The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and its U.S. chapter have teamed up with the world-renowned American Museum of Natural History to support the museum’s conservation efforts in the biologically rich and diverse Solomon Islands. To mark this collaborative partnership, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between them has been signed.

The MoU underscores the mutual missions and goals of the two organizations and agreement to the co-ordination of future projects, knowledge-sharing, and fund-raising activities and events. Under this two year, renewable agreement, the Foundation and the Museum will each appoint a representative to a coordination committee to oversee joint activities.

To kick-off the alliance, the Foundation’s U.S. chapter will grant funding for the implementation of the museum’s project for integrating community-driven protected areas and biodiversity research to strengthen conservation gains across the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands lie at a crossroads, separating the rich continents of Australasia and the isolated islands of a sprawling Pacific.  Few oceanic archipelagos support a greater proportion of the Earth’s living diversity or a richer array of human ways of life and languages. The Solomons’ biological and cultural wealth is imminently threatened by poorly regulated large-scale resource extraction.

The museum partners directly with customary landholding communities to counteract these threats through protected area initiatives based upon Community Conservation Agreements (CCAs) that stipulate partnerships providing educational and livelihood benefits for landholding groups in return for community-driven biodiversity conservation.

In this project, with the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation-USA, CCA initiatives will be strengthened at two focal sites that provide a model for conserving biodiversity and essential connectivity to customary land within the largely subsistence-based economies of the Solomons.

These CCA partnerships also provide opportunity for ongoing Museum research programs to function as broader community outreach mechanisms. In the latter stages of this project, the museum will leverage collaborative research within areas of key biodiversity significance to expose people across the Solomons to community governance and conservation gains at the project’s two most well-established sites.

Ultimately, the project’s goals are to: 1) strengthen existing protected areas initiatives, and 2) increase indigenous capacity to achieve meaningful community-driven biodiversity conservation at priority sites across the Solomons.

“The American Museum of Natural History is proud to partner with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and its U.S. chapter in supporting conservation efforts in the Solomon Islands, where the Museum has worked for many years,” said Ellen V. Futter, President of the Museum. “This agreement will further the mission of the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation to mitigate critical threats to global biological and cultural diversity, while bringing scientific research to bear on policy and community-building efforts around the world.”

“The biodiversity and living systems of the Solomons provide cultural and physical sustenance to its people and serve as a critical natural laboratory for global scientific research,” said Dr. Eleanor Sterling, director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.

“Conserving these systems will take a major step forward as a result of our partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Working together with the Foundation to forge Community Conservation Agreements assists our efforts to partner directly with indigenous people working to implement resource management strategies.

The incentive for landholding groups to achieve their development and livelihood goals is provided, and balanced in exchange for the delivery of community-based biodiversity conservation efforts.”

“With similar missions and matching goals, there is a remarkable synergy between the museum and the Prince’s Foundation, and both of these distinguished organizations are committed to using our complementary resources and mutual compatibility to benefit the people and the threatened biodiversity on the Solomon Islands,” said Maguy Maccario, consul general of Monaco and vice president of the Foundation’s US chapter, on whose initiative the MoU was signed.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/iaea_imagebank/

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Vibrant art is always just around every corner in New York City. Internationally known as one of the leading cities in arts and cultures, New York City is one of the best destinations to visit museums. There are dozens of world renowned museums across the city, as well as smaller, quirkier spots.

Art lovers can experience anything from historical art from the middle ages to contemporary pieces of work, all without leaving Manhattan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known as the MET,  is New York City’s crown jewel when it comes to museums. Located just steps away from the famed Central Park in the Upper East Side, the MET showcases millions of pieces of art from periods throughout history.

It is often regarded as one of the most important museums in the world. It opened to the public in 1872 and has been a favorite ever since. The museum holds masterpieces from across the world, including from Africa, Asia, and Europe. The MET’s permanent exhibit of Egyptian art and artifacts is an extensive collection, and is a highlight of the museum.

Along with its permanent collection, the museum also has temporary exhibits. Current highlights include the 9/11 Peace Story Quilt. The quilt, created by New York City students, portrays a message of world peace and an overall understanding of different cultures. On the west side of the city and on the other side of Central Park is the American Museum of Natural History.

With over 4 million visitors to the museum annually, it is regarded as one of the main attractions throughout New York City. The museum houses over 30 million specimens. The American Museum of Natural History showcases anthropology exhibits from across the globe and highlights the progress of natural history over time.

One of the most popular exhibits in the museum is the Fossil Halls where people can see massive fossils from dinosaurs, such at a triceratops and tyrannosaurus rex. The museum is also the home to the Hayden Planetarium and Rose Center for Earth and Space. The Hayden Planetarium is a great place in New York City to learn about space and astrophysical data.

Nothing is more characteristically unique about New York City than riding the subway. The New York Transit Museum is designed specifically to highlight the history of the subway system. The museum has an exhibit called “Fare Collection,” which shows the different types of money collection the subway has implemented during its history.

Another permanent collection includes a look through the way the subway cars and busses have changed over time. With many of the subway stations currently designed by artists, the museum now has a temporary exhibit that depicts the artwork of the subways from the past 25 years.

New York City has a large Jewish population, as waves of immigrants have settled throughout the five boroughs. Located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan is the Jewish Museum. This museum brings the culture and art of the Jewish heritage to the public through ongoing exhibits.

“Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey” is a permanent exhibit at the museum that houses religious objects and art that details the Jewish faith. Jewish artists are also represented in the museum, including Sharone Lifschitz and Ezra Jack Keats.

Experiencing the art in any of these New York City museums is just an example of the wide variety of culture there is in the city. There are dozens of museums to choose from. With such large collections of history and creativity, New York City is a great place to learn about and get lost in art.

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