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30 March 2010 - The livelihoods of six and a half billion people are sustained by ecosystems containing almost 2 million known species. The welfare of Humankind is utterly dependent on this web of life.
According to the UN's 3rd Global Biodiversity Outlook (to be published in May, 2010) , 130 species become extinct each day. That's over 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. Projected trends show accelerating species extinctions and loss of habitat throughout the 21 st century.
Alarmed at this assault on nature, the United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.
COMplus partners are working together to raise awareness about the year of biodiversity: -
dev .tv
Produced in 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian), dev.tv has made a 8' video outlining the state of biodiversity; challenges and aims of IYB. The video is being shown at all the events connected to IYB.
dev.tv has or will also be producing:
- A Green economy debate from Bali – aired on BBC World News, February 2010
- Video News Release embargoed, May 10 for publication of GBO 3 – international and regionalised versions for Latin America, Africa and Asia – under CBD editorial sign-off
- 9' video on GB0 3 for government and NGOs – under CBD editorial sign-off
- Video diaries of post-conflict assessment in DRC – July 2010
- New Nature Incs – scheduled for transmission October 2010
For copies of the above outputs please contact : Aurore Chery at dev.tv + 41 22 909 1240; aurore@dev.tv ; www.dev.tv
Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)
Linking food security, climate change and diversity – strengthening media engagement on the issue of biodiversity during 2010, the UN designated International Year of Biodiversity makes the links between biodiversity, food security and climate change.
This initiative brings together three COMplus media partners -; the IFEJ network of individuals and national associations of specialized environmental journalists together with IPS and its own network of writers and also UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
The specific objectives of the project are to:
- Strengthen the capacity of journalists to report about biodiversity, and especially its links to food security and climate change:
- Provide the media with a flow of independent, professional journalism about biodiversity throughout 2010: and
Activities include:
Capacity-building for Southern Journalists - IPS, IFEJ and Biodiversity International will contract a joint task force to create a short set of Reporting Guidelines on Biodiversity which will be prepared for the early part of 2010. It will include context, definitions, story ideas and expert sources, as well as a calendar for 2010. Linkages with food security and climate change will be prominent dimensions.
Particular attention will be paid to issues arising in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. It will be available in English and Spanish. The Reporting Guidelines will not be printed in bulk but will be available online in PDF format, and may be printed and mailed to journalists without adequate online access.
This short guide (circa 10 pages) will be distributed electronically through the partner networks. It will be a key mentoring tool for working with journalists contributing to all the other parts of this project.
Sustained Coverage of Agricultural Biodiversity in 2010
Twenty six original, independent news features and accompanying photos or illustrations on biodiversity will be commissioned from the IFEJ / IPS global networks of local writers during 2010. The story flow will include a mix of features, analysis, interviews and occasional op-ed contributions
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