FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2011
Contact: if.kcoriraasoli@aidem
Finnish rock festival Ilosaarirock opens unique co-operation on sustainable development
- Rock festival established a memorial tree park "Pop Forest" in co-operation with UNESCOs MaB programme
- Ilosaarirock protects the endangered species Great crested newt
- Environmental campaign of Ilosaarirock festival is an internationally remarkable opening
Ilosaarirock Festival, a rock festival from Joensuu, Eastern Finland, started a new era in Finnish event organizers' environmental actions by establishing a memorial tree park close to a well-known Koli National Park. The memorial tree park is named Pop Forest and all the trees in the forest will have a special significance either from cultural or environmental point of view. Pop Forest symbolizes the overall goal of the whole culture sector to contribute to sustainable development and there are also plans for the park to be used for celebrating and remembering events and environmental deeds of the sector. Pop Forest has been established in co-operation with the North Karelia Biosphere Reserve of the UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme and the regional sustainable development programme and visitor & culture centre Koli Cultura.
The opening of the park celebrates the 40th anniversary of Ilosaarirock Festival and its extensive environmental actions together with the study done to measure the festival's carbon footprint. Results of the study were presented in the press conference during the opening ceremony of the memorial tree park. The year 2011 also opens the festival's annual greenhouse gas compensation. The compensation measures are calculated based on the research executed during the 2010 festival. The compensation sum will be used for concrete environmental protection in the region.
The first compensation object has been selected to be the Great crested newt, an endangered and very rare lizard which suffers greatly from the changes in its environments inflicted by the climate change. The endangered Great crested newt will be protected as a part of the METSO Programme.
Ilosaarirock also invites partners to join in the protective work. The first to join is a local bank, Pyhäselän paikallisosuuspankki. The memorial tree park and the co-operation with UNESCO's MaB programme, Koli Cultura and METSO Programme is an important opening for sustainable development actions in North Karelia for years to come.
Ilosaarirock Festival is a forerunner in environmental actions
Ilosaarirock has recently invested intensively in recycling, cutting down the emissions and decreasing the overall environmental impact of the festival. The investment has brought results: the growth of the waste load has been stopped, recycling has increased annually and most of the electricity used at the festival is now Green Electricity from renewable sources.
The carbon footprint of the 2010 festival has been calculated with care. The emission research is the most extensive among Finnish festivals.
– This research is a very important tool for emission reduction. We have been able to follow the amounts of the recycled material before, but now we've got a really useful tool to develop the environmental work of the festival, comments Katri Kilpiä, the producer responsible for the environmental issues.
Ilosaarirock is arranged by Joensuu Pop Musicians' Association. The association is committed to long-term actions to increase the environmental friendliness of the festival. The festival aims to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions and has promised to donate compensation to environmental protection yearly. The amount of compensation is calculated according to the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading System charges. A similar system is used by some flight companies offering optional compensation charge of the emissions to their clients.
Great crested newt will be the environmental protection target in 2011
Ilosaarirock Festival will compensate the 2010 emissions by 3 000 €. The compensation funds will be donated to the protection of endangered Great crested newt. The target has been chosen together with METSO co-operation programme and UNESCO's North Karelia Biosphere Reserve. The Great crested newt symbolizes the climate change in North Karelia. It reacts easily to the changes in the climate and local environment. By protecting the Great crested newt, the endangered mires and forest types will also be protected, as the long-term carbon reserves in the vegetation and soil of the mires and forests will be preserved at the same time. Hence the preserved carbon in the vegetation will no more be a part of the short-term carbon cycle in the atmosphere. The donation will be used entirely for the protection of the Great crested newt.
Ilosaarirock invited the local bank, Pyhäselän paikallisosuuspankki (POP) to double the compensation sum to be used for protection. The bank agreed and the donation sum reached 6 000 €.
– It is important for us to donate the compensation sum to North Karelia the first year. We emphasize that the donated money will be directed to nature protection at first hand and the process can be carefully controlled. We now have the opportunity to supervise the work phase and every bill incurred, to be sure that the donated sum will be used fully on the agreed actions, says Kilpiä.
METSO Programme aims to develop the protection of the biological biodiversity, and the valuable forest environments for different species are protected in the programme. In addition, the goal for the METSO co-operation network is not only to improve the biological diversity but also to promote new ways of action and culture, co-operation and interaction. These goals are well met in the new alliance between the Great crested newt and Ilosaarirock.
– 6 000 € is a remarkable sum to use for the protection of the Great crested newt. We are able to improve the quality of the environment of the species on the most important protection sites with the donation money. The work itself is very concrete, one can for example deepen the home ponds of the Great crested newt with a shovel, describes Sirkka Hakalisto, who directs the METSO Programme in the The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Karelia.
Ilosaarirock will open Pop Forest in Koli
Ilosaarirock and North Karelia Biosphere Reserve will open a memorial tree park Pop Forest to Koli. The park is located near Koli National Park and is a part of the Koli Cultural Memorial Tree Park. Pop Forest symbolizes the extensive environmental work carried out by the festival. The objective to promote sustainable development on the co-operation network of the Biosphere Reserve is also remembered. Pop Forest is dedicated to culture. Birches will be planted there every year to commemorate the cultural and environmental actions that have been executed. This year the birches were planted on Thursday 19th of May to celebrate the 40-year-old Ilosaarirock Festival and for the protection of the Great crested newt.
Ilosaarirock also invites partners, subcontractors, artists and audience to participate in the environmental co-operation. The goal is to enlarge the memorial tree park to be a real Ilosaarirock forest, where every tree has a specific significance in both cultural and environmental sense.
– Actions or donations don't have to be as big as POP bank's generous act to double the sum of the compensation. We hope that every guest at the festival considers their own environmental impacts and makes choices wisely. The guest can, for example, car pool to the festival area or use train instead of a car. Every little, wisely chosen action is a step towards a better future for us all, explains Katri Kilpiä, smiling.
The coordinator of North Karelia Biosphere Reserve, Timo J. Hokkanen, is excited about the co-operation with an extensive rock festival. It is a new and important opening in the partnership actions of the UNESCO's Biosphere Reserve network.
– The co-operation has been unbelievably productive from the very beginning and the work will continue years ahead. It is excellent that Pop Musicians' Association is committed to the long-term and versatile work for the environment. Running a festival for forty years is a great indication of commitment. It is a privilege for the biosphere reserve and the METSO Programme to work with the festival and reach young people regarding environmental issues. The co-operation now launched has also been greeted internationally with enthusiasm. I think we are now on the brink of a much more important process than the first impression implies, Timo J. Hokkanen predicts.
More information and websites
Ilosaarirock Festival
Katri Kilpiä
if.kcoriraasoli@irtak
tel. +358 40 706 8878
www.ilosaarirock.fi/ymparisto
Ilosaarirock festival was founded in 1971. The festival has been arranged by the Joensuu Pop Musicians' Association already for 40 years and it takes place in Joensuu, Eastern Finland. Ilosaarirock 2011 is held on 15.-17.7. Sielun Veljet, Aphex Twin, Blacfield, Buzzcocks, The Exploited, Ojos De Brujo and Neljä Ruusua will appear on the stage among the many more.
METSO –programme network; Project: Climate change in the forest - Great crested newt as a super model
Sirkka Hakalisto
if.suksek-yle@otsilakah.akkris
tel. +358 40 827 5475
www.metsonpolku.fi
The environments of the Great crested newt are protected in the project "Climate change in the forest". The tools for the protection of the home environments of the endangered newt are conservation, reconstruction and more sustainable forestry planning. The goal is also to raise awareness about climate change and it's impacts. The project is implemented 2010-2013 in the The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for North Karelia.
Koli Cultura
Tarja Waltzer
tel. +358 400 853 843
if.arutlucilok@reztlaw.ajrat
www.kolicultura.fi
Koli Cultura is a centre for nature tourism and culture and it will be opened at Koli in 2015. The centre will be constructed according to the principles of sustainable development, in respect of the nature and landscape to serve human. The top know-how of architecture, landscape planning and ecological energy and transportation solutions will be united in the planning of the centre. The Memorial Tree Park is a part of Koli Cultura Centre. It provides the visitors the opportunity to be involved in the sustainable development by planting trees.
Koli Cultura is also a development programme which aims to create sustainable model to be used elsewhere in Finland and the globe when constructing services near nature protection sites. The North Karelia Biosphere Reserve is an essential partner in the development project.
North Karelia Biosphere Reserve
Timo J. Hokkanen
tel. +358 400 88 47 69
if.suksek-yle@nenakkoh.omit
(new website under construction, to be opened in June)
North Karelia Biosphere Reserve has been accepted in 1992 to be a member of the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme — the world network of biosphere reserves. The network consists of nearly 600 prominent areas around the globe (e.g., Galapagos, Ecuador; Uluru, Australia; Yellowstone, USA), aiming at developing and testing sustainable development on regional level. Local participation and extensive networking are essential tools for successful work.
UNESCOs Man and the Biosphere Programme
Programme details from global perspective can be found here: www.unesco.org/mab
