United Nations marks the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation

By David Hartwig

A pane of 10 stamps with labels in a June 6 issue from the United Nations Postal Administration marks the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.

The stamps are denominated €1.20 for use from the U.N. post office at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria.

In 2022 the United Nations adopted a resolution to declare 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, along with a proclamation to establish March 21 as the World Day for Glaciers.

The initiative aims to raise awareness about the importance of glaciers as well as the economic, social and environmental consequences of their decline.

From top to bottom in the left column of the pane, the stamps show the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina, Mount Gongga and glacier in Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park in China, Alaska glaciers from Prince William Sound in the United States, Pasterze Glacier in Austria and the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand.

In the right column from top to bottom the stamps show the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon with the mountains of Vatnajokull in Iceland, the Lambert Glacier in Antarctica, Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland, the Jostedalsbreen National Park in Norway, and the icebergs of the Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland.

The selvage of the pane shows glaciers in Disko Bay, Greenland, and provides text on the purpose of proclaiming 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.

“Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater for billions of people,” part of the text in the selvage reads. “However, owing to climate change, driven mainly by human activities, these vital resources are rapidly melting.”

Se-tenant (side-by-side) labels feature alternating images of the United Nations logo and a logo associated with the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.

The se-tenant labels on the pane can be personalized. To do so, customers can visit UNPA stamp shops at the U.N. headquarters or upload their photographs to the UNPA website at unstamps.org.

The United Nations Postal Administration scheduled a first-day ceremony for the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation sheet at 1 p.m. June 6 during the Napex stamp show at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, 7920 Jones Branch Drive, in McLean, Va.

Rorie Katz of the United Nations designed the stamp panes, which were printed in-house. The stamps measure 40.6 millimeters by 29.8mm, the tabs are 26.6mm by 29.8mm, and the sheet is 279.4mm by 215.9mm.

For ordering information for the June 6 stamps and related products, visit the UNPA website; email unpanyinquiries@un.org; telephone 212-963-7684 or 800-234-8672; or write to UNPA, Box 5900, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-5900.

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