Natural Sciences (Videos)

UNESCO Assistant Director-General and Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), talks about key issues concerning the oceans during the annual meeting of UNESCO Goodwill ambassadors at UNESCO headquarters, 26 -27 June 2013.

Johanna Mac Taggart, coordinator of the Swedish biosphere reserve of lake Varnen and organizer of the "farming systems & food security" workshop, March 2011, 24th , 25th. Extract: "We have a proposal to create a structure we call an « ecosystem venture incubator », so we work to promote more benefits from the ecosystems, more business development around this, and we're trying to create a space where people can meet to develop their ideas." Recorded at the "farming systems and food security workshop", UNESCO, March 24 - 25 2011

Professor Richard R. Ernst, 1991 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his methodological developments within nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, discribes science as "the best way to educate people by doing". He adds "Research is important to get honesty into people. And honesty is a basis [...] of peace

Professor Dudley Robert Herschbach is an American chemist at Harvard University. He won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes" Here he discusses the links between science and peace

A film jointly produced by European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) together with UNESCO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on occasion of the International Year of Chemistry, 2011. The film informs the general public that chemistry meets the world's needs, is creative and is building our future, inspires young people and celebrates the continued contribution of women to science. The film will was shown for the first time at UNESCO headquarters during the launching of the International Year of Chemistry on 27 January 2011.

professor Walter Kohn is an American theoretical physicist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on October 13, 1998 for his development of the density-functional theory. He talks about his work and about the role of science in the quest for peace

According to Jean-Marie Lehn, 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, science and peace share a common ground because "scientists are supposed to be open, [they] are supposed to think rationally rather than emotionally, and to go beyond borders"

Interview with Natarajan Ishwaran, UNESCO-MAB Secretary, Director of Division of Ecological and Earth sciences. "What is important this year for this program: to look back and to look forward "

Prof. Emil Salim, a long time devotee of Green Society and currently part of the Presidential Advisory Council in Indonesia delivers his fascinating point of view.

Sergio Guevara Sada, President of Ibero MAB Network, Chairman of the Mexican MAB National Committee, on how the Man and Biosphere programme "Is going to change the world!"

Mr. Herbie Hancock, a well known mucisian which is also UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Diversity delivers his interesting perspective.

Welcoming remarks by Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Mr. Mohammad Nuh, and UNESCO's Director General Ms. Irina Bokova.

Dr. Faridah Noor Mohd Noor from University of Malaya addresses e-culture as an attractive and stimulative way of engaging the youth to preserve the cultural heritages.

Vernon Gilbert, U.S. Biosphere Reserves Association, and founding member of the MAB talk about how "a lot of the [MAB] concept was developed in 1968"

Prof. Hans van Ginkel, former rector of United Nations University, talks about Educating for a Sustainable Future from from Utrecht University, Holland.

Sergio Guevara Sada, President of IberoMAB network, Chairman of the Mexico MAB National Committee. Extract: "I think the best thing in biosphere reserves is the zonation."

Closing remarks by Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Mr. Mohammad Nuh.

Keynote Speaker Prof. Jeffrey Sachs from the Earth Institute, Columbia University, speaks lively from New York at 2 AM in the morning about our readiness towards a Green Economy.

Prof. Jun Murai of Keio University, who is widely considered as the father of Japan's Internet, speaks about the history, development, and prospects of Science, Technology & Innovation in the transition to a Green Economy

First Speaker for the Science, Prof. Martin Lees, former Secretary General of Club of Rome, talks about The Role of Science, Technology & Innovation in the Transition to a Green Economy.

A quostionaire from Philliphines asks Prof. Sachs about the linkage of his clinical economics concepts with the concept of Green Society.

Ms. Desi Anwar and a distant participant asks the panelists about the challenge of governments for the need of changing education for Sustainable Development.

The oceans influence everything and everyone on earth, from climate to crops. Until very recently we knew incredibly little about complex oceanic systems but now the science of our seas is undergoing a revolution. In this film Earth Reporter follows Dr Susan Wijffels, one of the world's foremost oceanographers, as she and her colleagues collect and interpret data from an array of free floating oceanic robots.

UNESCO's Director General Ms. Irina Bokova and a participant comments about the role of culture from their respective perspectives.

Prof. Murai aswers a question about what will happen to human being with the increasing role of Social Networking System such as Twitter or alike, and global connectivity in general.

World Science Day 2010 recognizes the role of science in facilitating the rapprochement of peoples and cultures through its contribution to the advancement of 'mutual knowledge and understanding of people

This short film aims to illustrate present and future challenges in urban water management, highligting water problems facing cities around the world. The film is designed to promote sustainable and innovative approaches that UNESCO is pursuing to help countries address water problems in fast-growing cities, and to assist cities to develop strategies for sustainable urban water management.

A short documentary film related to the environment of coastal cities / mega cities highlighting the vulnerability of these large settlements due to their high demography and to the impacts of marine related hazards (coastal erosion, storm surges, tsunami, forecasted sea level change) as well as the environmental footprint of large coastal cities on marine ecosystems (degradation of coastal habitats, waste management, emissions, pollution, public health impacts). The film will also emphasise the need for sustainable coastal cities to build their planning policies on science based information and products such as the ones promoted by IOC (coastal & ocean monitoring systems, hazards warning systems and preparedness, integrated coastal management and marine spatial planning).

Also called "Connecting Delta Cities. New York, Rotterdam, Jakarta, Alexandria. About global coastal cities and future challenges", this films addresses the huge challenges and dangers that cities and places as different as Greenland, Jakarta, Rotterdam and New York are facing. Their problems, the film insists, are global and can be tackled more efficiently with an exchange of knowledge and intensive cooperation. The film also exists in a 42-minutes version

The BBC documentary investigated how two 'twinned' coastal biosphere reserves, one in the UK and one in Kenya are comparing their mutual challenges and sharing the lessons learnt in trying to find sustainable solutions to local development in the face of climate change.

Documentary film illustrating UNESCO's activities and ordinary people initiatives in the field of protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in Waterton Biosphere Reserve, Canada. ***************** Français: Réserve de la Biosphère de Waterton - Canada Documentaire présentant les activités de l'UNESCO et les initiatives populaires pour la protection de la biodiversité et le développement durable dans la réserve de biosphère de Waterton au Canada.

The Mount Kuwol Biosphere Reserve, situated on the west coast of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and 100 kilometres south-east of Pyongyang, consists of a 954 meter-high mountain, adjacent coastal wetlands, lagoons and river estuaries, and agricultural areas. Both the core area and the buffer zone are part of the Mount Kuwol Nature Reserve, which was designated in 1976. The main objective of the core area is to protect the old typical forest ecosystem of Korea, which survived the damages of the Korea War. The presence of both pristine and rehabilitated forests makes Mount Kuwol an important area to study the ecological changes and effects of forest rehabilitation as well as the associated biodiversity. Ginseng (Panax ginseng), Forsythia ovata and other native plants are protected here. The only human activities in the core area are sightseeing and visits to the Woljong Temple, an old historic relic. There are limited human activities in the buffer zone, and the transition area, which includes forests, plain areas, wetlands and many rivers, is where most economic activities take place. The wetland, which includes the coastal Unryul Migratory Birds Reserve, play an important conservation role as habitats for shore birds and critical areas for many migratory bird species of north-east Asia such as black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor), Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes) and red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis).

Documentary film illustrating UNESCO's activities and ordinary people initiatives in the field of protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in Glacier Biosphere Reserve, USA. ******************** Français: Réserve de la Biosphère du Parc Naturel Glacier, Etats-Unis Documentaire présentant les activités de l'UNESCO et des gens ordinaires pour la protection de la biodiversité et le développement durable dans la réserve de biosphère du Glacier aux Etats-Unis.

Documentary film illustrating UNESCO's activities and ordinary people initiatives in the field of protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in Brazil.

Raifa Biosphere Reserve is situated in the middle of the European part of Russia in the high-density population region - in Tatarstan Republic (the population density is 120 persons/sq. km), with highly developed industry and agriculture. Only 17 % of the region is covered by forest. The GVKBR consists of four clusters: Raifa Forest, Sarali Land between Rivers, Spassk Insular Archipelago, Sviyzhsk Wetland Area. All of them are not far from the capital of Tatarstan Republic - city Kazan (see map). In correspondence to the Seville strategy, all clusters have core area, buffer zone and transition zone. The territory of the BR is distinguished for its biodiversity. The natural communities of coniferous, mixed, broadleaved forests, meadow steppes, herbaceous and sphagnum swamps, meadows and lakes together with the aquatic and semi-aquatic systems of the largest in Europe Kuibyshev Reservoir are present here."

A documentary about biodiversity, its meaning and importance in our day to day life. It also reflects on the work carried out by UNESCO and its partners to preserve biodiversity. More precisely it shows some of the actions implemented by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) to promote sustainable development. This DVD is part of the educational kit "Capacity Building for Promoting Environmental Sustainability through Biodiversity Conservation"

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 claimed the lives of more than 230,000 people, the highest toll in recorded history. Tsunami Teacher is a resource toolkit that pulls together a wealth of information on tsunamis that already exists, gathered down decades on individual events and responses to them, and enriched by research and scientific advances. This training kit contributes to build awareness and capacity to respond and mitigate the impact of tsunamis through the sharing of knowledge, research and best practices The video content on this kit is more than 5 hours long. It is divided in sections that comprise workshops and evaluations, resource collection, as well as training modules.

From the 26th of June to the 13th of July 2006 fifty participants from various European countries were biking the Western Balkans from in order to promote local sustainable development. They stopped at ten different natural and cultural sites in order to discover unique environmental situations, discuss issues related to the sustainability of local territorial dynamics with stakeholders, and demonstrate concrete solidarity and openness to cultural diversity and local traditions and practices.

Soil works hard for us every year, growing our food, but are we giving it what it needs to survive? Without shelter, harsh sunlight bakes the soil, and torrential rains wash it away. Without food - new inputs of organic matter - soil loses its nutrients. We must feed it well for it to feed us well. Fortunately, there are many things people can do to help soil restore and keep its fertility Featured videos: - Soils: Introduction - Compost and Mulch: a video about this method - Natural Pest Control: controlling pest by natural means - Conservation Tilling, - Green Manure: Showing how the method works - Agroforestry: a short video about nitrogen fixing trees and improved fallows - Permaculture: organic composting, growing vegs and mulching

More than 15 million people across Africa depend on forests for their livelihoods, chopping them down for fuel, or to sell as timber. These short videos show how people in Africa are managing trees and forests for the future, whether for food, income or the environment Featured videos: - Forests: Introduction - Trees and Business: a story told by Mhanda Mabula from Tanzania - Trees and Farming: Anthony and Agnes Katakwa, also from Tanzania tell us how they go about them - Land Regeneration: a forest re-establishment: Shinyanga - Micro credit and Alternative Tree Products: a short story about micro credit, fruit harvesting from wild sources and oil extracting - Good Woods: the Good Woods Project, Kenya

Currently, over sixty percent of households in Africa burn biomass fuels, like wood, crop residue, charcoal and dung every day. Of all the biomass fuels, wood is the most sought-after. As the number of trees dwindles rapidly, people have to travel greater distances to collect wood. Women often provide much of the human energy in families and when trees are few and far between, they have to carry heavy loads of fuel wood long distances every day Featured videos: - Energy: Introduction -Wate Energy: about Pico hydro power - Solar Energy: a video about solar power cookers - Biogas, - Fuel Efficient Stoves: about practical solutions including Upesi stoves - Smoke Hoods

If you sailed the whole of Africa's 18, 950 mile coastline, you would visit 33 countries. Because the ocean has no boundaries, nothing can be done without consequences for the whole. The ocean can seem like a useful bin for the huge amount of waste produced by humankind, but this is not true. Pollution is building up, as oil, plastic and sewage are dumped from boats, cities and factories. On our blue planet, it can seem as though the bounty of the oceans is endless, but over-fishing and by-catch are also threatening marine resources.