peace." This mission is carried out using 'The Earth Charter' as the principal guiding framework. The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. In 2012, the Earth Charter Initiative and the University for Peace were jointly awarded the UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development and the Earth Charter. The work related to this UNESCO chair will be carried out at the newly constructed 'Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development' at the UPEACE main campus. Peace Park and nature reserve The campus is surrounded by a natural reserve composed of a secondary forest and the last remnant of primary forest (200 ha) in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Hence, this protected area is very rich in fauna. It shelters mammals such as monkeys and deer; reptiles; and over 300 species of birds, as well as approximately 100 varieties of trees. The university's installations and protected area make up 303 ha. International activities In addition to the activities at the Costa Rica campus, the University for Peace has several international offices and partners. Africa The University for Peace established its Africa program in 2002. The programme aims to stimulate and strengthen the capacities in Africa to teach, train and conduct research in areas of peace and conflict studies. The first five years of the program focused on the development of curricula and teaching materials and the delivery of a range of short courses, workshops, conferences and seminars in various parts of Africa. Within this period, the program attracted close to one thousand participants from academia, policy-makers and civil society organizations. Since 2007, the Africa programme has worked with a number of partner universities to develop master's degree programs to be based at African universities. The principal aim of this endeavour is to further strengthen the African capacity and build a wide expertise for a better understanding of conflicts in Africa, their prevention and the creation of the environment favourable to lasting peace and development in the region. Europe In January 2012, UPEACE opened a centre in The Hague, Netherlands, which is housed at the Academy Building of the Peace Palace, next to the Hague Academy of International Law. UPEACE The Hague focuses on education and research in peace studies, cooperating with academic and policy-oriented institutions in