UNITED NATIONS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ANIMAL PLANET

TO PROMOTE CONSERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY

Channel to Air World Animal Day Programming Special on 7 October

The United Nations today announced the formation of a promotional partnership with the Animal Planet television channel of Discovery Networks International aimed at generating awareness for conservation and biodiversity around the world.  Focusing on the television channel’s annual programming special, World Animal Day, which will air on 7 October, the partnership will leverage the joint resources, knowledge and efforts of both organizations.

“The United Nations partnership with Animal Planet will help educate millions around the world about the importance of protecting the Earth’s precious biodiversity for the benefit of all people”, said Shashi Tharoor, Interim Head of the United Nations Department of Public Information.

According to some estimates, over 100 species are lost everyday and about 40,000 species become extinct every year.  Many species are increasingly at great risk, as over 25 per cent of the world’s approximately 4,630 mammal species and

11 per cent of the 9,675 bird species were at significant risk of total extinction in the late 1990s.

“Collaboration with the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies, including the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is a natural partnership that exposes millions of viewers to issues such as species conservation, habitat protection, and biodiversity”, said Dawn McCall, President of Discovery Networks International. 

The UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook 2000 highlights the importance of educating people about the Earth’s environment, given the problems that now exist in many areas of the world –- from land degradation and deforestation to air pollution and global warming, to inadequate water supplies and the loss of untold numbers of plant and animal species. 

“It is critical for Animal Planet as a media role model to initiate and define key partnerships that reflect our core mission”, said Michael Cascio, General Manager and Executive Vice-President of Animal Planet.  “We have a social responsibility to raise awareness about key global issues that affect our world today.”

Each organization will tap its unique resources to generate awareness and exposure for the natural world and precious wildlife.

For example, through its Web site, the United Nations provides access to information -- in particular, the UN Works programme (www.un.org/works) -- about its projects that promote species conservation, habitat protection, and biodiversity.  The Web site also includes links to educational information and projects developed by UNEP, UNDP and their global partners.

Animal Planet is committed to creating stand-alone global programming for World Animal Day, developing promotions, and using its airtime to highlight environmental issues and bring attention to United Nations’ efforts to educate people around the world about the importance of biodiversity to the future of our planet.  Animal Planet’s partnership with the Earth Communication’s Office (ECO), a non-profit organization, also generates exposure for these issues via Web site collaboration with Animal Planet and the United Nations for World Animal Day. “ECO’s mission is to use the power of communication to protect the global environment”, said Ruben Aronin, ECO’s Executive Director, “and with World Animal Day, Animal Planet has demonstrated perfectly how a network can entertain while educating viewers about environmental issues.  The ECO is proud to collaborate with Animal Planet and the United Nations on this effort.”

Animal Planet, Discovery and ECO

Internationally, Animal Planet is a joint venture of two of the world’s most respected names in non-fiction film:  BBC Worldwide Ltd., the commercial arm of the BBC, and Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI).

Launched in the United States in October 1996, and now available in over

74 million homes, Animal Planet offers a wide range of television entertainment, including dramatic reality-based series, talk shows, original fictional programming, high-quality children’s shows, documentaries, and more.  The unit also markets and distributes BBC America.  The Animal Planet site is www.animalplanet.com.

Combined networks of Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI) reach subscriber households in more than 155 countries and territories worldwide.  Discovery Networks, International (DNI), a division of DCI, includes the Discovery Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Health, Discovery Home & Leisure, Animal Planet, People+Arts, Discovery Sci-Trek, Discovery Travel & Adventure, Discovery Civilization, and Discovery Wings.  The networks are available over 62 separate feeds in 33 languages via 11 satellites.

Animal Planet’s partnership with theECO promotes conservation and biodiversity, providing outreach to a broad membership, including prominent members of the conservation, scientific and entertainment communities.  The ECO also supplies public service announcements about endangered animals for broadcast on Animal Planet.  The ECO, a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Los

Angeles, uses the power of communication to improve the global environment.  ECO’s board includes members of the film, television, music, advertising and public relations industries.  ECO’s award-winning campaigns are seen by more than a billion people worldwide every year.

For further information, contact:  Jim Sniffen, Information Officer, UNEP, tel: (212) 963-8094, e-mail: sniffenj@un.org; or Carmel M. Mulvany, Programme Manager, UN Works Programme, tel: (212) 963-2300, e-mail: mulvany@un.org.

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