Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs

Bjørn Lomborg shot to fame with The Skeptical Environmentalist in 2001, a book which generated a great deal of interest from scientists and the media alike. The debate which followed focused on Lomborg’s general assertion that much of what environmentalists claimed was not nearly as bad as they reported. From pollution to public health, and the extinction of biodiversity to climate change, Lomborg offered analysis to show a better than feared picture. Several books since (e.g. The Lomborg Deception) have taken Lomborg to task over his methods and choice of data, and much has been made, particularly by the climate deniers, of his dismissive coverage of global warming.

Well… following on from The Skeptical Environmentalist, and his later book Cool It, he’s back to answer his critics with a new edited book on our response to climate change. Smart Solutions to Climate Change takes catastrophic climate change as a starting point. “I am saying what I have always said” says Lomborg, “that the climate is a real and important, man-made problem, but that we are handling it badly”. A panel of authors (economists – including three Nobel laureates) examine a range of policy and technology responses to climate change and suggest we change emphasis – shifting away from a Kyoto/Copenhagen focus on reducing emissions, and instead invest $100 billion in new technology funded by a carbon tax.

This is an in-depth and fairly technical read, but thought provoking and accessible. No matter what your views on Lomborg, he is now addressing what many see as a looming reality – that we are not making anywhere near enough progress in responding to climate change, and that even building on what’s already been started will not fix the problem.

What inspired you to enter the world of wildlife film, and what was the first film you ever made?

What inspired me was a desire to use film to advance the cause of conservation. I was frantically seeking fresh and innovative ways to promote environmental protection. The first film I ever made was on the California Condor with Robert Redford.

Shooting in the Wild is a scrupulously diplomatic survey of the history and ethics of wildlife film making – what is the hardest ethical puzzle you have had to confront in your experience making films?

You forgot to say that the book is full of fascinating stories! The hardest ethical puzzle I confronted was the desire to get close to wild animals while knowing it was wrong to harass them in that way.

As a conservationist, what do you believe a good wildlife film should do? What are the limits?

A good wildlife film should inspire the viewer to love nature more deeply and to encourage action of some kind to promote conservation.  And it should do this without harassing animals or deceiving the audience with staging or manipulation. There are no limits.

The tale of someone like Howard Hall and his “extraordinary patience” resulting in fascinating footage and industry recognition for his first film is  inspiring – perhaps the overly enthusiastic “claws and jaws” approach hides a more intriguing diversity of behaviour in the animal kingdom?

I’m not a cinematographer like Howard, but the behavior of wild animals goes far beyond copulation and predation, and is often intriguing and unpredictable. The “claws and jaws” approach does wildlife a disservice and is highly disrespectful of the natural world.

You recount some classic stories of misadventure – Timothy Treadwell and Steve Irwin come to mind – have you personally found yourself in any close animal encounters you were glad to have got out of? What is your most memorable animal encounter?

Swimming with humpback whales in Hawaii and walking near Kodiak bears in Alaska come to mind, but remember, we always work closely with biologists and so are never in any danger unless we do something stupid or careless. I’ve never felt threatened.

And what about memorable human encounters? You have worked with a huge variety of people and you mention some of these in the book …

“Shooting in the Wild” contains many memorable stories about film stars and other celebrities. I encourage readers to get hold of my book and enjoy them!

You talk about how social media is bringing wildlife filmmaking directly to people and engaging them in action on the ground. How does this new phenomenon play into the ethical concerns that are raised in the book?

One way is that everybody is a filmmaker now because everyone has a camera on their cell phone. Millions of people with cameras are edging closer and closer to wild animals to try to capture a career-enhancing shot. This upsurge in people stalking animals in order to get pictures is not good news for wild animals, who for the most part just want to be left alone.

What drives you to make this effort, at this time, to bring your industry to account? Are you optimistic that your conscientious approach will become standard?

What drives me is the deteriorating state of television. Recently I saw Bear Grylls on Animal Planet gratuitously and cruelly kill a large lizard by swinging it against a tree by its tail, and then plunging a knife into its neck.

Are you currently working on any interesting projects?

We’re producing three giant screen IMAX films on climate change, humpback whales, and the oceans. I’m also working with Rob Whitehair and Bruce Weide on a film about wolves.

How can people find out more about the questions raised in the book?

By writing to me and requesting the companion Study Guide. My e-mail address is palmer@american.edu.  Another way is by asking to be put on my mailing list so you receive periodic e-mails about our various projects.  Again, people should feel free to e-mail me about that. Also, every Tuesday night in Washington DC at American University where I teach we have events related to wildlife and environmental films which are free and open to the public.

Buy a copy of Shooting in the Wild

“Reed occurs in all five continents. It is concentrated in Europe, Asia and Africa, but is most variable and abundant in eastern Europe and into Asia (much in China), in temperate climes. Here it is the commonest wetland dominant, the commonest (non-bog) peat former, and the commonest sparse species in other wetland types. Reed peat is of course a fen peat, formed under water from old plant peats. Reed beds, before much human impact, often lived for several thousand years, colonising flooded areas and building up peat until dry land vegetation could invade or land or sea level changed to increase surface water again. The plants have large rhizome systems growing at the front and dying at the back. It is thought, but without evidence, that the same plants live throughout the life of a stable bed (one that is not subject to constant disturbance and disruption).

“Before main drainage, the next most important habitat (still seen, though sparsely) is in bands along lowland streams, outside a fringing band of trees or bushes. Small dominant stands occur in other wet places, and sparse reeds are in most fens, rich and poor, in estuaries and beside some rivers.

“Reed is extraordinarily sensitive to most environmental impacts, natural and human. These variations make reed a fascinating study in plant behaviour.

“There has been a deplorable decline and loss of river plants which is quite possibly worst in Britain, among the larger countries. This has occurred over the past 30 years or so, although some decline was recorded from the 1930s through to 1980 (principally in fine-leaved Potamogetons). Among small countries, Malta seems to be approaching total loss in a few decades time, there having been a good and common aquatic flora in 1850. This loss, however, is primarily due to water loss from abstraction.”

The dedication in Dr. Haslam’s next book, “The Waving Plants of the River”, is to “the botanists of the future who dedicate their lives to reverse the present decline and devastation of river plants.”

A Book of Reed is available now from NHBS

What is a mangrove, what sort of habitat does it provide, and what might you find living there?

The World Atlas of Mangroves, published by Earthscan, is a huge undertaking with you at the helm as lead author. What are your credentials? Who were your colleagues?

I think it’s taken about 5 years. Leadership of the whole project was run by the wonderful International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, a small but very active NGO based in Japan, with funds from the International Tropical Timber Organization. Mami Kainuma, one of the co-authors, works with ISME. Also, at its heart, it’s a book rich with maps – and that work fell to two other organisations: FAO in Rome and UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge – and many fantastic colleagues in both organisations.

I wrote an earlier mangrove atlas with ISME which came out in 1997. In fact the two works are almost incomparable. The 1997 work was the best we could do with limited resources. It’s not bad, but this work is so much more than just a new edition – we’ve got globally consistent, detailed maps; we reviewed 1400 references for the text; we have the first ever range maps for all species…

With mangroves disappearing three to four times faster than land-based forests, what is being done to address the situation?

What are the main problem or priority areas for mangrove conservation?

Communication. I think the case for mangrove conservation is rock-solid. More so than for some other habitats where direct dollar values for goods and services can sound a little tortured or unconvincing. But many still don’t know it, so mangroves are still suffering from a poor press as unproductive wastelands, and from poor accounting, as short-term profits are being used to persuade losses with often dire long-term consequences.

But it’s not all bad news? What are some of the success stories?

Matang forest in Malaysia, and the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India, are among the longest-running tropical forestry operations in the world. They are plantations of a sort, though much reafforestation is just natural growback. But in both places for well over a century thousands or even tens of thousands of people have benefitted from timber products and fisheries, while the wildlife remains abundant, showing that we can work  alongside nature.

Mangroves are also robust survivors. Given half a chance they’ll recover. They don’t appear to be stressed by warming temperatures, and if they can migrate inland then sea level rise might not stress them too much either.  Get things right and they are going to help us to adapt to climate change AND keep local communities going with other goods and services.

The World Atlas of Mangroves is a global overview, and this is a focus we see increasingly in conservation and ecology with developments such as remote sensing. What are the benefits and the limitations of this kind of approach?

In an increasingly global world they help us to get things in perspective. For those working at national or local levels they offer a context for that work. They enable arguments to be made, and I’d like to think they also enable connections – that people working South America might realize the bonanza to be made from ecotourism, or sustainable harvesting. They also help those who deal with issues at the international level – in the case of mangroves to make the case for their importance – in climate change adaptation, carbon sequestration, rural livelihoods, offshore fisheries. Of course its not a book to be used for navigation! The maps are good, but not that good, and it’s always important for people like me to remember that books like this are really written by the thousands of experts who live and work “on the ground”.

You have commented on the “extraordinary synergies between people and forests”. How would humanity be affected by a substantial decrease in the world’s remaining mangroves?

Of course, many in the west wouldn’t notice, and the world’s economies might not notice, but mangroves are right there in the front line for many of the world’s poorest. There would be declines in livelihood, and in food and fuel supplies in many of the world’s poorest tropical coastal areas. A more subtle impact would be that of increased vulnerability. These same people, and others, even in coastal towns and cities, would become more exposed to risk from storms, flooding and the more subtle encroachment of sea level rise. Mangroves won’t stop these things, and its hard to pin exact numbers on the services, but the evidence that they help significantly is now very solid.

I assume you have visited many mangroves in your travels – what is it like to experience being in, on or around a mangrove? Any interesting stories from a field marine ecologist?

What part do you see the Atlas playing in highlighting the cause of mangrove conservation?

There’s a lot of information out there about the importance and value of mangroves, but perhaps it’s suffered from being piecemeal. The case might have been made that each story was a one-off. This time we’ve read 1400 sources and had review comments from over 100 people. It’s no longer possible to ignore the patterns and I hope that it might be used, by academics, teachers, policy experts and NGOs, to really make the case. Mangroves are critical resources.

What would you suggest as the most important next action the world’s conservation organisations and political leaders should take if we are to see our mangroves flourish and to secure a happy future for their inhabitants and dependents?

I think for some, conservation organizations embracing habitat restoration and active plantation might be something of a new direction. For others working  to educate local communities on the values of mangroves, or to help them defend their mangrove from clearance or conversion might be new ground. For sure we could always do with more protected areas, but actually in this case the holistic vision might take us beyond that and into thinking about protection in other ways, such that we halt losses completely and start to increase habitat areas.

Another new direction will be seriously planning for climate change. That will mean thinking about what lies behind the mangroves and planning for movements and migrations as sediments move, and new land is inundated.

The World Atlas of Mangroves is available now from NHBS