It strikes me having read numerous articles in the past few weeks that there is a common theme on the tip of the tongue, be it from environmentalists, wildlife agencies or Countries themselves .... how to stop global population growth???
Why would we want to do this..... quite simple The UN believes the world is facing the worst losses of animal and plant species since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found wildlife in the tropics has declined by 60 per cent since 1970 and The ‘Living Planet Index’ found that the numbers of 2,500 species in 8,000 populations around the world has fallen by 30 per cent. One shocking statistic states that overall the world is using 50 per cent more of the planet’s resources than the world can supply........ 50%
This paints a dire picture, Iconic species like tigers, turtles, gorillas and hundreds of birds species are in danger of going extinct, as well as thousands of lesser-known animals. What would MrShutterbug Wildlife Photography have left to photograph?
And the culprit to this dire loss of animal and plant species....you guessed it Man, Homo Sapiens, You and I.
Not to continually Quote Chris Packham of Autumn watch but his current words echo those of one that is respected worldwide and synonymous with wildlife and the natural world,Sir David Attenborough, he called for governments around the world to start “regulating the population”.
Further quotes from Chris include “The human population is sowing the seeds of a mass extinction event,” he said. “The fact is there is not enough space.” The excessive demands of the growing population is having a disastrous effect on biodiversity. There are too many of us taking too much too quickly.
I have to say this guy is rapidly becoming a voice for the natural world and one i am willing to listen to. Some people may think he is out spoken but i think his voice is one of reason and truth. How we do it is another question all together
Rich countries like Britain are using three times the amount of resources than the planet can sustain, while countries in Africa use a fraction of what they are entitled to. As populations in what were once considered third world countries grow natural habitat of many animals and birds is being destroyed as local populations grab land to sustain themselves or grow "crops" for the developed world.
More than 190 countries will gather in Japan later this week for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to discuss the best way to stop the loss of wildlife around the world. The CBD will come up with a series of targets to try and protect wildlife such as putting aside a certain amount of land for nature reserves, cracking down on invasive species and bringing in subsidies to encourage more environmentally ways of farming and fishing. For the first time the focus will be on the billions of pounds worth biodiversity provides maintaining water cycles, air quality and food security and how this can be factored into economic decisions.
It seems to me there are two important summits to keep your eye on The united Nations convention and the Tiger Summit in St Petersberg in November
Sorry to sound cliche but the world is in our hands, especially the wildlife we all acclaim to love and cherish.
4 years ago i went skiing to America with my wife (then fiancee) whilst there we happened into a bookshop of famed name.
In one of the displays was a book with a black and white photo of a beautiful elephant throwing sand over her back. This book has since become my inspiration and something that i aspire to.
The book was called ON THIS EARTH and was a beautiful hardback bound 132 page book of quite simply stunning photos.The Book was by a Photographer called Nick Brandt. My Fiance bought me the book when she saw the sparkle in my eye knowing how much i love wildlife.
The book now takes pride of place on my coffee table and is a constant reminder of where one day i would like to be in terms of my photography. Many MrShutterbug fans will notice that i very rarely post Black and White pictures.... the reason is quite simple i don't think i could ever do the animals justice like Nick Brandt.
Sadly It now appears that many of the subjects in this book especially the Elephants are dead. This is due to poaching.But in a very short space of time, most of the large-tusked elephants featured in his books have been killed by poachers for their ivory.
Since 2008, there has been a huge increase in demand from China and the Far East for ivory, and as a result, elephants are being wiped out at an alarming rate. The numbers are apocalyptic : it’s estimated that as many as 35,000 elephants are being poached a year, 10% of the entire population of Africa's elephants each year alone.
And it’s not just elephants. The lions are being poisoned at an incredible rate too. It’s become so bad that there are next to no lions left outside the national parks in Kenya. Giraffes are also being killed at a faster rate for bush meat. There are even contracts out on zebras, as their skins are the latest fad in Asia.
This sad news was pointed out to me by another photographer Tom Hadley from Hadley Wildlife http://www.hadleywildlife.org.uk/ who also shares in the inspiration that Nicks books offer.
Its is a great shame that the animals that i and other Photographers be they professional or Amateur yearn to photograph are being killed.
It strikes me that China and Asia have a constant theme in my recent blogs, and that is because they are the beneficiaries of poaching and usually the instigators. Animals seem to be worth more dead than alive.
I wanted this post to highlight a source of inspiration and share with my fans the book and photographer which has given me this inspiration.
Sadly it seems i have once again had to resort to talking about the needless death of the wildlife that we all love and cherish. As humans we have an inbuilt instinct to constantly want more, it seems that inbuilt instinct is the main reason many species find them selves in the predicament they are now in.
Please visit Nicks Website learn about the elephants and other animals and about the crime that is being committed.
http://www.nickbrandt.com/
Rant Over
