WHAT is biodiversity? Unlike other environmental concerns—such as pollution, climate change and deforestation, which can easily be defined—biodiversity is a strange term for many people.
For easy public understanding of biodiversity and its importance to human development and survival, the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH of Germany, through the ACB-GIZ Biodiversity and Climate Change Project (BCCP), are launching a book that features simple stories explaining biodiversity issues and concerns. Stats & Stories—Storytelling for Biodiversity Southeast Asia & Beyond, a compilation of feature stories on biodiversity written by Philipp Gassner, will be launched on November 26 at the Legend Villas Hotel in Mandaluyong City. Gassner, a native of Germany, is an interface expert, with a passion for knowledge, people and the environment. Dedicated to the strategic communication of sustainability, Gassner combines content, owing to his strong academic background as cross-disciplinary environmental scientist with method from his seven-year international track record in science communication, project management and consultancy. Currently, Gassner is taking up graduate studies in Environmental Governance and is working as a consultant for the BCCP. “Stats & Stories is a unique attempt to tell stories about biodiversity. It hopes to contribute to the promotion of biodiversity conservation using simple and clear language. People always love a good story. Be it told at the bonfires or by Hollywood movies. So why not also tell stories of biodiversity? If we want people to understand biodiversity and to create real behavior change, we must turn data into drama, numbers into narrative, and stats into stories,” Gassner explained.
“Stories grab us because they add emotion, characters and detail to bare facts. Stories are as old as language and our brains are built to learn from stories, as we have done over thousands of generations. Stories capture our attention and create empathy, as well as help us understand and remember messages,” Gassner added. In his foreword for Stats & Stories, Executive Director Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity said the book contributes to the attainment of the global biodiversity Aichi Target No. 1 which states that: “By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.”
Dr. Berthold Seibert, BCCP project director, said storytelling provides entertainment and at the same time brings complex issues, such as biodiversity, closer to the reader.
Atty. Roberto Oliva, ACB executive director, said Stats & Stories are tailored to the growing number of middle-class educated populace in Southeast Asia, being interested in issues of sustainable development. They are also written for facilitators, communicators, educators in the region, and their strategic communication.