Updated: 10 December 2018
1 November 2018 Press Release and Book Form
Environment Europe is delighted to request the pleasure of your company at the Private View of the ‘ECOSYSTEMS’ exhibition by Dr Stanislav Shmelev to take place 13:00-17:00 on 12 November 2018. The exhibition will feature 30+ works and will be hosted by the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University, Andrew Wiles Building, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK. This will be a unique chance to acquire a signed copy of our stunning coffee-table album ‘ECOSYSTEMS’, that will be presented at the 50th anniversary conference of the Club of Rome in Rome, Italy (16-18 October 2018) and the British Pavilion at UNFCCC COP24 in Katowice, Poland (10-14 December 2018) . The first limited edition of 500 copies will be shipped to Oxford in four weeks time.
This link will take you to our crowdfunding campaign and should be used to order the 500 first limited edition copies of this album, please note that alternative packages including museum quality prints are also available.
Stanislav Shmelev (2018) Ecosystems: Complexity, diversity and nature’s contribution to humanity, Environment Europe Press, ISBN-13: 978-1999624101
Ecosystems are in danger: the world has lost around 50% of the world’s biodiversity in the last 40 years according to WWF. Many scientists believe that ecosystems are playing a crucial role in stabilizing our climatic conditions. Ecosystems provide us with water we drink, the food we eat, fibers we use in clothing and furniture, biochemicals that are used in medicine. At the same time ecosystems generate oxygen and absorb carbon emissions. Recent research shows that additional 6C of warming in our oceans will lead to the inability of plankton to process emissions of CO2. Ecosystems are also able to pollinate the plants on which our livelihood entirely depends, they provide inspiration for artists and are held sacred by communities in many countries.
Shot in Colombia, Brazil, USA, Dubai, France, Spain, UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Albania, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore, it speaks about the complexity, diversity and the true value of ecosystems. Professionally designed, this book will be published to the highest standard by the leading printers that are the main partners of Thames and Hudson and Phaidon, National Geographic and Aperture.
The introductory chapters have been contributed by Dr Joachim Spangenberg. The book will be accompanied by a a series of museum quality prints.
Endorsements
“The great challenge of our time is to build and nurture human communities that honor, respect, and cooperate with nature’s inherent ability to sustain life. To do so, it is critical to understand how ecosystems work — not only intellectually, but also emotionally and spiritually. Artists have an essential role to play to foster such deep, multidimensional understanding, and Stanislav Shmelev’s magnificent book succeeds admirably in this task.” — Prof. Fritjof Capra, author, The Tao of Physics (1975), The Web of Life (1996), The Hidden Connections (2002), Learning from Leonardo (2007), coauthor, The Systems View of Life (2014).
“Our life depends on our ability to protect the home, which so generously hosts us. We should all contribute to our best. Sharing the captured moments of intrinsic beauty is certainly one of the most effective ways to raise awareness”, Janez Potočnik, former European Commissioner for the Environment, co-chair of the International Resources Panel, UN Environment.
“Stanislav Shmelev displays consummate skill in combining both art and science to produce his exquisite and captivating photo album, describing the essence of sustainability.” Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR4), joint recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace.
“The great challenge of our time is to build and nurture human communities that honor, respect, and cooperate with nature’s inherent ability to sustain life. To do so, it is critical to understand how ecosystems work — not only intellectually, but also emotionally and spiritually. Artists have an essential role to play to foster such deep, multidimensional understanding, and Stanislav Shmelev’s magnificent book succeeds admirably in this task.” — Prof. Fritjof Capra, author, The Tao of Physics (1975), The Web of Life (1996), The Hidden Connections (2002), Learning from Leonardo (2007), coauthor, The Systems View of Life (2014).
“It is essential for us to appreciate not only the beauty of Nature but also its critical life-support services to our planet and to all of its inhabitants. This book inspires us to a deeper understanding of our important responsibilities to protect, restore and nurture ecosystems so that they can continue to provide us with the comforts we cannot take for granted.” — JULIA MARTON-LEFEVRE, Former Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature; Edward P Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholar, Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
“A wonderful and colourful journey through our planet’s varied ecosystems and the multiple services they provided us with on a daily basis, and a great reminder of the key need of environmental stewardship in today’s world.” — BERNARD COMBES, Information Officer, UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development
“This stunning array of images well illustrates nature’s aesthetic value and its intrinsic value too”. — Prof. Robin Attfield, Professor of Philosophy, Cardiff University
“Visualizing ecosystem services is perhaps the most effective way of popularizing this important concept”, — Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, PhD, Co-President, The Club of Rome
“In this book Stanislav Shmelev, an ecological economist and an artist, goes far beyond the environmental social sciences and even the environmental humanities by appealing through photography to the incommensurable values that humans hold towards the environment.” — Prof. Joan Martinez-Alier, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Past President of the International Society for Ecological Economics
“‘Ecosystems’ by Stanislav Shmelev takes us through a journey of ecosystem services. Captured by a lens of a remarkable artist, who is also an expert, the colourful details bring to life the text describing the links between sustainability and the ecology surrounding us. As a Colombian, I enjoyed the clear message from wilderness to the scent of a cup of coffee generously provided by nature.” — Prof. Juan Armando Sánchez, Professor of Biological Sciencies, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
“This splendid collection exhibits an amazing rainbow of colours in scenes from around the globe, expressing the photographer’s profound concern for the state of the Earth, while also celebrating the intense and astonishing exuberance of human and biological diversity in some of the world’s most beautiful ecosystems. Shmelev’s inspired structure leads us along a carefully selected series of contexts and themes, showing clearly the importance of maintaining the stability and productivity of natural processes through global and local commitment for planetary survival in the face of global change.” — Prof. Peter H. May, PhD, Professor of Ecological Economics, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro.
“This is an outstanding collection of photographs. Stanislav’s wonderful and imaginative book and sensuous photographs show how the economy is entirely a subsidiary of the environment. Stanislav has created a miracle, read this book, look at these photographs and you will be invited to celebrate our deep connection with the natural world.” — SATISH KUMAR, Editor Emeritus of Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine and founder of Schumacher College
Environment Europe is a think tank, a research centre and a non-governmental institution based in Oxford, UK. It focuses on conducting research in macroeconomic sustainability, sustainable cities, renewable energy, ecosystems and biodiversity and sustainable waste management, consulting international organizations, governments, regions and companies and runs a successful educational programme of Summer and Winter Schools in Green Economy, Ecological Economics, Sustainable Cities and Ecosystems and the Economy. Environment Europe keeps an active presence and runs projects all around the world and reached out to participants and speakers from 53 countries through its executive education programme: Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, China, Jordan, Lebanon, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Thailand, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.
The exhibition at the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University will be running between 12 and 30 November 2018. We kindly ask the press to contact director@environmenteurope.org
