Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Where: Hotel de Paris, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
For info/tickets: D.Lamb@Nights-in-Monaco.com or call Danella Lamb +33 6 01318762
www.Nights-in-Monaco.com
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As far back as the 1480s – as outlined in the famous poem from the Boke of St. Albans, the regal peregrine has been associated with Princes, so it is truly fitting that the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has teamed up with The Peregrine Fund, Inc to focus on present day conservation efforts. To mark this collaborative partnership, a Memorandum of Understanding between the US chapter of the Prince’s Foundation and The Peregrine Fund has been signed.

The main purpose of the MoU is to underscore the relationship between the two organizations and agree to the co-ordination of future projects, knowledge-sharing, and fund-raising activities and events.This two year, renewable agreement will see the Foundation and the Fund each appoint a representative to a coordination committee to oversee joint activities in the fields of raptor conservation, climate change including renewable energies, water management and sustainable development

“Protection of biodiversity is one of the three key objectives of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Therefore, as part of the efforts to develop its actions in the United States, it is important for the Foundation to join forces with internationally renowned organizations such as The Peregrine Fund to increase awareness on the importance of safeguarding emblematic bird species, “said H.E. Mr. Bernard Fautrier, Vice President and CEO, The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

“In our ongoing commitment to achieving the goals of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, this alliance with The Peregrine Fund, a renowned US conservation organization, will enable us to undertake conservation projects of importance to both our organizations.  Raptors, like the polar bear, are at the top of their food chains.  Ensuring their survival requires protection of the entire ecosystem to support that food chain.  In our efforts to protect raptors and polar bears, we learn important lessons on protecting the ecosystems that support the top predator of all, humans.” said Mr. John B. Kelly, III, President, The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation – USA.

“The Peregrine Fund is pleased to bring its conservation expertise, proven success, and focus on birds of prey to this joint initiative with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Birds of prey, as far-ranging, top predators are acutely sensitive to environmental change and serve both as sentinel species that reveal conservation needs, and as umbrella species that help protect biodiversity,” said Mr. J. Peter Jenny, President, The Peregrine Fund, Inc.

“An exceptional synergy exists between both these distinguished organizations and, it is hoped that our
complementary resources and mutual compatibility will result in lasting benefits to many threatened birdlife populations,” said the Hon. Maguy Maccario, Consul General of Monaco and Vice President, The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation – USA who, along with Dr. Richard T. Watson, Vice President and International Programs Director, will make up the co-coordination committee.

Among those Peregrine Fund initiatives which may be jointly funded or supported include:

1) a climate change initiative focused on the Gyrfalcon, a species that breeds exclusively in the Arctic where the effects of climate warming are predicted to be greatest and have already raised mean annual temperatures by 3°C;

2) a biodiversity initiative in Madagascar to develop sustainable community-based conservation areas that will protect critical habitat for endangered species which exist only on this island nation and nowhere else on earth; and

3) a species restoration project to save the critically endangered Ridgway’s Hawk on Hispaniola, Dominican Republic, a Caribbean island that is rapidly losing its natural biodiversity resources.

The Peregrine Fund’s recent major conservation successes have included

• Progress in restoration of the critically endangered California Condor in the United States, a species that was extinct in the wild and sustained only in captivity for a period in the 1980s, which is now soaring back from the brink through a program of captive breeding and release. The major hurdle remaining for the species’ survival in the wild is lead poisoning from spent ammunition which could be solved by the use of non-lead bullets and shot by hunters.  The Peregrine Fund’s work also revealed the risk of lead exposure to people who eat game harvested with lead-based ammunition.
• Research and discovery of a pharmaceutical drug, diclofenac, used in veterinary practice, as the cause behind the catastrophic collapse of vulture populations in South Asia.  Safe alternative drugs were found, diclofenac was banned from veterinary applications in Pakistan, India, and Nepal, and vulture populations are beginning to stabilize.
• Assisting the creation of Madagascar’s largest national park based in part on the ecological needs of the Madagascar Serpent Eagle, a species once thought to be extinct but rediscovered by The Peregrine Fund on Masoala Peninsula.  Additional successes there include the rediscovery of the Madagascar Red Owl and Madagascar Pochard (a diving duck), and discovery of two lemur species entirely new to science.  Sustainability of conservation effort has been assured with development of local capacity for conservation by training 20 Malagasy graduates and post-graduates, and has led to the implementation of cutting edge community-based conservation initiatives to protect habitat critical for endemic species.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation works internationally to support ethical and sustainable projects related to preservation of biodiversity and has undertaken numerous bird and animal life preservation projects including:

• In the Mediterranean Basin: Bonelli’s Eagle, a Mediterranean bird, is one of the most endangered birds of prey, there being no more than 28 pairs in France. Within the framework of a restoration plan piloted by the League for the Protection of Birds, the Foundation is supporting a program for breeding young eagles in captivity which will be reintroduced in Israel, France and Spain. The monitoring of the released birds will be carried out, from 2009, by telemetric tracking via satellite using an Argos beacon attached to the birds.
• In the Polar Region: Polar bear: Pollution and climate change are a major threat to the Arctic and the species living there – this project is focused on the assessment of the state of health of polar bears on a circumpolar scale, based on the combined study of the physiological effects of pollutants and the impact of the destruction of their habitat due to global warming.
• In Africa: Niger Giraffes: This project aims to scientifically monitor giraffes, oversee population management,  protect the tiger bush (the giraffe’s food supply) and combat poaching; and to resume and implement local development programs for the rural communities in the giraffe region.

About The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation was established in 2006 by His Serene Highness Prince Albert to continue the Principality’s legacy of environmental stewardship and its commitment to conserve the world’s natural environment. The Foundation supports sustainable and ethical projects especially in the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar regions and the world’s least developed countries. Its focus is on three main challenges: climate change,; combating the loss of biodiversity; and water management. It has opened chapters in France, Switzerland, the UK, Italy and Germany, in Canada and, in 2008, the USA. Since its inception, 100+ projects have benefited from Foundation grants totaling more than $US23 million. www.pa2f.org

About The Peregrine Fund, Inc
The Peregrine Fund is an American conservation organization, founded by Tom J. Cade, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Cornell University, and four other founders, dedicated initially to the restoration of the peregrine falcon across the North American continent with the principal work completed in the United States.  The recovery of the peregrine falcon was completed in 1999, when it was removed from the list of endangered and threatened species, and recognized as the greatest conservation biology success story of the Twentieth Century,  Peregrine Fund recovered the Mauritius kestrel on the Island of Mauritius; worked to conserve the raptors of Africa in Kenya and South Africa, established field facilities in Central America for work on neo-tropical raptors, and other major conservation projects worldwide.  Peregrine Fund is restoring the endangered California condor to Arizona and the endangered Aplomado falcon to Texas and New Mexico. Peregrine Fund’s goal is to maintain healthy raptor populations worldwide, monitor threats to raptors, their prey species and habitats and to educate people to the value of raptors in native ecosystems. www.peregrinefund.org

USA Press Contacts:

Susan Whaley, (The Peregrine Fund, Inc) swhaley@peregrinefund.org or 208-362-8274

Elle Berdy (Consulate General of Monaco, New York) e.berdy@monaco-consulate.com or 212-286 0500

© Photo by Cal Sandfort, The Peregrine Fund

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Since her departure from Monaco in January, Alexia has logged over 16,500 nautical miles and collected over a million pieces of scientific data from the water surface to assist ocean research and raise awareness for the preservation of the planet’s oceans. While in New York, she met with Mrs. Maguy Maccario, Consul General of Monaco and Vice President of the U.S. branch of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. The Foundation and the Prince are dedicated supporters of the project. Despite some connection issues, Alexia was able to say a few words via Skype to the Monaco school children who have been following her journey on www.4myplanet.eu, assembled for the occasion at the Oceanographic Museum.

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December 1, 2009

Attendees included AOL’s Steve Case, MicroStrategy’s CEO Michael Saylor, Susan Eisenhower, President Eisenhower Group and granddaughter of the former president, John Fahey, President & CEO of National Geographic Society, ambassadors from Denmark, Monaco, Morocco and Portugal, and the board of the Foundation’s U.S. chapter including John B. Kelly, president and Maguy Maccario, vice president and Monaco’s consul general and minister counselor, whose New York office underwrote the dinner.

Guests dined overlooking the Potomac River at Kimsey’s property in McLean while dessert was served in the adjacent Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Marden House.

Harvard’s Professor Edward O. Wilson, recipient of the 2009 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award for biodiversity, was also present to belatedly receive his trophy from the hands of H.S.H. Prince Albert (Prof Wilson was unable to attend the awards ceremony in October in Monaco.) During his acceptance he said, “The 21st century, I believe, is going to be known as the Century of the Environment, and in science as the Century of Biology. This is the time that we will either settle down as a species or completely wreck the planet.”

While in Washington DC, H.S.H. Prince Albert also attended the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Antartic Treaty and gave an address at the opening ceremony of the Antartic Treaty Summit at the Smithsonian Institution. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution later signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

The visit also included an address at the National Press Club, 96 after his great-great-grand father Prince Albert I; the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pew Environment Group; a visit to the National Geographic Society; and a reception at the residence of Monaco’s Ambassador organized by BirdLife International.

www.pa2f.org

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The prince’s interest in environmental and energy issues made the demonstrations of new aquatic, mobile, and aerial robotic technologies both pertinent and informative. The prince also toured the contemporary art space where CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) works are exhibited.

The Prince’s first-time visit to the MIT campus also included touring labs and centers that conduct research in clean technology and the environment. He met with MIT President Susan Hockfield and Prof. Tod Machover, head of the Media Lab’s Hyperinstruments/Opera of the Future group.

The visit was organized in conjunction with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which was established in 2006 by Prince Albert to continue the Principality of Monaco’s legacy of environmental stewardship and its commitment to conserve and preserve the world’s natural environment and resources. The Foundation supports sustainable and ethical projects especially in the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar regions and the world’s least developed countries. Its focus is on three main challenges: climate change and developing renewable energies; combating the loss of biodiversity; and water management and fighting desertification. In just three years, the Foundation has extended its international outreach by opening chapters in Europe (France, Switzerland, the UK, Italy and Germany), in Canada and, in 2008, the United States of America. Since its inception, 127 projects have benefited from Foundation grants totaling more than $23 million. For more information, please visit www.pa2f.org.

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Beverly Hills, October 22, 2009

The on-going award, inaugurated in 2003, honors style legends for their contributions to the worlds of fashion and entertainment. Debra Messing presented the Award to His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, who accepted it on behalf of the Princely family, and Demi Moore presented the Award to Pierre Rainero, Image, Style & Heritage Director, Cartier International.

The event raised over $150,000 for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

“Princess Grace and the House of Cartier have been key style influencers here on Rodeo Drive and across the globe. We are thrilled to honor both recipients with the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style® Award,” says Wanda McDaniel, Chairman of the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style® Selections Committee. “The longstanding relationship between the Monaco Princely family and the esteemed French jeweler made it a natural decision to recognize them jointly.”

“Beginning with the late Princess Grace, whose unique roles of movie star and royalty embodied glamour and elegance like no other icon, and continuing with the renowned jeweler Cartier, whose creations have been worn by celebrities, dignitaries and socialites across the world, both honorees effortlessly unite the worlds of fashion and entertainment,” says Beverly Hills Mayor Nancy Krasne. “The City of Beverly Hills is pleased to have the privilege of recognizing Princess Grace and Cartier with permanent plaques on Rodeo Drive.”

Created by the late sculptor Robert Graham and standing 14-feet tall at the intersection of Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way, “Torso” serves as the symbol for the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style®. The Walk of Style® Award, also designed by Mr. Graham, is a maquette of “Torso”.

As the fourteenth and fifteenth recipient of this award, Princess Grace and Cartier follow previous honorees Valentino Garavani (2009), Manolo Blahnik (2008), James Galanos (2007), Gianni and Donatella Versace (2007), Salvatore Ferragamo, Edith Head, James Acheson and Milena Canonero (2006), Herb Ritts and Mario Testino (2005), Tom Ford (2004), and Giorgio Armani (2003). Honorees are selected by an independent committee comprised of media, celebrities, past honorees and academics in the worlds of fashion and entertainment (http://www.rodeodrive-bh.com/WOS/WOS_about.html).

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Los Angeles – October 23, 2009 – Some of Hollywood’s hottest names gathered in Beverly Hills last night to salute Prince Albert II of Monaco – the only son of Academy Award winner Grace Kelly – and learn about his personal environmental crusade and how his foundation is helping to combat climate change, the loss of biodiversity and provide access to water.

Among the VIPs from the entertainment and corporate worlds eager to lend their support to the principality’s sovereign were The Edge; Michael York; Chris Noth; Lionel Richie; film director Ron Shelton and his wife, actress Lolita Davidovich; Law & Order creator and Monaco’s honorary consul in LA, Dick Wolf; and singer Julian Lennon.

Representing the Foundation’s U.S. chapter were its President John B. Kelly (a cousin of Prince Albert) and Hon. Maguy Maccario, Vice President and Consul General. The private dinner was held at The Beverly House (built in the 1920s by William Randolph Hearst) and now home to businessman Leonard Ross.

“Monaco has a long legacy of environmental stewardship instigated by my great-great grandfather, Albert I, more than a century ago, and also by my father. Their conservation initiatives over the years inspired me to set up a foundation devoted to environmental issues,” said Prince Albert. “Today this Foundation which bears my name has chapters around the world. In just three years we’ve invested some $23 million in 127 projects mainly in the Polar Regions, the Mediterranean Basin and in the world’s least developed nations, focusing on the areas of immediate concern: climate change, loss of biodiversity and providing access to water. We support sustainable local and global initiatives which can make everyone of us a player in the protection and conservation of our natural resources. I know that all of us gathered here tonight are similarly concerned with the damage we are doing to our fragile planet and wish to help in some worthwhile way. While most may not be in a position to trek to the North or South Pole, or sign the Kyoto Treaty or travel to Copenhagen in December to offer support, when people ask me, what can I do? How can I help? I would say to them, what my mother once said to me: “trust your instincts”… Help where you can, give what you can whether it is money, time, resources, your name, your celebrity or an inspirational act, deed, song or word. We have to move away from a society that is obsessed with consumption and consumerism, so perhaps we need to reexamine our lifestyles and consider how our actions and daily life are affecting our world,” he said.

Prince Albert will travel to the University of San Diego today to receive the prestigious Roger Revelle Prize from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography for his environmental initiatives.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation was established in 2006 by HSH Prince Albert to continue the Principality of Monaco’s legacy of environmental stewardship and its commitment to conserve and preserve the world’s natural environment and resources, by supporting sustainable and ethical projects especially in the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar regions and the world’s least developed countries. Its focus is on three main challenges: climate change and developing renewable energies; combating the loss of biodiversity; and water management and fighting desertification. In just three years, the Foundation has extended its international outreach by opening chapters in Europe (France, Switzerland, the UK, Italy and Germany), in Canada and, in 2008, the United States of America. Since its inception, 127 projects have benefited from Foundation grants totaling more than $23 million. For more information, please visit www.pa2f.org.

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October 10, 2009

Professor Wilson was honored for his lifelong contribution to protecting the world’s biodiversity. During his acceptance of the award which consists of a specially designed trophy and 40,000 euros, he said we have only just begun to explore Earth’s biodiversity. “The 21st century, I believe, is going to be known as the Century of the Environment, and in science as the Century of Biology. This is the time that we will either settle down as a species or completely wreck the planet.”

“There has been proportionately much less attention on the living environment, and especially the diversity of life, biodiversity, defined as the totality of ecosystems, the species that compose them, and the genes that prescribe the traits of the species that compose each of the ecosystems in turn,” he said.

“That great resource has taken billions of years to evolve. Our lives depend on it, because we are first and above all things a biological species living in a biological world. Our best estimates are that about 1.8 million species are now known to science. But the search for unknown species has just begun. When all of the small invertebrates of the sea and land are fully explored the number could easily exceed 20 million species. The truth is that we live on a little known planet.”

A two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, Wilson is world-renowned for his career as a scientist and advocacy for environmentalism. He is Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University and is a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism.

His most ambitious – and current – undertaking, which he both conceived and named, is the “Encyclopedia of Life” (www.eol.org), a web-based program indexing every species known to man.

“The project, recently launched by a consortium including the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, The Field Museum of Chicago, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility in Copenhagen, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, is an electronic encyclopedia that will have an indefinitely expandable page for each and every species of animal, plant and microorganism,“ said Professor Wilson.

“Each species will be illustrated with multiple views or parts of the genome of the type specimen or other authenticated specimen, and a diagnosis; and into the page will go everything known about the species, with new information added as it is acquired. The Encyclopedia of Life is now underway with up to $50 million pledged by the MacArthur and Sloan Foundations,” he said.

Marina Silva of Brazil was presented with the Foundation’s award for her work in support of the Brazilian rainforests. Ms Silva is a Brazilian environmentalist and politician, who served as a senator before becoming an environmental minister in 2003. She led demonstrations with Chico Mendes to warn against deforestation and the removal of forest communities from traditional locations. As a native Amazonian and a senator, she built support for the environmental protection of the reserves as well as for social justice and sustainable development in the region. During her time as Senator, deforestation decreased by 59% from 2004 to 2007.

Pan Yue of China was honored for his contribution to water conservation. With a strong background in journalism and government administration, he is currently Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. He has tackled some of China’s biggest industries over pollution, forcing them to clean up and believes that access to clean water is the most urgent environmental problem because it is the bloodline for industrialization, urbanization and survival. In 2008 the Foundation’s award recipients were Arctic explorer Alain Hubert, primatologist and conservationist Dr Jane Goodall and Indian environmentalist and political activist Sunita Narain.

The awards ceremony, attended by 1500 guests, was preceded by the world premiere of the much-anticipated film, OCEANS, from Academy Award-nominated producer Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud. A true technological and scientific adventure, OCEANS from DisneyNature is the breathtaking result of three years of filming under the deep seas around the globe. The film is not only a moving account of the wonders of nature but also an alarming report on the dangers that threaten it. The film will première in the United States on Earth Day, April 22, 2010.

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September 21, 2009

Ten years of rapid biological inventories by Field Museum’s Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) team have resulted in the protection of 12 vast landscapes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Eight of these areas are in Peru – a total of two million hectares in that country (an area the size of Massachussetts) have been officially declared with full recognition from the national government and 4.2 million additional hectares await final categorization and/or approval from the Peruvian Cabinet.

In addition, just last month, thanks to anticipated funds from The Prince Albert II Foundation, ECCo’s work resulted in another area in Peru that is about the size of Delaware being officially declared a National Reserve. The new reserve is largely dedicated to the indigenous people, the Matses.

Ongoing changes in political structure and skyrocketing pressure from extractive industries now threaten these 4.2 million hectares of forests, once close to protection.  With the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation funds, ECCo will focus on getting these forests legally secured in the next three years. Simultaneously, ECCo will work with Peru’s NGOs and new Ministry of Environment to continue to pursue compensation for avoided deforestation as a mechanism for investing in living forests.

The project will address the following challenges:

• Securing legal protection for high priority, already inventoried forests in Peru, in the face of increasing pressures from oil and mining industries and a scenario that aggressively favors extractive industries.
• Establishing a framework for protected areas in Peru that provides solid, legal backing for the conservation of ancestral territories by indigenous residents.
• Preparing protected areas for long-term financial sustainability for effective management through the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) voluntary carbon market.

The main direct beneficiaries of the project are the people living in and around the landscapes proposed for protection, as well as the unique biological communities that depend on these areas for survival. Indirect beneficiaries include all residents in the regions to be protected. Because these are enormous expanses, mitigation of global warming through avoided deforestation is another important outcome with wide-ranging, global benefits.

“Opportunities for conservation in the Andean foothills and Amazon lowlands are enormous. Unbroken forests still cover vast expanses of the Amazon. And although fewer intact tracts remain in the Andes, some still stretch from the rainforests in the lowlands all the way up to alpine meadows on the peaks.  This generous grant from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will allow us to work collaboratively with Peruvian organizations and local residents to secure formal protection for these extraordinarily diverse, invaluable forests,” said Debra Moskovits, Senior Vice President, Environment, Culture, and Conservation at The Field Museum.

In 2008, The Field Museum signed a memorandum of understanding with The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation underscoring the institutions’ mutual interest in conserving the world’s biodiversity.

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New York, June 2009

The exhibit featured over a dozen works of art that utilize the full range of colorful Nespresso coffee capsules to create pixel portraits of iconic cultural figures from music, screen, politics and the arts. Among the many icons represented were President Barack Obama, Mahatma Ghandi, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna and a 6.5′ x 6.5′ portrait of Grace Kelly. The portraits are the creation of Brazilian entrepreneur and artist Ricardo Bellino.

The temporary boutique was opened – and the exhibition on display – from June 19 through July 3 –  featuring a Nespresso Cafe bar where coffee was sold for $2 per cup.

All proceeds from the Tasting Bar benefited four charities — the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Princess Grace Awards, Musicians on Call and the British Memorial Gardens in New York. Grace Kelly’s portrait was donated to the Princess Grace Foundation-USA to be auctioned at a future event.

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