UNEP Promotes Online Science in the Developing World

Nairobi, 16 July 2009 - When Wilkista Nyaora Moturi decided to do graduate studies in Kenya in environmental health, she faced a daunting task: how to get access to current information that was scattered across the country or in too many cases not in the country at all? "On my chosen topic of study, there were only a few textbooks published and unfortunately, they were not in this part of the world. Most of the literature available at the University was outdated and of very little help to my studies," she recalls.

What changed her life and her ability to study was Wilkista's discovery of the Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE). It has not only helped her to finish her Master's degree but has made it possible to pursue a doctorate.

"When I decided to take up a PhD, OARE became an indispensible tool. It not only helped me find literature on environmental health, but also allowed me to view how other researchers had structured their projects, allowing me to fine tune my own research plan and apply an appropriate methodology," she recalls. "Moreover, OARE kept me motivated through access to a wealth of information and helped me to remain unbiased in my analyses," she added.

Launched in 2006 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Yale University and 340 publishers and scientific societies, OARE provides access to over 2,500 peer-reviewed journals in over 100 low-income countries.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director,said: "UNEP, by leading this capacity-building initiative, is implementing OARE with one objective in mind: to make access to research in the environment more easily and more effectively accessible to people across the world. It is about sharing knowledge, sharing information in the digital age and about empowering the transformational change so urgently needed to realize a global Green Economy."

Full Release