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Airbus and National Geographic partnership supports the Green Wave
The Green Wave aims to raise awareness among children, young people, families and educators on the importance of biodiversity, and also provides resources for schools around the world to educate tomorrow's decision-makers on the crucial tasks of protecting Earth's biodiversity and halting its loss.
On the 5 June 2009 World Environment Day – an initiative by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Airbus launched its “See the bigger picture” photo contest together with the Convention on Biological Diversity and National Geographic.
Young people from 99 countries submitted photographs to the contest, highlighting subjects ranging from flowers, butterflies, and frogs to peaches and forest cover. The “See the bigger picture” website blossomed into a virtual community of children interested in preserving and protecting the world’s natural resources.
Contest judges – comprised of National Geographic wildlife photographer Joel Sartore‚ the Convention on Biological Diversity's Neil Pratt and a panel of Airbus executives – announced eight winners in November 2009.
These winners – selected for what Sartore calls their “creative seeing of the natural world” – traveled to the U.S. in December 2009 for a special visit to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they got an up-close look at this famous organisation that inspires people to care about the planet. In addition, National Geographic magazine carried their pictures in its December edition.
Sartore – who has travelled extensively to photograph endangered species, drawing attention to the threats to biodiversity posed by climate change – agreed to judge the “See the bigger picture” photo contest in recognition of Airbus' commitment to eco-efficiency and The Green Wave initiative.
“To preserve biodiversity‚ we must help our children to re-engage with the natural world‚” he continued. “Getting them outside to take pictures is a fun way to start. That's why the ‘See the bigger picture’ contest is such a great idea.”
What is biodiversity precisely? The loss of biodiversity and climate change are today's main environmental challenges. Aviation contributes 2 per cent to man-made CO2 while deforestation accounts for about 17 per cent of global greenhouse emissions, making it the second largest source after the energy sector. Deforestation of rain forests also is the main cause for the global threat to biodiversity. So, when we tackle climate change, we must address deforestation and thus biodiversity at the same time.
Air transport uses only 1 per cent of all land used for transport in Europe, compared to 4 per cent for rail and 83 per cent for road. Just 7 per cent of the population is affected by transport near airports, compared to 14 per cent for rail and 79 per cent for road. And aviation is credible when it comes to biodiversity. Three kilometres of runway can transport people and goods around the world, while 3 kilometres of railroad track will only lead down the road.
More than half the Earth's original rain forests have been destroyed, two-thirds of our ecosystem is in an advanced state of destruction and species extinction is running at 1,000 times the natural rate. Ensuring a sustainable growth is not an end in itself. Considering the crucial issues of an endangered Earth, considering the global responsibility towards the community it serves, Airbus is putting its resources and expertise into supporting the people tackling the major causes of climate change.
The loss of biodiversity is a global problem and needs to be tackled as such. The organisation best equipped to co-ordinate this is UNEP, which is why Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding with its Convention on Biological Diversity last year.
By doing so, we intend to stimulate and create a strong link between children and nature, as it is vital that people understand and protect the delicate balance of nature. This initiative comes in the run-up to the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.
As part of the “See the bigger picture” photo contest, Airbus commits to donate 1 euro per photo entry to its Corporate Foundation – through which it is tasked to focus on protecting, improving and increasing awareness of the environment, and supporting projects with a particular focus on biodiversity. Use the following links to read more about Green Wave>>> Visit the Green Wave campaign website U.N. Secretary-General's message on the launch of the Airbus-National Geographic "Green Wave" partnership (.pdf 24 KB) |
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