- Title: UNESCO and French perfumer Guerlain team up to save bees
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF UNESCO HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL, AUDREY AZOULAY, ANSWERING QUESTIONS OUTSIDE PROJECT LAUNCH (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL, AUDREY AZOULAY, SAYING: "So with the fashion house Guerlain and the LVMH group, we have worked together to build projects in a number of biosphere reserves across the world for beekeeper training, projects for bee sustainability in these biosphere reserves, to participate in and contribute to the world's biodiversity." AZOULAY ANSWERING QUESTIONS (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL, AUDREY AZOULAY, SAYING: "Bees are the guardians and workers of biodiversity. Bees provide extraordinary services for humanity in the diversity of plants, vegetables, their reproduction and pollination, but also for the protection of human health and for the beauty of the world, because without bees, there would be no beauty in the world today." AUDIENCE AT LAUNCH AZOULAY AND BOARD MEMBER OF FRENCH LUXURY GOODS HOUSE LMVH, WHICH OWNS GUERLAIN, ANTOINE ARNAULT, ON STAGE WITH MODERATOR AT LAUNCH AZOULAY AND ARNAULT ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (French) BOARD MEMBER OF FRENCH LUXURY GOODS HOUSE LMVH, WHICH OWNS GUERLAIN, ANTOINE ARNAULT, SAYING: "The protection of biodiversity isn't a new commitment for us. There are a whole lot of other areas we support in sustainable development, but with UNESCO we have found this common ground, and a wonderful partner, extremely well-qualified in this matter, to take on a range of issues surrounding biodiversity. For a group like ours, natural resources are obviously at the heart of our strategy, but also at the heart of our success, whether it's flowers for perfume, cotton for ready-to-wear clothes, leather too, of course." AUDIENCE AT LAUNCH LISTENING AZOULAY AND ARNAULT TALKING DURING LAUNCH
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 10:56
- Keywords: Bees Guerlain UNESCO LVMH biodiversity wildlife beekeeping
- Location: PARIS, SAINTE-BAUME, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, SAINTE-BAUME, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Environment,Nature/Wildlife
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1HKND3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: UNESCO and French perfumer Guerlain launched a five-year project on Thursday (October 17) in Paris to provide training and support to beekeepers around the world in the aim of saving the dwindling bee population.
The programme, run with beekeeping research organisation the French Apidology Observatory (OFA), will focus on beekeeper training in UNESCO biosphere reserves, the creation of bee farms, technical support for beekeepers and research into pollination in local ecosystems.
The first year of the project will be a trial year conducted on a small scale in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia and China, followed by four years of worldwide expansion.
By 2024, the project plans to create 44 new biosphere reserves in 44 countries, build 4,400 new hives and train 88 beekeepers.
Guerlain, who say they hope to be carbon-neutral by 2028, have embarked on several sustainable initiatives in recent years, using electric lorries to supply their Paris stores since 2014 and creating a recycling scheme for used perfume bottles.
Speaking at the launch in UNESCO's Paris headquarters, Director-General Audrey Azoulay told Reuters that "Bees provide extraordinary services for humanity... without bees, there would be no beauty in the world today."
In May 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which groups 130 countries, including the United States, Russia and China published a report on the devastating impact of modern civilisation on the natural world.
Known as the Global Assessment, the report found that up to one million of Earth's estimated eight million plant, insect and animal species is at risk of extinction, many within decades.
(Production: Thierry Chiarello, Kathryn Carlson) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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