Call4Nature: Photo series

PALM OIL/DEFORESTATION

Jack Harries –  Filmmaker, activist and WWF Ambassador

“Every-year millions of hectares of pristine tropical rainforest are lost for the production of beef, soy, timber and palm oil. These magnificent forests store huge amounts of carbon and are home to some of our planet’s greatest wildlife. Their protection is critical to stop runaway climate change and halt the sixth mass extinction.”

Photographer, Chris Ratcliffe

“I had very mixed emotions when taking this image. I was struck with a sense of sadness at seeing the elephants in a seemingly unnatural environment for them. Equally, I was taken aback by watching them use this environment to their advantage as a food source, and the efforts of plantation owners to create wildlife corridors within their plantations to enable elephants to travel to connecting forest areas. I feel that it really highlights the threats that the species faces, yet also demonstrates the resilience they have to being able to adapt to a changing landscape.”

WILDLIFE CORRIDORS

Rebecca May, Tiger Conservation manager at WWF

“Tigers can travel over 100km to establish their own territories, so these connecting habitats are critical for wild tiger population recovery, and to help achieve the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, from as few as 3,200 in 2010. However, they are under pressure from habitat loss and poaching. It’s crucial that we do all we can to maintain and connect their habitats, and protect tigers from being hunted. We are seeing tiger populations recover in areas where this is happening, which gives us great hope of protecting these incredible creatures for the future.”

Emmanuel Rondeau, photographer

“When I look at this image, I can’t help thinking that we live in an incredible planet. All in this image is the result of millions of years of evolution, of work, to make it as perfect as it is. It reveals another world, unknown to most humans, something more beautiful and jaw-dropping than any science fiction movie. It makes me want to fight twice as hard to stop the current madness of the world.”

SUSTAINABLE FISHING

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Chef and Vice-President, Fauna and Flora International

“We are overfishing our oceans at an alarming rate and choking them with plastic and other pollutants. If we want to see healthy seas that will continue to provide us with food, we need to stop this over exploitation, protect our incredible marine environments and make sustainable fishing the norm, as we see here.”

Photographer, Antonio Busiello

“I spent a month on a bluefin fishing boat and for what I have seen all the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) regulations were respected. Fishermen I talked with, seemed to have developed an environmental awareness - at least they understand the importance of keeping the bluefin protected from overfishing, in order to continue fishing and making a living out of it.”

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

Paul De Ornellas, Chief Wildlife Adviser at WWF

“The world is waking up to the fact that pangolins are facing extinction as a result of the illegal wildlife trade.  Sadly, their natural defence is a gift to traffickers. When threatened they roll into a tight ball. This protects them from predators in the wild,  but enables criminals to transport them with ease, just like footballs. To save these remarkable creatures, we need to spread the word and push to stop this illegal trade.”

Adrian Stern, Photographer

“The man in this photo tends to this pangolin every day, ensuring its rehabilitation after being seized in anti-poaching operations.  The image reflects the weight of human responsibility involved in the species and our world’s tomorrow.  What we do to the animals we will end up doing to ourselves.  Our very futures are intertwined forever.”

PLASTIC POLLUTION

Chris Packham, TV Presenter, naturalist, founder of Wild Justice

“Nature is our life support system and without it our lives on this earth would be impossible and unimaginable. We have to stop seeing the natural world as something to be exploited and taken for granted. Nature matters to me and it should matter to you. We need to put more value on our natural assets and stop destroying our precious planet.”

Sam Hobson, photographer

“Just eight miles off the Welsh mainland, RSPB Grassholm Island should be a paradise for gannets, but in recent years, it has become a living hell. I visited the island with a rescue team, who visit each year to cut free the entangled birds. This panicked adult gannet struggled as it dangled from a cliffside, with ropes twisted around its neck like a hangman’s noose. The brave volunteers risked their own lives to creep to the edge of the clifftop and rescue this bird from its death sentence.”

POLAR ICE CAP

Rod Downie - Chief Polar Adviser at WWF

“The Arctic is in melt-down - it is warming over twice as fast as the global average. Climate change means that walrus,  polar bears and people may soon face an ice-free Arctic ocean during the summer, unless we take urgent action now.

Though it may seem remote, the impacts felt in the Arctic are not limited to national borders - sea levels are rising and extreme weather such as flooding and wildfires are increasing as it warms. Nature is crying out for help in every corner of the planet, and it is time for us to listen before we lose the wonders we take for granted.”

Andy Rouse, photographer

“I found the image I wanted whilst leading an expedition to Svalbard.The holy grail is to get the waterfalls from it, like we see in the image, a natural phenomenon that only used to occur in the warmest few weeks of the arctic summer. Not now. In recent years I’ve seen the waterfalls at times of the season when I’ve never expected to. And not just one or two waterfalls but many. This dramatic difference is a warning of things to come and one I was determined to record.”