Note to Correspondents

EXHIBIT ON GLOBAL CONSERVATION TO OPEN AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

An exhibit, entitled “Gateways to Conservation:  Connecting People to Nature”, will be formally launched in the Main Gallery of the Visitors’ Lobby on Wednesday, 22 October, at 6 p.m. and will remain on display until 9 January 2009.

“Gateways” features stunning images of wildlife and conservation sites from around the world, ranging from Madagascar’s Makira Forest -- home to a gallery of species found nowhere else on earth -- to Patagonia’s wildlife-rich coastal areas.  This exhibit underscores the need for government authorities, the international community and citizens to unite to preserve natural and cultural diversity, from familiar landscapes to the farthest corners of the Earth.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura has described the exhibition as “a superb example of the effectiveness of partnerships between science and policy through public outreach”.  He notes that “the reversal of current trends in the loss of biodiversity and degradation will only be possible if dealt with in an integrated and interdisciplinary manner that combines the fields of social and natural sciences, formal and informal knowledge and communications”.

The exhibition is presented by the Wildlife Conservation Society, in cooperation with UNESCO.

“The Wildlife Conservation Society is known for its efforts worldwide to preserve wildlife and wild places -- our natural diversity.”  The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society, Steven E. Sanderson, said, “We are thrilled to have partnered with UNESCO in bringing this exhibit to the international audience of delegates and visitors to United Nations Headquarters.”

For media inquiries, contact Stephen Sautner, Director of Science Communications, Wildlife Conservation Society at tel.:  718 220 3682, e-mail:  ssautner@wcs.org; and Suzanne Bilello, Senior Public Information and Liaison Officer, UNESCO at tel.:  212 963 4386, e-mail:  bilello@un.org.

For more information on United Nations exhibitions, call Jan Arnesen at tel.:  212 963 8531, e-mail:  arnesen@un.org; or Liza Wichmann at tel.:  212 963 0089, e-mail:  wichmann@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record