Jean Lemire, winner of the 2010 MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity

Mr. Jean Lemire, biologist, explorer, filmmaker has been contributing to raising awareness and supporting child and youth education in recognizing the importance of biodiversity and becoming involved in action to preserve life on Earth by taking advantage of his unique background as both a biologist and filmmaker.

Profile

Mr. Jean Lemire (b. 1962) has been contributing to raising awareness and supporting child and youth education in recognizing the importance of biodiversity and becoming involved in action to preserve life on Earth by taking advantage of his unique background as both a biologist and filmmaker.

Mr. Lemire has been appealing environmental issues to the world through documentary films. For example, in 2006 he completed a 15-month voyage to the Antarctic on the Sedna IV, a schooner equipped with the latest communication technology. The voyage was documented in the feature documentary film "The Last Continent" and in the scientific TV series "Antarctic Mission." Students in hundreds of schools followed the expedition through satellite and internet links to learn about the vulnerability of marine and polar ecosystems in the face of climate change.

In May 2010, Mr. Lemire was appointed as Honorary Ambassador for The Green Wave, a biodiversity campaign for children and youth coordinated by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The campaign aims at raising awareness of biodiversity-related issues, increased engagement of children and youth in biodiversity-related activities, and better knowledge of the general public regarding biodiversity related concepts such as the sustainable use of biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. His next multi-year voyage on Sedna IV, planned for departure in the spring of 2011, will focus on biodiversity and involve schools and communities taking part in The Green Wave. That is, the goal of the expedition is also in line with "the First Target of Strategic Goal A of the Strategic Plan 2011-2020 of the CBD (draft) " to be adopted in October 2010 at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/COP10) in Nagoya, Japan. By combining his mission as Green Wave Ambassador and his roles as filmmaker and chief of the Sedna expedition, Mr. Lemire is expected to reach out efficiently to a large number of children and youths.

In summary, Mr. Lemire has actively contributed to raising awareness of environmental issues. On top of this, Mr. Lemire is expected to increase public awareness of biodiversity-related issues and engagement of children and young people in the future. His achievements are valued highly and in line with the concept of the MIDORI Prize, that is an individual who has made outstanding contributions and has had an impact on future activities for biodiversity conservation.

Biographical Summary

• 1985 BSc in biology, University of Sherbrooke 1987 Founded Les Productions Ciné-bio (a scientific consulting and script-development firm for documentary film productions)
• 1994 Film "Marine Mammals Mission"
• 1996 Film "Encounters with the Whales of the St. Lawrence"
• 1998 Film "The Last Frontier"
• 2001 Founded Glacialis (a production company specializing in natural science, oceanography, the arts and culture)
• 2002 Film "Memories of Earth"
• 2002 Launched the Arctic Mission with Sedna IV (5months)
• 2004 Launched the Whale Mission with Sedna IV
• 2006 Film "The White Planet" (co-producer and co-director). Launched the Antarctic Mission with Sedna IV (15months）
• 2007 Film "The Last Continent"
• 2010 Appointed as Honorary Ambassador for The Green Wave by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Record of Honors and Awards

• 2004 Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of Canada
• 2007 Canadian Environment Award, citation of lifetime achievement
• 2008 Officer of the Order of Canada, Doctor Honoris causa (University of Rimouski), Great Ambassador (Sherbrooke University)

Articles and Publications

• 2007 "Mission Antarctique," Éditions La Presse
• 2009 "Le Dernier Continent," Éditions La Presse