Author: Nicolas

5 March 2010. Cineparallax, a Countdown 2010 partner, has recently produced a documentary on the link between nature and people in the Amazon. The documentary investigates how nature mirrors the social and physiological condition of the Amazon people.

In the ‘Roads of Water’ documentary the protagonists come and go like the rivers’ currents thanks to an original editing format: the narration structure follows the course of the Amazon river. The film is accompanied by an original soundtrack composed by the American jazz musician Ken Vandermark, whose music adds a poignant note that resonates in the spectator’s mind long after the final credits.

By showing images of nature and local people, the documentary aims to promote biodiversity and nature conservation. Read the presentation to find out how to contribute to this project.

The project is supported by, among others, UNESCO, Eau de Paris and France Libertées-Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.

• Interested in screening the film? Read more here.
• Cineparallax

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23 February 2010. Voz Natura is an environmental education program developed by the Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre Foundation created in 1997. Its main goal is to involve the community of Galicia in the recovery and protection of its wildlife and habitats.

Since its creation, various types of environmental projects have been developed and carried out: reforestations and plantations, cleaning and rehabilitation of degraded areas (beaches, rivers etc.), recycling-reduction-reuse and waste treatment projects, fauna and flora protection, together with research and studies on sustainability.

Voz Natura has managed to involve different target groups including children and youth, parents, teachers and even local authorities and organizations. For the International Year of Biodiversity, it wants to celebrate its 1,899 environmental projects carried out since 1997, as well as its network of 260 educational centres including 44,967 students and 2,435 teachers who work actively in protecting the environment.

• For more information www.voznatura.es
• Read more about Voz Natura

Valle de Mena is a small and friendly town in Northern Spain – a real biodiversity hotspot due to its transitional climate between Mediterranean and Continental. It has: 13,000 hectares under the Natura 2000 network; old species such as the Portuguese laurel Prunus lusitanica; and endangered fauna and flora. One of the priorities of the City Council is to protect indigenous species in oak beech and pine forests, bogs, and riverbanks.

Through the development of an educational programme in Ireland, Just Forests will try to show the way out of current social and environmental problems and how to live sustainably. To be truly effective the organization wants to place a real economic value on the benefits of biodiversity, taking into consideration indigenous people as well as the strategic role of forests as carbon sinks to minimize the consequences of climate change.

The Joggins Fossil Institute is a charity which was developed to conserve the Joggins Fossil Cliffs World Heritage Site for future generations. The Institute is committed to conserving the Earth’s resources and the diversity of life, and values the ecological integrity of its site. The Landscape Management Plan is based upon existing species and the re-introduction of native species to the Acadian Forest region.

29 January 2010. Hero Productions, one of Countdown 2010’s active African partners based in Ghana, reported on its 2009 activities to promote sustainable development and halt the loss of biodiversity. Throughout 2009, Hero Productions organized 3 major events to promote and engage the public into environmental topics: a First National Youth Conference on Biodiversity in May, a West African Youth Exchange Programme, and the participation in the UN Seal the Deal! Climate Campaign for Copenhagen.

Hero Productions events reached out to large groups of people, from government representatives to youth organizations in the following countries: Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

• For more information, read the 2009 Summary Report
• Read more about Hero Productions

From January 2010 three municipalities in the Oldambt region in the North-East of the Netherlands merged to form the new municipality of Oldambt. With this merger the work of the ClubWinschoterGroen, has broadened to include the entire new community of Oldambt. To reflect this change they have been renamed as ClubOldambtsterGroen.

Of course, the goals for the organization remain the same but greater cooperation with other organizations in the Oldambt region, such as nature protection organizations and village societies will become a focus of their work. The merger offers opportunities to promote ecological infrastructures such as connecting nature reserves to the parks and other green areas in the town of Winschoten and other villages. This allows wild animals greater movement between the nature reserves and the parks

Pilot project for ecological park management

A pilot project to ecologically manage a 20,000 square meter park in Winschoten has proven a success. At the start of the project the local population were skeptical about the new way of managing the area as it meant the park was less cultivated (more natural). However thanks to consultation meetings, ClubOldambtsterGroen explained their findings with clear illustrations of the benefits for animals, plants and fungi, together with the inhabitants of Winschoten, stressing the crucial role of ecological relations in providing health and well being. Local inhabitants are now very supportive of the ecological management of the park.

Check the Partner’s page on Countdown 2010 website or www.cluboldambtstergroen.eu for more information.

The Danish municipality of Assens actively works for the better protection and promotion of animal and plant habitats. As an example, in cooperration with a local landowner the City has carried out a management plan for a valuable and vulnerable calcareous grassland on the peninsular of Helnæs. A dense scrub covering a large area has successfully been removed in order to create better conditions for rare plant species – such as the local melanpyrum arvense which still found on Helnæs.

Biodiversity has many faces. This is why communication initiatives that encourage us to take steps to save biodiversity need to tell many stories and use all kinds of approaches to get the message home. Business Solutions Europa specializes in communications projects that really encourage Europeans, especially young people, to think and act about biodiversity and sustainable development. www.myfriendboo.com is an example of our latest project.

Herdade Cadouços has undergone a transformation, 10 years ago it was a decrepit space and now it is a natural oasis. 45 ha of invasive eucalyptus plantations were eradicated and Nature was given the right conditions for renewal and development. 300 000 oak trees were planted and 500 ha of land have been fully certified for organic farming. 8 natural lakes were established taking advantage of natural springs in the area, these promoted the growth of various species of fish, birds and mammals.