Internet used to preserve nature<\/p>\n
By Tom Wright<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Reuter): An Indonesian nature reserve on the island
\nof Java is the site of an unlikely partnership between
\nconservation groups and two of the world's largest computer
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
Throughout this month environmentalists from four Asian
\ncountries are being trained at the Cibodas nature reserve in how
\nto apply the latest computer technology in their fight to protect
\necological biodiversity.<\/p>\n
Cibodas, about 50 km (30 miles) of Jakarta, is one of 25
\nbiosphere reserves that the United Nations Education, Scientific
\nand Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has set up across Asia, Latin
\nAmerica and Africa to pioneer this scheme.<\/p>\n
"There have already been two biosphere reserve training
\nprograms in Central and South America, and Africa is still to
\ncome," Martha Klein, an environmental officer at UNESCO in
\nJakarta, told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Klein said the computer systems being introduced at Cibodas
\nwill give reserve managers access to wide biological and social
\ndata which will help them maintain a balance between conserving
\nbiodiversity and encouraging sustainable use of resources by
\nlocal communities.<\/p>\n
The introduction of the Internet will also have a large role
\nto play in the future management of the reserves, Gordon Moore,
\nchairman of Intel Corp said in a statement.<\/p>\n
"Bringing the power of the personal computer into developing
\ncountries allows researchers to...quickly share information with
\ncolleagues around the world," Moore said.<\/p>\n
Klein said there are currently more than 335 biosphere
\nreserves in 85 countries across the globe, all of which UNESCO
\nhopes will eventually come on-line.<\/p>\n
"We want to create a global network of exchange of
\nexperience," she said.<\/p>\n
Asian reserve managers from Mongolia, Thailand, Philippines
\nand Indonesia are being trained at Cibodas. UNESCO also runs two
\nprojects in China and one in Sri Lanka, Klein said.<\/p>\n
Conservation International, a U.S.-based environmental group,
\nis training Asian reserve staff to use the latest computer
\nsoftware in the management of their environmental projects.<\/p>\n
"This is conservation at work in today's high-tech world,"
\nSilvio Olivieri, vice president of Conservation International,
\nsaid in a statement.<\/p>\n
"Getting the right kind of equipment and technology to people
\nin developing nations is a tremendous help in confronting a
\nmultitude of rapidly changing environmental challenges," he said.<\/p>\n
Klein said UNESCO set up biosphere reserves in the late 1960s
\nas a way of maintaining healthy ecological systems faced by a
\nburgeoning developing world population.<\/p>\n
"Fencing off a conservation area like an island just doesn't
\nwork. We have to open it up to people," she said.<\/p>\n
UNESCO says the reserves in developing countries, which
\ncontain the highest concentration of biodiversity, are under
\nthreat without the technical capacity for effective management.<\/p>\n
"Personal computers (are) powerful tools to gather data,
\nanalyse it and make the best decisions needed for the management
\nof these reserves," it said in a recent report.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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