7th ATC and partners receive UN Decade on Biodiversity award

Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Stewart | Consul General Meghan Gregonis, of the U.S. Consulate General Munich, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commander at 7th Army Training Command, and State Minister Thorsten Gauber, of the Bavarian State Ministry of Environment and Consumer Protection, pose for a photo at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Oct. 19, 2019. Glauber presented the U.N. Decade on Biodiversity award to them and other members of the nature-preservation project titled “Where red deer care for the landscape; open land management at Grafenwoehr.” The project promoted red deer population growth and a biodiverse environment where military training is conducted. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart)  

GRAFENWOEHR, BY, GERMANY

10.19.2019

Story by Sgt. Christopher Stewart 

7th Army Training Command

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – 7th Army Training Command (7 ATC), U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria (USAG Bavaria) and partner organizations received the U.N. Decade on Biodiversity award during a ceremony in the Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA), Germany, Oct. 19, 2019. Project members were recognized for increasing the biodiversity and red deer population within the last decade at GTA.

“This is really about today, but it is also much more about preserving this training area and this incredible environment for our children’s children a hundred years from now, to enjoy all the beauty that resides here,” said Brig. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commander of 7 ATC.

The project partners include the Bundesforst Grafenwoehr, 7 ATC, USAG Bavaria, Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank, Institut für Wildbiologie Göttingen und Dresden e.V., George-August-Universität Göttingen and the Technische Universität Dresden.

State Minister Thorsten Glauber of the Bavarian State Ministry of Environment and
Consumer Protection presented the award.

“With this nature project, protection of habitat is being practiced in a way that we could not even bring to life with wildlife conservation programs,” said Glauber.

According to the U.N., biodiversity is in strong decline on a global scale, including in Germany. To halt this downward trend, which is largely caused by human activity, the U.N. declared the decade from 2011 to 2020 as the U.N. Decade on Biodiversity.

“This is not a barren training area with ranges devoid of nature or wildlife,” said Norrie. “They call this the Bavarian Serengeti. It is the most vibrant wildlife preserve in Bavaria.”

The U.N. Decade on Biodiversity supports the goals and the global measures of the Convention on Biological Diversity. These are embedded in Germany’s National Strategy on Biological Diversity. The German U.N. Decade program thus involves a range of activities to raise awareness of the conservation of biodiversity -- the basis of life on Earth.

“I’m calling on you to stay in this program, stay in this project in partnership,” said Glauber.

More information about the U.N. Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 can be found at https://www.undekade-biologischevielfalt.de/home-english/ and https://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/about.

• Date Taken: 10.19.2019
• Date Posted: 10.25.2019 13:09
• Story ID: 349242
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, BY, DE