BELL-RINGERS at St German's Cathedral, Peel, and St James' in Dalby joined thousands of churches, schools and other faith groups across the world in a mass ringing of bells to show their support for crucial international biodiversity talks.

The event happened between 12pm and 2pm yesterday (Wednesday).

The global peal marks the first time the United Nations General Assembly have met to discuss the global biodiversity crisis.

The Heads of State will meet at the UN Headquarters in New York in preparation for the biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan at the end of October where all 193 countries that have signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity will meet to agree biodiversity targets for 2020 and beyond.

The local bell-ringing event was coordinated through The One World Centre which aims to raise awareness of global issues and to empower people in the Island to think about how they can bring about local change that will have a positive global impact.

A One World Centre spokesperson said: "2010 was declared the UN International Year of Biodiversity (IYB).

"On a world stage the Isle of Man may be a small community but it is important that we all join the global debate and play our part in conserving our biodiversity.

"The Church of England and their affiliates are one of the official partners to the IYB and the local bell ringing shows the commitment of members of our churches to their environmental responsibility.

"We hope it will help raise public awareness and encourage people to get involved in local biodiversity events here on the Island."

 
For more about the One World Centre click here