Life on earth has never been so threatened. The destruction of essential living habitats is accelerating and the pressure being placed on our planet’s resources continues to grow. The United Nations launched the Decade on Biodiversity in 2011 to raise awareness in the world about the urgency of taking action to counteract this problem and call upon government and civic forces to act.  More than ever before, we must protect life in all forms.

1000 Days for the Planet is a major expedition, a world tour by oceanographic sailing ship Sedna IV. In partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, this journey led by Mr. Jean Lemire and the Sedna IV team has started on April 18, 2012 from Gaspé Bay, Canada; Sedna IV set sail on her longest mission to record the state of the world’s biodiversity. During the first year of the mission, she headed for the Azores in search of the blue whale, then to Bermuda to study the continent of plastic, the Cayman Islands with their blue iguanas and lion fish, Panama and its frogs and sloths, or Costa Rica and its sharks and jaguars. The second year has started with the study of climate change at the Galapagos Islands and then headed to French Polynesia to relate the coral reefs’state and it now pursues its journey in Solomon Islands and Indonesia in a quest to show the beauty and the fagility of our planet.

Throughout the world, scientists devote their lives to better understand the great natural phenomena at the heart of this fragile nature. The approach of this tour is to celebrate life and to work upon people’s emotions and passion for better understanding about ecosystem function. At the heart of this 1000 days adventure, life reveals itself in its full splendour, a remarkable combination of beauty and fragility while at the same time pondering the great challenges we all face.

After all, don’t we all want to protect what we love dearly?

During the 1000 days tour, the Sedna IV team assesses situations, collect testimony and relate adventure stories that allow us to take stock of the state of our planet. These will be narrated and brought to audiences by way of following three major film and televisual productions.

(1) 1000 days for the planet  (3 x 1 hour per year)

(2) 1000 days for the planet - the human adventure series (7 x 1 hour year 1, 6 x 1 hour year 2, 6 x 1 hour year 3)

(3) Requiem in Blue (1 x 90 minute feature film)

About Sedna IV -a multiplatform network-

Oceanographic sailing ship Sedna IV, a veritable sea-going studio equipped with the latest technologies for filming, editing and satellite communication, can broadcast its content in real time from anywhere on the planet. The mission website (http://sedna.radio-canada.ca/en/home) compiles logbooks, case studies, spectacular photos and videos that allow the people around the world to follow the daily lives of modern explorers.

Development of the Educational Content and Participation in the Green Wave

As part of this sailing project, the Sedna team developed the educational content for educators. In addition, they urge schools to participate in the Green Wave, the global biodiversity campaign they are part of, and invite classrooms to a live satellite workshop with their crew, wherever in the world.

Cooperation with Researchers

Scientists associated with the mission can benefit from the scientific equipment on board Sedna IV.  The 1000 Days for the Planet support existing research programs or of new initiatives that contribute to the biodiversity objectives of the international scientific community.