MomenTech's Endangered Species Trading Card (ETSC) Project Launched to Honor the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity
NEW YORK, October 12, 2010 -- To honor the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, MomenTech has announced the launch of the Endangered Species Trading Cards (ETSC) Project, the inaugural installment of the Endangered Species series of works. Coinciding with the date of the 2010 Biodiversity Target, the International Year of Biodiversity was declared by the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006.
The Endangered Species Trading Cards (ESTC) Project was developed for the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) as an educational tool for students to be distributed at the annual conference in Puebla, Mexico, in May 2011.
The ESTC Project is a collection of trading cards, each of which feature one of the world's endangered species as recorded by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species, and is maintained by the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The first card of the ESTC project is presented as tool to the attendees of the next annual meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). Attendees are encouraged to download the trading card template and distribute the card to schools in their respective local communities to help educate children about endangered species and raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity.
In the "Think Global, Act Local" spirit, MomenTech has selected the critically endangered Morelet's Treefrog (Agalychnis moreletii) to be the inaugural species for the ESTC Project because it is native to Puebla, Mexico -- the location of IAIA's annual meeting in May.
Morelet's Treefrog Endangered Species Trading Card (back of card)Assessed by the IUCN in 2004, Morelet's treefrog is a species of frog in the Hylidae family. According to the IUCN, it lives in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in the "north-eastern Puebla state and south-central Veracruz state, Mexico, to north-western Honduras on the Atlantic versant; and from south-central Guerrero state, Mexico, to central El Salvador on the Pacific versant, at elevations of 300-1,500m asl." The projected population decline for Morelet's treefrog is estimated to be more than 80% over the next decade.
IUCN also states: "Chytridiomycosis is probably the main cause of the disappearance of populations in Mexico, and the species is now probably seriously at risk from this disease. Habitat destruction due to subsistence and small holder agriculture is also a threat to this species, which also was formerly common in the pet trade."
DOWNLOAD a ZIP file containing the Morelet's Treefrog trading card template and the press release of Momentech's Endangered Species Trading Card (TSTC) Project [6.21 MB]> (NOTE: Mediafire.com window will open for the download)
See also: "Haribon Ringtone," the second installment of the Endangered Species series.
NOTES:
- This Microsoft Word™ document fits Avery Standard Template #5095 (3.38" x 2.33"). The 5095 label is a name badge sticker; it is simply noted here as the standard dimension of the trading card template.
- When printing, choose color, double-sided printing. Eight individual cards will be printed on each 8.5" x 11" sheet. MomenTech recommends the use of recycled paper or paper sourced from wood taken from a sustainable forest.
- The image on the front of the Morelet's Treefrog Trading Card was taken by Vladlen Henríquez (Wikimedia Commons).
- The source of the information and imagery on the back of the Morelet's Treefrog Trading Card is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
