Mercedes' green legacy

Premium auto brand Mercedes-Benz and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have released an achievement report detailing progress in the protection and sustainable management of World Natural Heritage Sites in China under the Green Legacy Program.

Entitled "Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and South China Karst Achievement Report 2008", the report outlines the achievements from this two-year partnership between Mercedes-Benz and UNESCO, which involved strengthening management capabilities, enhancing biodiversity protection and raising community awareness. The report also highlights the significance of these sites to China and the rest of the world.

The launch of the Green Legacy Program in 2007 came as the protection of World Heritage Sites was high on the agenda for international environmental groups. Mercedes-Benz has since become one of UNESCO's key partners in preserving natural heritage sites in China. The German automaker has put 10 million yuan toward natural preservation projects.

The first site supported by the Green Legacy Program, the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, constitutes the largest contiguous panda habitat, and is home to over 30 percent of the world's panda population.

Mercedes-Benz, the first automaker to donate to this region's protection, and UNESCO have mapped out targets to tackle issues of low interactivity among the pandas, population degeneration and depleting survival rate among young pandas in the region.

The world's first advanced GIS (geographic information system) is being used in panda sanctuaries to collect and analyze data. Eight monitoring stations over an area of 100 sq km have been set up to track ecosystem changes, panda movements and survival rates. Three giant panda habitat eco-corridors with a total length of 49 km were established to expand the roaming area and prevent isolation among pandas and other wildlife inhabitants. And experts from home and abroad conducted professional training for local conservation staff.

The South China Karst was selected as the second supporting site for the Green Legacy Program in 2008, a year following its inscription to the World Heritage List. South China Karst - covering Yunnan Shilin, Guizhou Libo and Chongqing Wulong - has been honored as one of the world's best examples of karst formations, bearing witness to the earth's geological evolution.

The report describes a breakthrough in the South China Karst: Wulong's Furong Cave became the first cave of this kind in China to install a long-term environment monitoring system. Through scientific monitoring and research on landscape preservation, Furong Cave is now considered a model in sustainable management for all caves open to visitors in China.

Thousands of management staff at the South China Karst site received training on world heritage convention and regulations. Local primary and secondary students also learned about heritage protection and ecology. With funding by the Green Legacy Program, 14 publications were produced to raise community awareness.

With the Green Legacy Program advancing into its third year, Mercedes-Benz will soon embark on its next phase of conservation work with UNESCO by selecting a new heritage site for protection, the company said. It did not reveal further details.

In addition to its concrete conservation efforts, Mercedes-Benz also rallies its employees, dealers, customers and media to be a part of this cause.

"Nature is our common homeland and counts as our most valuable asset. With firm support from UNESCO over the past two years, the Green Legacy Program harvested sweet fruits of labor, considerably improving the protection and overall management of natural heritage sites in China," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd. "Union is strength. With the collective strength from all Mercedes-Benz partners, we have full conviction that a common vision of maintaining a perfect harmony between mankind and nature protection can be realized."

Director and Representative of UNESCO Office Beijing Abhimanyu Singh expressed the hope that more people and corporations would support the cause of nature.

(China Daily 04/27/2009 page10)