International Youth Conference on the Environment in Nagano

4 Days in Nagano, Japan

will inspire you.

The 1st Conference will be held on June 14-17, 2012

Theme: Traditional life style consistent with environment

Come join us !!

See: http://www.eyouth.nagano-ep.net/en/index.html

HELP THE IFAW STOP THE SEAL HUNT

The cruel Canadian harp seal hunt is underway again, and the scene is as heartbreaking as ever. This April tens of thousands of seals will suffer brutal and bloody deaths.

Please help me stop the hunt today.

IFAW's seal team has already been to the ice this year and witnessed these deaths.  Their reports, photographs, and footage have been vital in past years in telling this story to the world and convincing governments to ban the trade in seal products.

Your gift to the seals will help us continue to document the cruelty, convince governments and people around the world to not use seal products, protect the seal product bans that are already in place, and will help us continue our mission to make a better world for animals.

Image provided by the IFAW

LEADING GIRL BUILDING COMMUNITIES AWARD- ONTARIO, CANADA

The Leading Girls Building Community Award was presented to Jessica Walsh Moreau by Ottawa Centre Member of the Provincial Parliament Yasir Naqvi.  She has been involved in the Macoun Marsh Biodiversity Project since its beginning.  Jessica was also a leader in the 2009 International Youth Symposium for Biodiversity and the formation of the International Youth Accord for Biodiversity that she co-presented in Nagoya, Japan for COP10.     

PROTECT OUR ANIMALS!

 

By Nyssa Haynes-Holder (Youth delegate from Barbados)

Partnership forged between Japan Committee for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Kanazawa, Japan, 20 December 2011– The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Japan Committee for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCNJ) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a view to promoting greater awareness amongst civil society organisations in Japan and abroad and join forces for the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets.

The MoU, which was signed in Kanazawa City, Japan, on 19 December 2011 at the margins of the official launch of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, was also endorsed by Communication, Education and Public Awareness Japan (CEPA Japan) and the Japan Civil Network for the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (JCN-UNDB).

The agreement highlights the crucial role civil society plays in implementing the Nagoya Biodiversity Compact, and contributes to the success of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity and the Aichi Targets. It also stresses the importance of working together with international partners in order to raise awareness of civil society and to better support conservation and biodiversity action at the local level. It must be noted that the very idea of a United Nations Decade on Biodiversity was generated by the Japan civil society.

Through the MoU, the signatories—Mr. Masahito Yoshida, Chair of IUCNJ, Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Mr. Masahiro Kawatei, Representative of CEPA Japan, and Mr. Susumu Takayama, Representative of JCN-UNDB—agreed to cooperate in several areas, including in the development and global dissemination of communication and outreach materials on biodiversity and in mobilizing the commitment of local government, private sector, youth, academia and civil society organizations through, inter alia, the Niju-maru campaign.

The Niju-maru is a campaign led by the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement International, in close collaboration with CEPA Japan, which encourages commitment by Japan-based stakeholders to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. “Commitment of all sectors is required in order to achieve Aichi Biodiversity Targets by 2020. I believe that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the CBD Secretariat and Japan Committee for IUCN today will mobilize the participation of all sectors through outreach programme including the Niju-maru project and CEPA,” said Masahito Yoshida.

 

Ahmed Djoghlaf said: “The Japan Civil Network played a key role in supporting the designation by the United Nations General Assembly of 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. By reiterating their commitment today and by coordinating their efforts, IUCNJ and its partners are demonstrating the sincere will of civil society to take action to reach the goals set by the international community.”

“Turn your back on Canada,” by 6 Canadian Youth in South Africa

On Nov. 28, international climate-change negotiations began in Durban, South Africa, as the 17th annual Conference of Parties (COP17) got underway. This is the third in a series of blog posts from Amara Possian, who is the co-ordinator of the Canadian Youth Delegation to this conference. Today, Amara shares a letter signed in support of the actions taken by Canadian youth while Environment Minister Peter Kent addressed the United Nations conference on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, six young Canadians stood up during Environment Minister Peter Kent’s plenary address to the United Nations climate negotiations. The six Canadian youth stood silently and turned their back on Kent for several minutes, wearing shirts that read “People before Polluters” and “Turn your back on Canada,” before being escorted out by UN security.

BIODIVERSITY YOUTH MENTORS AT THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE

Youth from St-Laurent Academy and St. Patrick High School presented the work of the Biodiversity Mentorship Program.  The next session is on December 3rd at the Macoun Marsh. 

Gold standard in the UK’s leading sustainable tourism certification

Livingstone's fruit bat (Richard Wainwright)

Following a recent inspection and audit Durrell is delighted to have been recognized by the Green Tourism Business Scheme and awarded Gold accreditation.

The conservation charity, headquartered at the world renowned Trinity wildlife park, is one of only three organizations in Jersey to achieve the Gold standard in the UK’s leading sustainable tourism certification scheme.

Commenting on Durrell’s green initiatives and management policies, Jon Proctor of Green Tourism said “Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust operates an innovative wildlife park which cares for endangered species from the most threatened habitats in the world. It is an iconic attraction for Jersey and supports positive community activities from recycling to species conservation, including the red-billed chough and agile frog, both locally endangered”

Discussing some of the latest initiatives at the 32 acre site he continued; “New developments have embedded and pioneered sustainable best practice from an ‘earthship’ style bat tunnel, built with old tyres, glass and straw, to a new entrance, restaurant and shop with sun pipes, LED lights and recycled furniture. The Trust does a lot of international training and development and offsets all carbon through rainforest protection and tree planting in Brazil. They have made good progress since the last assessment and are worthy Gold award winner.”

Applicants to the Green Tourism Business Scheme must demonstrate a commitment to sustainable tourism and implement a range of procedures minimising damage to the environments in which they operate. Furthermore member organisations must meet minimum standards of good practice across a range of sustainable development indicators.

Durrell Site Environmental Coordinator Gordon Hunt said “We are delighted to have achieved the Gold Award from Green Tourism. Durrell are dedicated to promoting a sustainability ethos in everything we do and hope to continue to strive to communicate this to all our stakeholders”

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

UNESCO launch of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity takes place in Paris

Montreal, 14 November 2011 – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) joined with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to launch the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity at its headquarters in Paris.

The event took place in conjunction with the thirty-sixth session of the UNESCO General Conference and coincided with the launch of the UNESCO Biodiversity Initiative aimed at contributing to the effective implementation of the Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The ceremony was presided over by Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, as well as the Deputy Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO, Minister Mr. Tsutomu Koizumi; Mr Jean-Pierre Thebault, the Ambassador for the Environment of France represented Ms Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing of France, as well as Ms Hélène Mandroux, the Mayor of Montpellier, and Mr. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Over 80 participants attended the ceremony.

Speaking on behalf of the President of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Bio, Minister Koizumi stated that: “The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties achieved historic results which included the new Strategic Plan for Biodiversity as well as two legally binding protocols. To engage the people of the world in the implementation of the Nagoya results, Japan suggested the celebration of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity and the official launch will take place in Kanazawa city, Japan in December this year.”

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, said: “Our new Biodiversity Initiative embodies the integrated, multidisciplinary approach that is required for the sustainable, equitable conservation and use of biodiversity. We are guided by the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity crafted in Nagoya in October 2010 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly.”

Speaking on behalf of Minister Nathalie Kosciisko-Morizet, Ambassador Thebault reiterated the commitment of France to promoting the biodiversity agenda as evidenced by its recent signature of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing.

The Mayor of Monpellier, Ms Hélène Mandroux, stressed the role of cities in promoting the biodiversity agenda and announced the convening in January 2012, in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, of the meeting of mayors and biodiversity of the Mediterranean region as a contribution to the convening of the second summit on cities and biodiversity to be held in Hyderabad, India, in October 2012, back to back with the high-level segment of the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the Convention to Combat Desertification, highlighted the importance of mutually supportive activities to celebrate the United Nations Decade on desertification and the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. He presented the results of the first-ever high-level event on desertification convened on 20 September by the United Nations General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session.

Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: “Last year, UNESCO was the first international organization to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity. Today UNESCO is the first international organization to launch the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity and the first international organization to launch a biodiversity initiative aimed at the effective implementation of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.” Mr. Djoghlaf paid tribute to Ms Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, and her team, as well as to the UNESCO member States for their unique contribution in educating and engaging the people of the world in the biodiversity agenda. He added, “I am glad to count UNESCO as a partner in our work.”

To build support and momentum for this urgent task, the United Nations General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session declared the period 2011-2020 to be “the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, with a view to contributing to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the period 2011-2020” (resolution 65/161).

The United Nations Decade on Biodiversity will serve to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and promote its overall vision of living in harmony with nature. Its goal is to mainstream biodiversity at different levels. Throughout the United Nations Decade, Governments are encouraged to develop, implement and communicate the results of national strategies for implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity.

Regional launches have been held around the world in 2011. A global event for the Decade will be held in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan from 17 to 19 December 2011.

3rd module of the ASLA Biodiversity Mentorship Program- CANADA

Japan's Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto and Youth Delegate Chafic at COP10

Our 3rd module of our ASLA biodiversity mentorship program is coming together! Here are some of our guests for this Saturday's program on Politics and Biodiversity.
Jessica Walsh Moreau- Biodiversity Youth Leader- Delegate at Nagoya for COP10
Chafic Bouchakra- Biodiversity Youth Leader- Delegate at Nagoya for COP10
David Chernushenko - City of Ottawa councillor
Clive Doucet- City of Ottawa councillor, Ottawa mayoral candidate
Yasir Naqvi - Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre, Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre, President of the Provincial Liberal Party and former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education
Anil Naidoo - Ottawa Centre NDP candidate
Kevin O'Donnell - Ottawa Centre Green candidate
Growing Up Organic staff person to be named
Tom Marcantonio - Food Production Co-Ordinator at Woodpark CommunIty Association, local organic farmer/consultant
Judi Varga-Toth - Founder and Owner of Credible Edibles

Youth Mentorship- Module 2: Our Human Need for Biodiversity (2 hours) Oct.15- 10:00 am to noon at ALSA - OTTAWA, CANADA

Biodiversity is used in medical research and in our food industry. It is directly connected to the purification of the air and water, decomposition of wastes, recycling of nutrients, the pollination of crops, and the regulation of our climate. Many cultural services are to be considered here. Our global economy cannot function without biodiversity.

The students will partake in various activities that connect seemingly unrelated everyday products to their biological sources. They will also try some unusual foods! IF YOU INTERESTING IN COMING OUT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP. Mr. L.

OTTAWA BIODIVERSITY YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM- CANADA

Giving a tour to the Macoun Marsh with the Ottawa Paleontology Club

What a busy schedule we have for our biodiversity youth mentors. We continue to network with local schools, government, museums, and NGOs. Mr. L.

MARSH- BIODIVERSITY TOURS AND COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS (September- November)
September 17, 2011- Biodiversity Mentorship Program #1 at ASLA (10:00-Noon) 40 visitors with Notre Dame Catholic, St. Patrick High, Devonshire Public, and Henry Larson Public, among others.

September 21, 2011- National Tree Day (4pm with the Government of Canada at CMN)

September 28, 2011- St. Francis Xavier High School visit (10:00-Noon) (45 students)

September 29, 2011- Henry Larson Public School Grade 6 enriched students (10:45am- 1:00pm) 13 visitors

October 1, 2011- Paleontology Club Macoun Marsh Tour (10:00-11:00am) 8 visitors

October 2, 2011- St-Joseph Catholic Church gathering (12:30 to 2:00pm) 13 visitors

October 7, 2011- Launch of the Trans Canada Trail BioKit (1:00pm) with the Minister of Environment Canada in attendance/ Jacques Cartier Park/ 20 - 30 students from ASLA and Devonshire Public Schools invited.

October 11, 2011- Scouts Canada- Macoun Marsh tour (6-7 pm) 50 visitors

October 15, 2011- Biodiversity Mentorship Program #2 at ASLA (10:00-Noon)

November 5, 2011- EcoMentors Conference at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa

November 12, 2011- Biodiversity Mentorship Program #3 at ASLA (10:00-Noon)

November 26 and 27, 2011- “Community Experts” at the Canadian Museum of Nature highlighting conservation efforts and initiatives that play an important role in promoting natural history education. We are looking for 15 youth for this 2 day event between our partners.

We Canada- Meeting in Ottawa, CANADA

Are you a dedicated individual with a passion for creating community change and protecting our environment? If you have a skill you would like to contribute and a little bit of time to give to your community by building the sustainability movement, join us!  Learn more about We Canada here: http://earthsummit.ca/ 

Next Biodiversitymatters Youth Meeting- Ottawa, Canada

It is an exciting time to work on biodiversity issues!  Our next meeting will be at 641 Sladen on Saturday, August 27, 2011 (10 to noon).  Hope to see you there! Please let us know if you are attending or skyping with us.     Mike Leveille (Director)

Empowering Youth on Biodiversity Issues (Ottawa, Ontario)

Biodiversity affects us all.  A global crisis is taking place now.  Scientists predict that we may lose half of all species on the planet by the end of this century.

In September 2011, teachers from St-Laurent Academy, Notre Dame Catholic School, and Devonshire Public School will partner together to develop a training program to accredit youth to become biodiversity leaders in their communities.  This will include conservation projects, outdoor classrooms, organic gardening, promoting locally sourced food, political action (letter writing campaigns, becoming politically literate with student votes) etc.

We will begin with an introduction to the diversity of life that can exist in an urban setting as seen through our community-based wetland restoration project led by St-Laurent Academy Elementary and Junior High students. Students have now identified over 1300 species here.  A parallel language arts program at Devonshire Public School uses a web of local connections to build a template for environmental stewardship based on partnerships between local farmers, grocery store managers, a local restaurant, politicians, and community associations. Youth participants will walk away with a blue print for building both community-focused science and issues-based literacy programs designed to engage them as true defenders of their biological heritage. A final piece will connect these local elements to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and its international mandate to highlight global environmental activism designed to change the way people think and act.

Understanding our place in the global community is key to this process. We have planned to attend two key events connected to student empowerment.

1. Green Schools National Conference in Denver, Colorado, USA- February 27-29, 2012.

2. Third International Youth Symposium on Biodiversity- Auriville, India (Late September, 2012) as a pre-event to the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad, India.

WE CAN celebrate sustainability

Here are more images from the July 1st We Canada event at the University of Ottawa.

See http://blog.earthsummit.ca/2011/07/06/oui-canada-en-fete-a-ottawa-we-canada-celebrates-in-ottawa/#more-235

We Canada- July 1, 2011, University of Ottawa

We Canada is a nation-wide initiative by the Canadian Earth Summit Coalition. We are working for Canadian leadership at the Earth Summit 2012 and in global sustainable development. Our goal is to bring one million Canadian voices to the Summit and to the attention of our government to become the voice of change at the Summit.
 The We Canada Initiative and the Office of Sustainable Development from uOttawa ran their event today.  Hand-made We-Canada t-shirts, bake sale, and presentations were available for all. 
 

Please join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=230794336945976

Follow us on Twitter @OT_WECAN #wecanday

BLACK LION TAMARIN BABY BORN (UK)

Keepers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are delighted to announce the birth of a healthy male black lion tamarin. The baby, born on 22nd March, represents a great achievement for the conservation charity as this is the first black lion tamarin baby to have been successfully bred outside of Brazil in the last eight years.

For more information see:  

http://www.durrell.org/Latest/News/Baby-black-lion-tamarin-born-by-caesarean-section-at-Durrell/

Images from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Run for Biodiversity! (Ottawa, Canada)

Help USC Canada sweat the big stuff this May in Ottawa

Run for Biodiversity!

Are you a passionate runner, or perhaps love jogging or going for long walks? Would you like to experience the beauty of the nation’s capital in May, when nature has sprung back to life, biodiversity is thriving, and the tulips are in full bloom?

If you answered yes to these questions, then USC Canada warmly invites you to join us for a uniquely healthy and meaningful experience:

·         Come visit Ottawa at a beautiful time of the year

·         Run or walk in one of the six events on Race Weekend, May 28-29

·         Help raise funds for USC’s work with farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

We call it our Run for Biodiversity, in honour of the millions of farming families who help nurture and preserve our planet’s biological diversity. Biodiversity is all about food and farmers. It is the essential ingredient that both nourishes and is nourished by USC’s partner communities around the world. Much is at stake for us all, and in a real sense, USC is helping farmers plant the Seeds of our very Survival.

How do I register to Run for Biodiversity?

USC Canada has been selected as an official Participating Charity in the Ottawa Race Weekend. To support USC and Run for Biodiversity, it’s as easy as one, two, three!

1.   Runners should first register through the Ottawa Race Weekend as regular participants. NB: during the registration process, you do not need to specify you are participating in USC’s Run for Biodiversity, this is done during Step Two below.

2.   Runners should contact David Rain at rain@usc-canada.org indicating they are Running for Biodiversity.

3.   David will contact all Running for Biodiversity Team members to coordinate our fundraising efforts leading up to Race Weekend in May.

All are welcome, so don’t be shy. There are race events for all shapes, ages, and sizes – from the 2 km family run/walk all the way up to the full 42 km marathon!

GORILLAS AT THE DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST (UK)

While the gorilla is the largest of all the primates, it is not deserving of its fierce King Kong image. Five different races or ‘sub-species’ of gorilla are currently recognised, all of which face a severe threat of extinction in their native equatorial African habitat. The gruesome and growing illegal trade in gorilla ‘bush meat’ and the all too common problem of habitat loss are the main reasons for the decline of these magnificent apes.
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has kept western lowland gorillas since 1959 – the year it opened. The first to arrive was two-year-old female N’pongo, who died in 1999 at the grand old age of 42. To date, 15 valuable babies have been born here; most are now at other zoos and continue to make a valuable contribution to the breeding programme for their highly endangered species.  See the Durrell website for more information on their valuable conservation work.  http://www.durrell.org/ 

Photographs supplied by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust