WCS

THEODORE ROOSEVELT AWARD CEREMONY

JUNE 6TH, 2017

CONTEXT :
WCS has decided to honor President Ali Bongo Ondimba for Marine
Conservation. The President will be granted with the the Wildlife Conservation
Societys Theodore Roosevelt Award for Conservation Leadership

VENUE :
One UN, 1 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan Room (44th Street between 1st &
2nd Avenues)

TIME : 6 PM - 7 PM

PROGRAMME :

Reception starts: 6:00 PM

Remarks start: 6:30 PM

1. Cristian Samper* to welcome and present the award to President

Bongo
2. President Bongo to make remarks
3. Cristian Samper to thank him, let him depart, and recognize
Michael
4. Michael Kowalski to make remarks
5. Christian Samper S to thank him and introduce Jacob James
6. Jacob to make remarks
7. GEF (Leah Karrer) to make remarks
8. Belize -- Minister of Fisheries to make remarks
9. Cristian Samper to close

Cristian Samper is President and CEO of WCS.

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education,
and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the
power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the worlds oceans and its five
wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field,
zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow:
@WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

LOGISTICS/CONTACTS:
Hotel Contact:
Matthew Flood (in case the security team needs to speak with him)
Phone number: 212-702-5045

Global Resources Point Person:

Aria Isberto
Handling all logistics and will be onsite at 3:30 tomorrow
Cell number: 407-761-2120

Felicia Hamerman -PA to CEO

(+1-516-359-6300)
Jason Patlis Head of Marine program
(+1-202-390-2700).

DRAFT CP PROPOSED

WCS Honors President of Gabon for Marine Conservation

President Ali Bongo Ondimba presented with the Wildlife Conservation Societys Theodore
Roosevelt Award for Conservation Leadership

President Bongo has protected some 26 percent of Gabons coastal and marine ecosystems, a
legacy for future generations

Award presented during UN Oceans Conference

New York, NY (June XX, 2017) The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today honored President Ali
Bongo Ondimba forexpanding marine protected areas (MPAs) in Gabon.

In a ceremony at XXXX New York City, WCS President and CEO Dr. Cristin Samper presented
President Bongo with the Wildlife Conservation Societys Theodore Roosevelt Award for Conservation
Leadership for safeguarding Gabons unique coastal areas and marine ecosystems for future generations.

WCS President and CEO Dr. Cristin Samper said: This significant effort to securing a coastal legacy for
Gabons current and future generations is powerful testimony to President Bongos support for
conservation, and a beacon of hope to the world.

At the United Nations Oceans Conference this week, President Bongo declared the establishment of 20
marine protected areas; nine marine parks and 11 aquatic reserves. Gabons marine protected area
network will now total 53,000 sq. km, just over 26 percent of Gabons Territorial Sea and Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ).
The largest protected area in the network (27,000 km2), La Rserve Aquatique du Grand Sud du
Gabon, extends protection of the existing Mayumba National Park to the 200 nautical mile limit of Gabons
EEZ, protecting a continuous swath of habitats and marine life from the beach to abyssal 4-kilometer
depths.

Other Small marine parks are situated at key places along the coast, such as river mouths, to protect
particularly sensitive or productive resource areas.

Gabon has made great progress in the last decades expanding its protected area system. In August 2002,
President El Hadj Omar Bongo surprised the world with the establishment of 13 national parks.

The UN Oceans Conference, which runs from June 5-9, supports the implementation of Sustainable
Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
Last year, WCS presented the Theodore Roosevelt Award for Conservation Leadership to President Juan
Manuel Santos for his role in expanding the national park system in Colombia.

###

Marine Protected Area (MPA) Fund Reception

ONE UN New York, Manhattan Room
June 5, 2017

Name Organization
Abigail Alling Biosphere Foundation
Adam Wolfensohn Encourage Capital
Adrian Arias Oceans 5
Alan Blum Robin Hood Foundation
Amanda Hearst
Anisa Costa Tiffany & Co.
Ann Colley Moore Charitable Foundation
Antonia M. Grumbach WCS Trustee
Audrey Brown Pereira SPREP
Blake Holden WCS Council
Carlos Saavedra The Summit Foundation
Catherine Holden WCS Council
Charles Goddard World Ocean Summit
Cherie Prothro Waitt Foundation
Claire Bernard Mariposa Foundation
Colin Hart Phil Stevenson Foundation
Damian Jensen Bertarelli Foundation
Dianna Cohen
Diego Moreno Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible
Efraim Chalamish (maybe) Dorsey and Whitney LLP
Emanuel Goncalves Oceano Azul Foundation
Francesca von Hapsburg- Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Alligator
Lothringen Head Foundation
Giuliana Furca Walton Family Foundation
Gladys Perez Citi
Gretchen Wagner (maybe, or
other guests) Bridgewater/The Dalio Family Foundation
Hannah Richert Office of President Bill Clinton
Hui Wen Chan Citi
Jacob James Waitt Foundation
James Brumm
Jane Patton
Jason Scott Encourage Capital
Joshua Cohen EGA
Karen Sack Ocean Unite
Kasper Christoffersen
Keith Shattenkirk Leonardo diCaprio Foundation
Leah Bunce Carrer GEF
Lisa Volgenau (maybe) The Volgenau Foundation
Mark Bolland Bertarelli Foundation
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Alligator
Markus Reymann Head Foundation
Martin Callow Seychelles Trust
Michael Donoghue SPREP
Michael Kowalski Tiffany & Co.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable
Omar Figueroa Development & Climate Change
Paula Lawrence Starr Foundation
Peter Thomson
Renu Saini Walton Family Foundation
Robin Bates
Robin van Bokhorst WCS Council
Rodrigo Oyanedel Walton Family Foundation
Rutherford Seydel
Samara Rudolph Tiffany & Co.
Shari Sant Plummer (maybe) Code Blue Foundation
Tiago Cunha Oceano Azul Foundation
Tracy Austin Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the America
Walter Sedgwick WCS Trustee
Yuko Brumm

Amy Harclerode Wildlife Conservation Society

Caleb McClennen Wildlife Conservation Society
Carolyn Gray Wildlife Conservation Society
Cristin Samper Wildlife Conservation Society
Gideon Bresler Wildlife Conservation Society
Howard Rosenbaum Wildlife Conservation Society
Jason Patlis Wildlife Conservation Society
Jeremy Radachowsky Wildlife Conservation Society
Katherine Holmes Wildlife Conservation Society
Liam McCarthy Wildlife Conservation Society
Mary Deyns Brandao Wildlife Conservation Society
Nicole Auil Gomez Wildlife Conservation Society
Paula Hayes Wildlife Conservation Society
Sangeeta Mangubhai Wildlife Conservation Society
Sue Lieberman Wildlife Conservation Society