For information only – not an official document
UNIS/MA/289
Vienna, 1 June 2021
In advance of World Environment Day the United Nations lnformation Service (UNIS) Vienna
invites you to a
Photo Opportunity
for the
on
Friday 4 June 2021 at 11.30 a.m.
with
Ghada Waly,
Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) & Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
The installation of beehives and insect hotels for wild bees in the grounds of the Vienna International Centre (VIC) by the Bee Blue Project will give a home to one of the key pollinators in our ecosystem which are threatened by the use of pesticides and changed land use.
The beehives will be kept by a professional beekeeper, while the insect hotels and feeding grounds will be supervised by MA22 (Wiener Umweltschutzabteilung, Vienna’s environmental department), at no cost to the VIC.
The initiative to install beehives at the UN Headquarters in Vienna is in support of the Decade on Ecosystems Restoration (2021-2030) which is being launched globally on World Environment Day, 5 June.
The project was initiated by the Sustainable & Innovative Initiatives Club at the UN in Vienna along with the City of Vienna - MA22 Umweltschutz. The Vienna Beekeeping School in the Danube Park is a key partner and the project is supported by the Vienna office of the UN Environment Programme and the Permanent Missions of Slovenia and Ireland.
All journalists who plan to attend in person, including those accredited to the UN in Vienna, need to register by 12 noon on Thursday 3 June 2021 by writing to press.vienna[at]un.org.
* *** *
For further information please contact:
Anne Thomas
Public Information Officer, UNIS Vienna
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-5588
Email: anne.thomas[at]un.org
