H
hoofsandhorns
Guest
Was wondering if or how many of you have seen the seriese "Planet Earth" and in paticular the episode "Living Together"?
For those that aren't aware of the series here is a little background. The programmes were made over four years by producer Alastair Fothergill and his team, who were responsible for the successful The Blue Planet (2001). The narrator, David Attenborough, worked on them while also embarking on the last in his 'Life' series, Life in Cold Blood, which is due for completion in 2008. The series' music is composed by George Fenton. Filming involved visiting 62 countries and 204 different locations.Each of the eleven episodes (except the first) focuses on one of the Earth's natural habitats and examines its indigenous features, together with the breadth of fauna found there. Several animals and locations are shown that have hitherto never been filmed, using innovative camera technology. Previously unseen animal behaviour includes: wolves chasing caribou observed from above; snow leopards pursuing markhor in the Himalayas; grizzly bear cubs leaving their den for the first time; crab-eating macaques that swim underwater; and over a hundred sailfish hunting en masse.
The episode "Living Together" deals with the future of conservation. It begins by looking at previous efforts. The 'Save the Whale' campaign, which started in the 1960s, is seen to have had a limited effect, as whaling continues and fish stocks also decline. In the 1990s, as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Richard Leakey took on the poachers by employing armed units. Although it was successful in saving elephants, the policy was detrimental to the Maasai people, who were forced from their land. The need or "fortress" areas is questioned, and the recently highlighted Raja Ampat coral reef in Indonesia is an example. The more tourism it generates, the greater the potential for damage ? and inevitable coastal construction. Sustainable development is viewed as controversial, and one contributor perceives it to currently be a "contradiction in terms". Trophy hunting is also contentious. Those that support it argue that it generates wealth for local economies, while its opponents point to the reducing numbers of species such as the markhor. Ecotourism is shown to be beneficial, as it is in the interests of its providers to protect their environments. However, in some areas, such as the Borneo rainforests, the great diversity of species is being replaced by monocultures. The role of both religion and the media in conservation is argued to be extremely important. Contributors to the programme admit a degree of worry about the future, but also optimism.
The thoughts, opinions, believes and views shared by a number of different environmental,conservation, social and economic experts around the world on the issue of Sustainable Development and Trophy hunting as a conservation tool was very interesting. If you haven't seen it I recommend you do. It's very thought provoking and was encouraging to see the various ENGO's that advocate hunting as a valuble tool in conserving wildlife and habitiat. Hope you get to see if you haven't already.
Rod
For those that aren't aware of the series here is a little background. The programmes were made over four years by producer Alastair Fothergill and his team, who were responsible for the successful The Blue Planet (2001). The narrator, David Attenborough, worked on them while also embarking on the last in his 'Life' series, Life in Cold Blood, which is due for completion in 2008. The series' music is composed by George Fenton. Filming involved visiting 62 countries and 204 different locations.Each of the eleven episodes (except the first) focuses on one of the Earth's natural habitats and examines its indigenous features, together with the breadth of fauna found there. Several animals and locations are shown that have hitherto never been filmed, using innovative camera technology. Previously unseen animal behaviour includes: wolves chasing caribou observed from above; snow leopards pursuing markhor in the Himalayas; grizzly bear cubs leaving their den for the first time; crab-eating macaques that swim underwater; and over a hundred sailfish hunting en masse.
The episode "Living Together" deals with the future of conservation. It begins by looking at previous efforts. The 'Save the Whale' campaign, which started in the 1960s, is seen to have had a limited effect, as whaling continues and fish stocks also decline. In the 1990s, as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Richard Leakey took on the poachers by employing armed units. Although it was successful in saving elephants, the policy was detrimental to the Maasai people, who were forced from their land. The need or "fortress" areas is questioned, and the recently highlighted Raja Ampat coral reef in Indonesia is an example. The more tourism it generates, the greater the potential for damage ? and inevitable coastal construction. Sustainable development is viewed as controversial, and one contributor perceives it to currently be a "contradiction in terms". Trophy hunting is also contentious. Those that support it argue that it generates wealth for local economies, while its opponents point to the reducing numbers of species such as the markhor. Ecotourism is shown to be beneficial, as it is in the interests of its providers to protect their environments. However, in some areas, such as the Borneo rainforests, the great diversity of species is being replaced by monocultures. The role of both religion and the media in conservation is argued to be extremely important. Contributors to the programme admit a degree of worry about the future, but also optimism.
The thoughts, opinions, believes and views shared by a number of different environmental,conservation, social and economic experts around the world on the issue of Sustainable Development and Trophy hunting as a conservation tool was very interesting. If you haven't seen it I recommend you do. It's very thought provoking and was encouraging to see the various ENGO's that advocate hunting as a valuble tool in conserving wildlife and habitiat. Hope you get to see if you haven't already.
Rod
