International Year of Planet Earth
2008 International Year of Planet Earth, Global Launch Event
The United Nations General Assembly in New York has proclaimed 2008 International Year of Planet Earth. The Year's activities will actually span 2007-2009 and support research projects within defined themes focusing on Earth Sciences in the service of society.
The International Year of Planet Earth was officially launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 12–13 February 2008. Initiated jointly by UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the Year will demonstrate over the next 24 months just how important Earth sciences are for society.
The themes of the Year are:
- Hazards: reducing vulnerability to natural and human-induced hazards;
- Earth and Health: improving understanding of the medical aspects of Earth science;
- Resource Issues: discovering new natural resources and making them available in a sustainable manner;
- Soil: getting under Earth's living skin;
- Megacities: going deeper, building safer;
- Climate change: determining the longer term variations in climate change;
- Groundwater: detecting deep and poorly accessible groundwater;
- Earth and life: removing some of the question marks surrounding the evolution of life;
- Oceans: abyss of time;
- The Deep Earth: how it influences our environment.
Official website
Exhibition "Planet Earth: from Space to Place"
Photo contest on "The Changing Face of the Earth"
Projects within the International Geoscience Programme
- Start Date:
- 05-02-2008 -
- End Date:
- 31-12-2008
OneGeology
- Start Date:
- 05-02-2008 -
- End Date:
- 31-12-2008
The Agua y Paz Biosphere Reserve on two post stamps!
"Water for Life" - Yoshinobu Toïde
The gold commemorative coin 'International Year of Planet Earth' at a glance
The Director-General pays an official visit to Tanzania and launches the International Year of Planet Earth in Africa (Tanzania)
International Year of Planet Earth: Regional activities (Cuba)
International Year of Planet Earth: Regional activities (Brazil)
Declaration presented at the Global Launch Event of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE)
UNESCO's Director-General signs an agreement with China establishing the International Research Centre on Karst as a Category II centre
Global Launch Event - IYPE
Reaching out to the public
Attracting more young people to geosciences
Key events within the Year