Nairobi, 9 November
2010 - They may play according to different
rules on the sports field, but today in
Nairobi, organizers of major sporting events,
ranging from the FIFA World Cup
to the Winter Olympic Games came together
for a common goal: how to improve their
'green' credentials.
Participants at the
Global Forum for Sport and Environment (G-ForSE),
held at UNEP headquarters from 8 - 9 November,
reviewed the impact of environmental projects
from the likes of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
and the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore
and discussed the sustainability measures
planned for future sports events.
The forum provided a
unique platform to share expertise and experiences
that can help step up greening efforts in
the lead-up to events such as the 2012 Olympic
Games in London, the 2014 Winter Olympic
Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2014 FIFA World
Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Olympic Games
in Rio de Janeiro.
With a 16-year history
in integrating environment and sport, UNEP
advises host countries and organizing committees
on how to integrate environmental considerations
into the staging of major sports events
and also carries out environmental impact
assessments both before the games start
and after the final whistle.
The backdrop for the
2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia,
includes diverse habitats such as the Black
Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and Alpine meadows.
Organizers of the Games are already working
on ways to minimize and to offset the event's
impact on the local environment by focusing
on four key areas: protection of nature,
climate neutrality, waste management and
environmental communications.
Following the recommendations
of an expert assessment released by UNEP
in 2008, the Sochi organizing committee
relocated the proposed sliding centre (for
bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events) and
mountain village away from its initial location
to a less environmentally-sensitive site.
As part of the 'Green
Goal' initiative for the 2010 FIFA World
Cup, UNEP partnered with organizers to help
deliver sustainable public lighting projects
across six host cities. A collaboration
with sportswear brand PUMA© also resulted
in eleven national teams offsetting their
World Cup emissions, while the 'Green Passport'
- distributed to 100,000 football fans -
encouraged World Cup visitors to make sustainable
travel choices while in South Africa. Green
Passports - which are packed full of local,
eco-friendly tips and advice for travelers
- have also been introduced in Brazil and
Ecuador and new campaigns are about to begin
in Costa Rica and Israel.
UNEP's work in Sport
and the Environment has two main objectives:
to use the popularity of sports to promote
environmental awareness and to encourage
green activities through sport that bring
real benefits to communities and to the
environment.
The final event at G-ForSE
saw three African-based conservation projects
that work with elephants, gorillas and lions
share a prize of US$800,000 as part of the
UNEP- Puma® Play for Life project; a
global initiative dedicated to raising awareness
about conservation among sports fans during
the UN's International Year of Biodiversity
in 2010.
The funds were raised
primarily through the sales of replica 'Unity
Kits', specially designed for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup in South Africa and worn by international
stars such as Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon and
Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast. The
three projects in Nigeria, Zambia, Ivory
Coast and Liberia were the winners of a
Play for Life online poll held during the
World Cup, where football fans were asked
to select their favourite conservation project.
The winning trio includes
UNEP's Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP),
which works to save gorilla, chimpanzee,
bonobo and orangutan populations from extinction
in Africa and South East Asia. GRASP will
use the donation to employ and train forest
guards and help develop alternative livelihoods
for forest communities in equatorial Africa.
'The African Lion: King
without a Kingdom' project will channel
the prize money into a survey of Zambia's
lion population and the development of a
national management plan for the conservation
of the species. Finally, the 'Support for
the Elephants' Project will use the Play
for Life award to help create biodiversity
corridors supporting endangered elephants
in the forests of Ivory Coast and Liberia.
As well as major events
like the FIFA World Cup, G-ForSE also highlighted
new environmental measures being taken by
smaller sports organizations. The international
governing body for power boating (UIM),
for example, has unveiled a series of measures
to reduce emissions from the sport. A clean
fuel task force is currently promoting the
use of environmentally-friendly alternatives
such as bio-ethanol, which produces fewer
carbon dioxide emissions and results in
less water pollution during races.
UIM has signed a cooperation
agreement with UNEP to further its range
of environmental initiatives and to share
information and expertise.
G-ForSE was preceded
by the African Seminar on Sports and the
Environment held at UNEP headquarters on
6 - 7 November. National Olympic Committees
from 40 African countries agreed to adopt
a series of resolutions to develop sport
as a vehicle to promote peace and the environment
on the continent. These include a commitment
from National Olympic Committees to place
environment and sustainability as priority
issues on their national developmental agendas
and to invest in education programmes for
young people on the environment.
Notes to Editors
About G-ForSE
First held in 2001,
the Global Forum for Sport and Environment
is a bi-annual forum organised by UNEP in
partnership with the Global Sports Alliance.
G-ForSE brings together International Sports
Federations, National Olympic Committees,
organizers of major sporting events, civil
society organizations and sport and environment
enthusiasts to discuss major challenges
and achievements in integrating the environment
and sport. The two-day forum also offers
a platform for organizers of future sports
events to discuss on ways of mainstreaming
environmental considerations in their activities.
About Play for Life
In January 2010, PUMA®
and UNEP formed an alliance to launch the
'Play for Life Campaign', a global initiative
dedicated to raising awareness about the
importance of species and habitat conservation
and biodiversity amongst football fans and
the general public during this World Cup
year, which saw the tournament take place
for the first time in Africa. 'Play for
Life' focuses on Africa - a continent that
is home to some of the richest and most
threatened reservoirs of plant and animal
life on Earth. PUMA® is a member of
the Climate Neutral Network - an outreach
initiative led by UNEP to catalyze global
transition to low-carbon economies and societies.
