NICK GARBUTT
INSPIRATION
© Nick Garbutt
www.nickgarbutt.com
B E
Eyes Wild Open "Elephant" Spider (Poltys sp. - possibly Poltys idea) waiting in ambush in its web at night. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Where do you place hope for the future of wildlife? I’d be the first to confess it’s hard to be optimistic for much of the time. For every little victory or snippet of encouraging news, there seems to be a torrent of doom, gloom and defeat.
I think we’re inevitably heading towards a world where wild places and national parks will effectively be islands of managed habitat surrounded by seas of development and humanity. In many places this is a scenario that already exists. But there should still be incentive to delay this for as long as possible, as our actions that diminish and reduce biodiversity are also the same actions that ultimately hasten our own species’ demise.
How has your work with wildlife changed how you act and think in daily life? Certainly traveling so widely and encountering so many wonderful species has made me realize how much we are potentially set to loose. But, it’s been the experiences I’ve had with local people and communities in the developing world that has had the most profound impact on the way I think and act.
I’ve seen some of the poorest people imaginable, in countries like Madagascar, India and Indonesia, living in almost mediaeval conditions. Their day-to-day lives have remained virtually unchanged for centuries and they some how manage to scratch a living together from minimal opportunities and meager resources. So much of what they do is simply geared towards putting the next meal on their plate. Yet so often they appear happy and content.
It’s made me realize how lucky I am personally and we all are generally in the West. It also brings into sharp focus so many notions of poverty as our culture (Western culture) understands them are laughable. Consequently, I can’t abide waste and excess, especially where food is concerned. Western ‘consumption’ – eating more food than we need and consequently producing excessive waste – is so immoral. I’m not for one moment saying we should all go back to living on minimal resources – of course not – we have to be realistic, but I do think we should all think carefully about how much we consume (food and other resources) and double efforts to reduce waste to a minimum. The daily calories a person routinely consumes in the West, is generally more than is required for a healthy life (so obesity is an ever-increasing problem) and perhaps 4 or 5 times more than someone in the developing world routinely has access too.
What are some of the most innovative approaches to conservation you have observed? It’s interesting to see how the approach to conservation has changed over the years – not surprising really as conservation consciousness is a relatively new phenomenon and our approach and attitudes are constantly evolving. The old approach dealt primarily with single endangered species, with local people and communities often being regarded as central to the problem. Now local people and communities are at the centre of most projects (rather the last line of defense, than the first line of attack) and their cooperation is vital and germane to potential success in preserving resources, the environment and consequently conserving the species those habitats contain.
I’ve always liked the approach adopted by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Firstly, they train local people to a very high level to then work on and run their own projects. These projects are generally small and manageable (so can act quickly when circumstances change and are not paralyzed by unwieldy bureaucracy) and have local communities at their heart. They also tend to champion less glamorous species that other bigger organizations overlook. There have been tremendous successes – Mauritius Kestrels and Parakeets and Pink Pigeons on Mauritius, Plowshare Tortoises and others in Madagascar.
What is the most curious creature you have encountered? There’s a long list. Many would be from Madagascar – an island that bursts with curiosity at every turn and corner; three species here spring to mind – the Aye-aye, Leaf-tailed Gecko and Giraffe-necked Weevil.
But if I had to pick one stand-out species it would be a bizarre, “Elephant Spider’ (pictured above) that I found in the rainforest of Danum Valley in Borneo. By day its camouflage is exquisite and borders on the unbelievable, but what it ‘morphs’ into when it becomes active at night is so unexpected and breathtaking. It simply made me marvel even more at the power and ingenuity of natural selection.
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