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Geneva – The plight of endangered marine turtles in the Mediterranean Sea has inspired a renowned American graphic designer to lend his support to World Environment Day (WED).
Alan Peckolick has combined his work as an active member of MEDASSET, the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, with his award-winning design talent to create a striking poster with a biodiversity theme for WED 2010.
 The poster, tipped to become a collector’s item, is being distributed internationally ahead of the 5 June day of environmental action, and is also available for download from the WED 2010 website.
The urgency to better manage the world’s wealth of species and ecosystems is a key theme of WED 2010.
Sea turtles are one of the longest living species, having roamed the earth for approximately 200 million years, but human interference is now threatening their survival in many parts of the world.
MEDASSET has been a partner to UNEP’s Mediterranean Action Plan since 1988, working to reverse the decline in sea turtle numbers.
“Populations of marine turtles in the Mediterranean have been decreasing steadily over the past several decades because of incidental catches in fishing gear, sea pollution and the loss of nesting beaches and other vital habitat,” the Officer-in-Charge of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan, Maria Luisa Silva, said.
Mr Peckolick said he had seen examples of environmental change first hand, including witnessing melting ice caps in Antarctica, but it was sea turtles which captured his imagination and inspired his commitment to the environment.
“I reached a point where I became impassioned by what I saw and realized that my entire design career had been about ‘selling’ products, so why shouldn’t I sell moral commitment to help save the planet?,” Mr Peckolick said.
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