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Today at WILD9 / Hoy en WILD9
Hoy en WILD9
WILD9 is a success! Over the 8 days of WILD9, we gathered together to THINK, FEEL and ACT.
WILD9 was opened by President Felipe Calderon, and attended by 1800 delegates from 50 countries, with 10,000 on-line participants from 100 countries. WILD9 conveyed an extraordinary atmosphere of hope and enthusiasm, hosted a diverse range of working session and featured a plenary program with world leaders such as Dr. Jane Goodall; Dr. Sylvia Earle; Dr Pavan Sukhdev; Chief Tashka Yawanawa; Grand Chief Samuel Gargan; numerous Ministers; the heads of land management agencies from North America and other regions; Heinz Center Director Dr. Thomas Lovejoy; Nobel laureate Mario Molina; Dr. Amory Lovins; Dr Exequiel Ezcurra; and many others.
Download the summary of WILD9 Accomplishments >
View Video’s of WILD9 Presentations >
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News! - Noticas! - Nouvelles!
iLCP Team in Great Bear Rainforest to document biodiversity and marine life
September 2, 2010The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) has rounded up another stellar RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) crew and teamed up with Pacific WILD to expose BC’s plans to lift the moratorium on tanker traffic along BC’s coast and how that could…
> Read MorePresidential Proclamation, Wilderness Stewardship & Wilderness Training in Europe
September 1, 2010Several good stories through the pipeline today -
On 31 August, through an official Presidential Proclamation, US President Obama declared September official “Wilderness Month!” A brief excerpt from his proclamation: “This month, we renew our pledge to build upon the legacy…
> Read MoreYouth Leadership Event with Simon Jackson in Boulder, CO
September 1, 2010September is going to be a busy month for us here at WILD! We’re very excited to welcome Simon Jackson, founder of the largest youth-led organization in the world, to Boulder to meet with local young leaders. Jackson will facilitate…
> Read MoreGreat Bear Rainforest Profile: Cristina Mittermeier
August 30, 2010
Between now and September 14, the iLCP, a group of internationally renowned photographers, are taking part in a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. Home to white spirit bears, ancient forests, and stunning marine biodiversity, it is one of the planet's most priceless treasures, but overseas oil interests wanting access to western Canada's tar sands, the second largest known oil reserves in the world, have put the region in threat, prompting the action of conservation groups and the iLCP. Throughout the expedition we'll be bringing you profiles, stories, statistics and photos to learn more about the region and why it's so crucial that we all work to protect it. Please follow along on the iLCP blog, on Facebook and Twitter.Armed with a background in marine biology, Cristina Mittermeier turned her focus to images — realizing they were a better tool to tell the story of humans and nature. At the heart of her work, Cristina amplifies the idea that people and nature are not isolated from each other, but are inexorably connected. In 2005, Cristina founded the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) — a prestigious team of photographers who believe that awe-inspiring photography is a powerful force for the environment.
Focusing on the relationship between nature’s most spectacular and endangered wildlife and Earth’s vanishing traditional human cultures, Cristina and iLCP aim to replace environmental indifference with a new culture of stewardship and passion for our beautiful planet.
Cristina is currently on the ground in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest to tell the story of this threatened ecosystem through images. We caught up with Cristina and asked her a few questions...
Why is it important to save the Great Bear Rainforest? What’s at stake?
Number one the livelihoods of the people, most of them First Nations, and the fragile ecosystems of the northern shore of BC.How far did you travel to come and shed light on this important issue?
I’m living in DC but originally from Mexico.Why do you personally care about the Great Bear Rainforest? And have you ever been before?
Because I am deeply offended by the lack of respect for the First Nations who have lived here for thousands of years and whose voices of opposition are not being heard.
Yes, I have been here before, I came here to spend time with the Gitga'at Nation at their spring fishing camp and to scout the area for the RAVE.What do you think the power behind a RAVE is?
Empowering our conservation partners with the highest quality imagery not only helps to bear witness but it helps build constituencies around these issues. In the case of the RAVE because we have international photographers these constituencies are usually international as well.How do you tell a story via your photos?
I like to delve into the human aspect of stories like this. I'm interested in using images to connect the dots between cause and consequence.What is your assignment on the GBR RAVE?
I'm going to be embedded with the Gitga’at First Nations. Documenting their absolute reliance on natural resources for survival and their deep ties and tradition surrounding their relationship with the coastal resources.What is the ultimate desired outcome?
We would like to see the government of Canada rethink it’s strategies surrounding oil development in particular in the tar sands and perhaps look at the fate of other petrol states such as Venesuela and Iraq.
By bringing international photographers we are trying to help Canada realize the way the rest of the world is looking at this situation.
Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP President and photographer speaks for the Great Bear Rainforest from iLCP on Vimeo.
World's Premiere Photographers Join Forces to Protect British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest
August 30, 2010
Photo courtesy Ian McAllister, iLCPJust like in many creative industries, the photography business is a competitive one. Why then, would some of the world's premiere photographers converge in the wilds of British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest? To save one of the planet's most priceless treasures. Photographers including Paul Nicklen, Florian Schultz, Daniel Beltra, Jack Dykinga, Tom Peschak and Cristina Mittermeier will take part in the iLCP's RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) of the area and tell the story of this incredible place and the people working to save it.
"The Great Bear Rainforest is an environmental treasure, and the international exposure that the iLCP is capable of generating will undoubtedly prove a clarion call for its protection," said Ian McAllister, Conservation Director for B.C. based Pacific Wild and recently nominated Associate of the iLCP. "We have everything to lose and very little to gain by allowing oil tankers on our coast."
Overseas oil interests want access to western Canada's tar sands — the second largest known oil reserves in the world — and have proposed the construction of a massive pipeline through the rain forest to get it.
Photo courtesy Cristina Mittermeier, iLCP
Home to white spirit bears, ancient forests, and stunning marine biodiversity, iLCP's team of photographers will showcase the immense ecological importance of western Canada's threatened rain forest and marine environment. The images and stories from the expedition members will be shared with international media and partner organizations and will be featured in a traveling exhibition across North America and Europe.
Photo courtesy Ian McAllister, iLCPEnbridge Inc., the world's largest pipeline construction company (and the same one responsible for Michigan's oil spill) has proposed to open export markets for tar sands oil outside the United States — most notably China.
So, how do you go about that? Build a 1,200 km pipeline from Alberta's tar sands and British Columbia's north Pacific coast over more than 1,000 streams and rivers — including some of the world's largest salmon producing watersheds — and introduce super oil tankers (revoking an existing moratorium on large ships) to transport oil through the pristine waters of the Great Bear Rainforest.
"We support this effort to document the lands and seas of our traditional territory," states Ernie Hill Jr., Sn'axeed, Gitga'at Hereditary Eagle Chief. The indigenous First Nations who call this area home unanimously oppose this project. "Enbridge's pipeline and oil tanker proposal will destroy our way of life and we must do everything possible to show what we stand to lose."
Learn more about the Great Bear Rainforest RAVE.
