 local
time, creating a second, virtual, "green
wave".
The Green Wave arose
from an idea of staff working at the German
Agency for Nature Conservation and the Office
of Environmental Response and Coordination
of the Republic of Palau, the island nation
in the Pacific.
It was launched by the
German Minister of Environment in Bonn in
May 2008 and by over 60 groups of children
and youth in 19 countries.
From his base in Bonn,
Jochen Flasbarth, Germany's Director-General
of Nature Conservation in the Ministry of
Environment said, "We're delighted
that The Green Wave is gaining attention
and participation all around the world.
What started as a simple and small idea
is growing branches and roots across the
globe that will help spread awareness of
the importance of the Earth's biodiversity
and the need for all of us to take action
to halt its loss and to cherish and nurture
the diversity of life."
Since it started just
a year ago, the Convention's Secretariat
in Montreal has been promoting the project,
and the little wave has grown. There's been
growing interest, support and action from
all kinds of places.
On 5 June 2009, the
aircraft manufacturer, Airbus and the world-renowned
National Geographic Society will be launching
a worldwide campaign to raise awareness
about the plight of the world's biodiversity
and encourage participation in The Green
Wave project in 2010.
In a huge gesture of
support, Airbus is funding National Geographic
to run a campaign across its global media
with an audience of hundreds of millions
- including the National Geographic Magazine,
National Geographic Kids magazine, their
TV channel, and a brand new website. They'll
be launching a photo contest for kids.
When Airbus President
and CEO, Tom Enders, signed a memorandum
of understanding with the CBD Secretariat
in July 2008, the aims were to help raise
awareness and engage children and youth
in the global biodiversity agenda. Through
this initiative, Airbus is fulfilling these
goals.
In Washington, DC, National
Geographic's Executive Vice President for
Mission Programs, Terry Garcia said, "We're
delighted to be involved. It's all designed
to encourage people and all sectors of society
to "see the bigger picture" and
protect the living planet, its life-support
systems and, ultimately, our future".
Meanwhile in countries
all around the world, children and youth
have become a part of The Green Wave.
For example, in Brazil,
children and youth in the city of Curitiba
joined The Green Wave in September 2008
on Brazil's Tree Day, when Curitiba launched
a city-wide initiative, planting native
trees through the entire municipal school
network.
On 22 May 2009 they
celebrated The Green Wave at an event in
a city park involving story telling and
tree planting by the children from the municipal
schools. The city authorities are now translating
The Green Wave website into Portuguese so
that children all across Brazil can be a
part of The Green Wave in 2010.
In Japan, with the backing
of the country's Ministry of Environment,
many schools joined The Green Wave. Associations
of potted native tree producers and a house
builder provided potted-trees to the participating
schools! On 22 May 2009, the Vice Minister
for Environment led a Green Wave ceremony
in Tokyo at the Shinjuku Gyoen National
Garden as part of the celebration of the
International Day for Biodiversity. The
CBD Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf,
took part in the event and the following
day took part in another Green Wave ceremony
in Ishikawa with the Governor and kindergarten
kids.
In Japan's Ishikawa
prefecture, schools and kindergartens took
part in tree-planting events in the forest
parks and the "Satoyama" - Japan's
traditional countryside landscape between
the cities and the deep mountains, nurtured
by long-term sustainable use by the local
people. In Aichi prefecture, a tree-planting
ceremony with elementary school children
was held on 22 May at the Expo 2005 Aichi
Commemorative Park, and schools carried
out tree-planting events. The Ministry of
Environment is translating The Green Wave
website into Japanese to make the global
Green Wave more accessible to children and
youth in Japan.
In Algeria, the environment
ministry has promoted The Green Wave across
the country with colorful posters and promotional
events, and schools got involved in Green
Wave activities. In provinces across the
country, more than 300,000 school-children
from nearly 4000 schools took part in a
national programme supporting The Green
Wave. To help stabilize the watersheds and
protect against the desert through reforestation,
more than 300,000 trees were planted. The
trees will contribute to the UNEP-led Billion
Tree Campaign of which The Green Wave is
a proud supporter. On 22 May, schools took
part in celebrations and became a part of
the global Green Wave.
In the Philippines,
schools across the country prepared and
carried out their Green Wave events on 22
May. The regional Centre for Biodiversity
in Asia, ACP, located in the Philippines,
has supported The Green Wave since September
2008, when they held a special event. Promoting
tree-planting as a way to save the region's
threatened biodiversity, the initiative
brought together children, the Delegation
of the European Commission, Ambassadors
from Asian and European countries, and the
College of Forestry and Natural Resources.
In Singapore a series
of events were held to celebrate the International
Day for Biodiversity and 17 schools participated
in The Green Wave.
The Small Grants Programme
(SGP) of the Global Environment Facility
recently became a very special partner of
The Green Wave, working actively to help
communities in remote rural areas in developing
countries raise awareness and educate children
on biodiversity and involve them in the
international Green Wave. Working in more
than 120 developing countries worldwide,
the SGP helps community groups, indigenous
peoples and national NGOs implement projects
to promote conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity.
In countries including
Belize, Egypt, Tunisia, Eritrea, Mauritius,
Chile, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago,
with SGP support and encouragement, local
non-governmental and community organizations
have worked with schools to help educate
on biodiversity and enable students to be
a part of The Green Wave on 22 May. In Tunisia
alone, with support of 21 past and present
SGP grantees, the International Day for
Biological Diversity was celebrated by 89
schools planting a locally important tree
in their schoolyards.
And this is just some
of the response and some of the events carried
out!
In Tokyo, addressing
a symposium on invasive alien species, His
Excellency, Minister Masayoshi Yoshino,
the Senior Vice-Minister for the Environment
of Japan, told participants "A campaign
called The Green Wave brings together children
worldwide to make a difference by planting
trees - creating a green wave around the
world. The campaign is coordinated by the
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological
Diversity. Before coming to this venue,
Dr. Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, and
I joined The Green Wave in Shinjuku Gyoen
National Garden where, with students from
Hanazono Elementary School in Shinjuku,
we planted Quercus acutissima (Kunugi) and
Quercus serrata (Konara)."
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive
Secretary of the CBD said, "The response
so far has been tremendous. The Green Wave
represents a fantastic chain of human solidarity
around the epitome of life - trees - between
the children of today and the responsible
citizens of tomorrow."
From New York, the Global
Manager of the SGP, Delfin Ganapin, said,
"The Small Grants Programme is delighted
to be a part of The Green Wave. Its aims
coincide with the aims of the SGP to promote
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
and the sharing of its benefits at community
level. We support many projects that work
with schools and youth initiatives. Our
aim is to help the Green Wave become a tidal
wave of awareness by 2010".
On the launch of The
Green Wave a year ago, the United Nations'
Under Secretary-General for the environment
and head of the UN Environment Programme,
Achim Steiner, encouraged students to embrace
this initiative as an opportunity to be
a part of a global movement and to make
a difference. One year on, and it is clear
students around the world have demonstrated
their ability to rise to that challenge.
From a small start,
The Green Wave is now set to make a huge
splash in 2010, the International Year of
Biodiversity. We wish all participants a
happy Green Wave - and happy planning for
2010.
greenwave.cbd.int
Notes:
The Green Wave
The Green Wave is a
global biodiversity project that enables
young people to make a difference - one
school, one tree, one step at a time. The
Green Wave encourages participants to engage
in local action, build friendships with
other participants around the world, work
in local and international partnerships
and learn about global issues affecting
biodiversity.
The Green Wave is celebrated
annually on 22 May - the International Day
for Biological Diversity. In participating
schools, children and youth plant a tree*
at 10:00 am local time, creating a "green
wave" around the world. Participants
upload photos and text to The Green Wave
website to share their tree-planting stories
with others. An interactive map goes live
in the evening at 20:10 local time, creating
a second, virtual, "green wave".
The Green Wave supports
the work of the Convention on Biological
Diversity to strengthen awareness and education
on biodiversity. It will contribute to celebration
of the International Year of Biodiversity
in 2010. And it supports the Billion Tree
Campaign led by the United Nations Environment
Programme.
* In some parts of the
world, the seasonal conditions are not suitable
to plant a tree on 22 May. In these areas,
participants plant in an appropriate season
and, instead, water their chosen tree at
10 am on 22 May.
Through action-oriented
learning, The Green Wave teaches children
and youth the importance of biodiversity
for our well-being and that of our planet.
The Green Wave supports schools around the
world to educate tomorrow's leaders on the
crucial tasks of protecting Earth's biodiversity
and halting its loss.
Initiated by the German
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)
and the Office of Environmental Response
and Coordination (OERC) of the Republic
of Palau, The Green Wave is coordinated
by the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity with the support of
BfN and the German Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety.
http://greenwave.cbd.int
The Convention on Biological
Diversity
The Convention on Biological
Diversity is one of the most broadly subscribed
international environmental treaties in
the world. Opened for signature at the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it currently
has 191 contracting Parties - 190 States
and the European Community - who have committed
themselves to its three main goals: the
conservation of biodiversity, sustainable
use of its components and the equitable
sharing of the benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources. The Secretariat
of the Convention is located in Montreal,
Canada. For more information, please contact
Marie Aminata Khan on +1 514 287 8701 or
at marie.khan@cbd.int
