European Wilderness Society

Take a virtual journey through six distinct ecosystems

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to stay put and concentrate on backyard explorations, rather than international travels. However, through United Nations Environment Programme´s (UNEP) new virtual journeys, you can visit some of the world’s most iconic landscapes. A new interactive webpage allows citizens to explore oceans, peatlands, savannahs, forests, deserts and mountains. Through captivating videos, photos and quizzes, these journeys offer a unique insight into the biodiversity that these ecosystems host.

Wild digital journeys

These digital journeys underline how these six ecosystems support plants, animals and humans. Within the mountains journey, we can learn about the Carpathian Mountains, some of the last vast Wilderness areas of Europe. Furthermore, we can visit the Himalayas, the Tian Shan Mountains in China and the Virunga Mountains in Africa, some of the mountain biodiversity strongholds of the world. In the peatlands journey, we can choose to visit 12 peatlands across the world. These include the Swedish peatlands, the Slowinski National Park in Poland, as well as England´s and Northern Ireland´s peatlands, just within Europe. If we would like to travel further, we can immerse ourselves into the Congo peatlands, the Ruogerai Plateau in China, Indonesian peatlands, as well as the Hudson Bay in Canada and the Southern Brazilian peatlands, among others.

Wild for life campaign

The digital experience is part of the Wild for Life​ campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the threats posed to these ecosystems. In May 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report confirmed that the world’s biosphere is declining faster than at any time in human history. One million wild plant and animal species are facing extinction. Three-quarters of the terrestrial environment, almost 85% of wetlands, and two-thirds of oceans have been negatively impacted by us, humans. If that wouldn’t be enough, the illegal wildlife trade is driving species to the brink of extinction. To raise awareness on the urgency to act, the campaign encourages countries, international and national organisations, businesses, governments and other key stakeholders to enforce stronger laws and provide stronger support local communities, to restore and preserve the Earth’s nature for the people and the environment.

Let yourself be inspired by virtual nature adventures: Wild for life journeys

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