Christopher Corbin

Programme Officer, United Nations Environment Programme, Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit

Today's Date: 31st July,2006

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

Growing up on small island meant that nature was all around me, whether it were the rainforests and rivers or the beaches and sea. Any free time was almost always spent in the outdoors. So the biggest impact on me was my first vacation in North America with apartment complexes, driving along freeways in enclosed air conditioned cars and instead of a skyline dotted with mountains, forests and sea, one dotted with buildings and skyscrapers. And perhaps most of all, the lack of stars during the night. It made me realize what we in the less developed world sometimes took for granted and needed to treasure and protect.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

It would have to be the beach, just sitting on the rocks and listening to the sound of the waves against the shore. No hotels, no tourists just a sense of calm and peace.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

Black Panther or any member of the Cat Family. Grace in movement, Skill and Cunning in Hunting, and complete independence.

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

Actually it's poverty. While we may talk about climate change, lack of drinking water, polluted rivers and dying reefs, it's about giving people the power to make more informed choices concerning the use of the natural resources and providing them with environmentally sustainable alternatives. Unless we break the cycle of poverty and dependence, we will forever be trying to fix gaping wounds of environmental degradation with superficial plasters and forever dealing with symptoms rather than the root causes of the problems we face.

In the future, we will need to continue to battle an increasing lifestyle of materialism and consumerism. To quote an old Indian Proverb to live more simply so that others can simply live.

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

That every single positive action, no matter how small and how seemingly insignificant does count. We often think the solutions to many of the environmental problems are bigger than every one of us individually. But all of us doing their little bit can in fact move mountains.