U.N. wins green prize for sheep use

The 46-hectare grounds of the Palais des Nations, built to house the League of Nations and now home to U.N. humanitarian, economic and trade agencies, are cared for with compost while shunning pesticides.

U.N. spokeswoman Elena Ponomareva said the Swiss non-profit Fondation Nature & Economie awarded the Ariana Park a "nature reserve certificate" for initiatives to boost biological diversity and avoid ecological damage.

These include "avoiding pesticides, utilizing compost and making use of sheep instead of lawnmowers," she told a news briefing at the U.N. European headquarters on Friday.

Between 300 and 400 sheep are allowed to graze on the 68,000 square meters of grassland surrounding the sprawling Palais des Nations every October and November, though the lawn is cut mechanically once in the spring and again in mid-summer.

The park also boasts cedars and other trees over 100 years old and a large variety of flowers, a U.N. statement said.

Peacocks also roam freely and are often spotted on the window sills of the Palais des Nations, which attracts 100,000 tourists a year. The building's oldest section dates to 1929.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay)