A fragile population.

• Author: Buchanan, Petra
• Position: Partnerships

More than 100 species are lost every day. Approximately 40,000 become extinct every year and thousands more are at risk. These statistics from the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Global Environmental Outlook 2000 are largely unknown to most people around the world. The loss of so many species each year provided the impetus for a unique alliance, with a mission to raise awareness globally about animal protection and general conservation.

In early 2001, three global organizations came together in an integrated promotional partnership to generate awareness for conservation and biodiversity worldwide: the United Nations; the Earth Communications Office (EGO), a non-profit organization that uses the power of communication to improve the global environment; and Animal Planet, a global television brand of Discovery Communications, Inc.

Centred around Animal Planet's annual worldwide programming event, held on 7 October--World Animal Day--the result is a case study on how organizations with a shared commitment can leverage their unique resources to address critical issues facing our world.

For the past five years, World Animal Day has helped educate viewers to the plight of endangered creatures through a special day of non-fiction programming. Animal Planet's unique brand of entertainment focuses on humankind's connection with the animal world, providing an ideal platform for World Animal Day's mission of increased awareness of conservation issues. In 2001, the event took on even greater scope, depth and reach, through the efforts and resources of the United Nations and ECO. Providing the basis for the World Animal Day project was an extensive slate of original programmes developed by Animal Planet teams in the United States, Asia, Europe, India and Latin America. Profiling the plight of animals, ranging from dolphins to polar bears, the line-up also included Hollywood star-power, with programmes hosted by Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams.

Leading up to the 7 October programming event, Animal Planet ran special promotional segments regarding the UN/ECO partnership, as well as public service announcements developed by ECO for the event. Animal Planet's regional Web sites also provided links to United Nations and ECO Web sites, where people could learn more about important conservation issues and endangered species.

The keys to the success of any good partnership are the complementary strengths each partner...