Nader Habib reviews the latest technology serving environmental issues New technology can offer a huge potential for serving the environment by helping scientists and environmentalists find the latest information on specific issues anywhere on earth. One of the best and most recent examples was when the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organisation, teamed up with Google Earth, the satellite imagery-based mapping product, in a partnership to serve the environment. Their project allows people interested in the conservation of environment to glimpse more than 150 WWF projects around the globe. To find WWF on Google Earth, users must first download the application from www.earth.google.com. This done, users will find WWF in the "Featured Content" section under the heading "Layers". If the user already has Google Earth he or she can download the WWF projects separately. Now that you are set up you can visit some of the world's most threatened and biologically diverse places from your home computer. One of the most interesting of the site's virtual tours is the one on the Amazon, which explores some of WWF's key conservation work in the region. "Explore the Svalbard Archipelago" visits the group of islands about 700kms north of Norway, where WWF tracks polar bears. "Teaming up with Google Earth is a natural step for WWF, because we have been committed to protecting and monitoring our environment for the past 46 years," WWF International Director-General James Leape told Al-Ahram Weekly. The joint initiative with Google Earth will allow WWF to spread its conservation message to a vast new audience, and this will certainly give people everywhere the opportunity to zoom in on a sample of WWF projects and gain a better understanding of just how big the conservation challenge is. "This project will help users learn about the geographical location of selected WWF projects, read a description of each and be directed to WWF's global website, www.panda.org, for more information. This in turn will be a powerful resource for the environmental community and for users wanting to learn more about the world around them," Leape said. Unfortunately users will not be able to access the environmental projects in most Arab countries except for few of the Gulf states and Tunisia. One of the WWF's projects, in cooperation with the Tunisian government, is now in the process of helping to conserve Tunisia's national heritage by setting up two national parks. Those interested in African wildlife and the natural environment will be able to find WWF projects on the website.
