Eden Project

What are the root causes of desertification and degradation? Climate is of course a driver, but real impacts on communities, societies and economies are decided by how we try to use the land, how well we understand its limits, and how effectively we respond to global change issues.

Desertification is an evil; deserts are not – they are home to some of the most important cultures, landscapes and plant and animal communities seen on the earth. They contain important lessons about the potential for adaptation of our lives to natural limits; they contain important lessons about what it is to be human and what we aspire to.

The models and experiences that are presented by communities that tackle desertification are also hugely important. They show human creativity working in association with nature to leave the world a better place rather than a worse one. They hold seeds that can bring life back to more than just degraded land – to our belief in a positive future. One of the greatest barriers to public engagement in developmental and environmental challenges is that the challenges, poverty, famine, war, disease and climate change, seem so big and so hard to resolve that many of us just turn away.

Desertification is therefore a problem of the spirit, as much as the land. We must combat the idea that humans are predestined to the role of destroyer rather than healer.

Eden Project is a major new interpretation centre in the UK exploring the issues of sustainable development through the lens of plants, land use and the global connections that underpin our lives. The Project was funded by the UK Millennium Commission and regional regeneration funds, and it attracts over 1.5 Million visitors each year, ranging from schools and formal education to the general public.

We have displays that focus on the wet tropics, the Mediterranean and temperate regions of the world, and we are currently planning a major new addition that will focus on desert regions and we hope will represent a step change in understanding of the issues amongst the UK public.

Eden itself is a living example of a major regeneration project, tackling post mining dereliction in a way that stimulates regional economy and public understanding of global connections. Our visitors are made up of the real public, not those who are already engaged or committed. Our educational vision is not didactive – we are not convinced that information changes behaviour.

Instead we focus on the need to stimulate a basic awareness of how our visitors are linked to the wider world, and how decisions made by one individual can affect lives thousands of miles away. In trying to foster an aspiration to engage in and tackle the challenges of the future we are also conscious that not all actions lie in the hands of individuals, but do require a raising of social understanding whereby governments are encouraged to take action.

The work of Eden is most closely related to Article 19 (3) of the Convention

Dr Tony Kendle
Eden Project,
Bodelva,
Cornwall,
PL22 2SG,
UK
www.edenproject.com