22 January
2008 - Tara, the UNEP supported polar boat,
has broken free from the Arctic ice sheet
after a record breaking scientific expedition
across the top of the world.
Wedged in the pack ice,
Tara "drifted" with the wind and
ocean currents at an average speed of 10
km/h for more than 500 days. In one and
half years she covered 5,200 kilometers
in the Arctic, and at one point was only
160 kilometers from the North Pole, the
northern-most position ever reached by a
schooner.
The boat is now sailing
in open water, and by the end of the week
is expected to reach land at Longyearbyen,
capital of Spitsbergen. She will then continue
on to her home port of Lorient in France.
"My congratulations
go out to the whole Tara team on their tremendous
human and logistical achievement,"
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director. "This
expedition was not only about adventure
however," Steiner continued. "The
important scientific work undertaken will
also contribute to a greater understanding
of the negative impacts of climate change
on the arctic environment."
"The Polar Regions
are some of the most hauntingly beautiful
places on Earth," Steiner said. "They
are also nature's early warning systems
where issues like human-induced climate
change, the thinning of the ozone layer
and the impacts of persistent chemical pollution
continue to be registered first."
As part of the International
Polar Year, Tara has provided an unprecedented
platform for scientific observations and
research (including the European DAMOCLES
project) on how the Arctic environment is
changing. Throughout the course of the expedition,
it has been relaying these findings to scientists,
policy makers and the general public alike.
You can follow Tara's
progress at www.taraexpeditions.org
+ More
UNEP calls for Nominations
for the 2008 UNEP Sasakawa Prize
Nairobi, 24 January
2008 - Nominations are officially open for
the 2008 UNEP Sasakawa Prize, the United
Nations Environment Programme announced
today.
The US$200,000 award
is given out every year by UNEP and the
Nippon Foundation to reward environmental
innovation, initiatives and research from
around the world.
This year, winners will
be chosen for work related to the theme
for this year's World Environment Day: 'Kick
the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy'.
The Prize will be awarded for work related
to reducing society's dependence on carbon-intensive
technologies and lifestyles. Sustainability
and the proven potential to replicate will
be among the key elements that will guide
the search for a winner.
Sasakawa Prize winners
are achievers with an established track
record of achievement and the potential
to make outstanding contributions to the
protection and management of the environment
consistent with UNEP's policies and objectives.
UNEP's hope is that the Prize will offer
the financial support laureates need to
build on their achievements.
To nominate someone, please
visit www.unep.org/sasakawa before 15 March
2008.
Further information
on the UNEP Sasakawa Prize and the nomination
process is available at www.unep.org/sasakawa
or from sasakawaprize@unep.org
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
