Jorge Albuquerque

Associacao Montanha Viva www.montanhaviva.blogspot.com

Today's Date: Feb 8 2007

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

A Peregrine Falcon in my earliest days as a Biology Student. I used to watch a few wintering falcon in my home Town Porto Alegre in South Brazil while did my college. Theses interactions were quite strong and shaped my life as a conservation Biologist.

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

I lived in a big city. the only outdoor type of place was a field where we play soccer.

Now? Well, now I like to spend hours in field work searching for hawk eagles in the Serra Geral area in Santa Catarina ( www.projetogavioesdepenacho.blogspot.com). Also I have a small property covered of rain forest near my home in Florianopolis, a great place to bird watch and think about life.

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

My favorite animal is the Great Kisskadee because it reminds me of my childhood in Porto Alegre.

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?

I would say that the major challenge is to try to teach people to change their view of how to prosper. The agroindustry in Brazil is destroying all the remnants of forests and wild open areas. Burning large areas, they contribute to global warming.

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

Try to remain simple and follow a humble life without a cascade of consumism.. Respect and fight to protect the last sanctuaries in our planet, either near or far away from you.

I also have another blog where I write about this type of subject: www.mataatlanticasc.blogspot.com visit it!!!

Ernesto Malaga Arenas

Jefe, Santuario Nacional Lagunas de Mejia

Today's Date: feb 8 2007

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

work on to Manu National Park

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

Beaches of southwest peru during summer

Now? El Caucho scientific station, Tumbes National Reserve, north Peru

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

I love Scarlet bellied Mountain tanager

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?

Warming climate and loss of water sources

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

Please be a teacher with children about environment as our home.

Francisco Valdés-Perezgasga

President, Prodefensa del Nazas

Today's Date: 8th February 2007

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

Animal: Being watched by semi-captive Mexican wolves.
Nature: Waking in a riparian forest in a desert river.

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

Yes, the Nazas River in North-Central Mexico

Now? A small wooded area (Montezuma bald cypress, Cottonwood, Willow) five hundred meters from the main channel of the Nazas River in North-Central México

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

The wolf for its independent spirit and its wildness
The raven for its intelligence

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?

Global warning, now and in the future

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

Be aware that wild ecosystems exist before our species evolve and that we are what we are because of those ecosystems. We are their creatures. For this reason alone we have a moral obligation towards conservation.

Samir al badrawi

Chairman, Iraqi Green Peace Org

Today's Date: 8 Feb 2007

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

The interaction for me is the Arbores, & the animal is the cameles.

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

Now? yes the Zoo.

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

the favorite animal is the camel.

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?

the greatest environmental challenge is the high rate of CO2 in the air .

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

is to switch off all the cars in that place or in our country once a week .

The Most Rev. Desmond M. Tutu

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

Today’s Date: 12 January 2007

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

I used to have a dog as a boy and when I became a father got our children a dog named Princess. One day we found her under our bed dying. She had been attacked by other dogs and they had nearly ripped off her skin from head to tail. We were hugely traumatized.

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

I loved going to a stream with my friends for a swim. It was just below our township.

Now? Standing on the seashore gazing across the Atlantic at Robben Island

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

Dogs, because they are so faithful

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?

There is no doubt it is global warming and how we cope with that.

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

Remember we are God's representatives and so we should act responsibly as God's stewards. That would determine what we have to do and how we do it.

[answers to 1-3 sent via postal mail, 4 & 5 answered via email 7 Feb 2007]

Stefan Wallin

Minister for the Environment, Finland

Today's Date: Februari 7th 2007

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

Our beloved dog Charley, a Golden Retriever (born 1979, died 1994)

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

Our summer cottage in the Vasa archipelago, Finland

Now? Same place

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

The dog. It´s a familiar pal.

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?

Climate change.

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

To take the environment into consideration in everydays´s life

Mike

Student (UK)

Today’s Date: 5 Feb. 2007

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

the one that had the biggest impact on me was back packing through woods in Thailand.

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

yes, we had a reservoir close to us where we could hire small boats and canoes for quite cheap.

Now? sadly not at the moment, I'm more in a gym than outside.

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

Panther, because it's a proud and skilled killer, yet looks so adorable!

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?

our biggest challenge (at least, from my point of view in the UK) is letting the US to commit to cutting carbon levels. in the future, our challenge is on our scientists and inventors to help us survive without fossil fuels.

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

wake up and smell the lack of fresh air!

D. Avinandan

Business Analyst, Center for Excellence in Organisation, Malaysia

Today’s Date: Feb. 4, 2007

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

Seeing Alexandrine Parakeets (Psittacula eupatria) in the wild at close quarters in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh and being able to photograph them was the Moment I cherish most in my life. Their graceful flight and very melodious sounding low pitched "KREEAK" sound still gladdens my heart when I think about. This species is declining heavily in India due to illegal poaching.

The animal with which my interaction had the biggest impact was a male plum headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) which I had procured from the bird market. I had kept in a cage for two years. He had an unconquerable spirit. He just refused to be tamed. I had to finally release him. But I do not know whether he survived or not. In all probability he was ripped apart by crows or cats. And the guilt of that incident just rips me apart. So I spend as much of my spare time on the Internet convincing people about the evils of the Wild Bird Trade-particularly –the wild parrot trade.

I have started a yahoo group for the same

http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/indianparakeets

Eventually I hope to start a Parrot rescue and conservation institute on the line of Foster Parrots in India.

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

It was a small public garden named Beauty Spot, which was just about 500 metres away from my house in Bangalore which in the 1980’s was a really beautiful garden city. It was the location where my friends and I used to play childhood games like 'Hide and seek’. It was also the place where we hunted butterflies and collected botanical specimens for school projects.

Now? Though I might never get an opportunity to visit it again, the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary would rank as the most spectacular place I have ever been to. Pristine untouched beauty.

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

It is tough to pin-point to one species. At least 20 odd species of Parrots could qualify for this. But if pushed to the wall I will select five species.
1. Budgerigars -Keeping and observing their behaviour got me interested in Nature
2. Scarlet macaws- A Lone interactive macaw in the Hyderabad Zoo used to mesmerize me whenever I paid a visit.
3. Hyacinth Macaw- Videos, films and images in books of wild Hyacinths satiated my aesthetic hunger. Never believe such a bird could exist. When I finaly saw one in a zoo, I was disappointed. The Captive specimens don't capture the spirit.
4. Kakapos: The tale of their sad decimation from abundance to extreme scarcity and the hard work of conservationists to keep the population afloat is very inspiring.
5. Alexandrine parakeet: Last but not the least- a spectacular but undervalued natural beauty which though not in immediate danger has many threats to its long term survival in many parts of the range.

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?

There are many great challenges facing us but the most underrated is that of invasive species. And this will continue to be a great challenge in the future with increasing ease of global transport for goods and people. The demand for wild animals as pets in emerging economies like China and India along with the existing economic powerhouses like US, EU and Japan also threatens to pose a threat to many charismatic species of wildlife.

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

Please do not buy wild caught animals as pets for conservation as well as welfare reasons.
Do not release captive exotic pets like Aquarium fish into native ecosystem.
Convert as much of the household waste-liquid and solid into compost/fertilizer for your garden plants.
Have only one child and convince others to do the same.

Karen Kohler

Research Manager, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal

Today’s Date: 5 Feb 2007

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

Hiking, Drakensberg, Andes and Rockies

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

Kenton on Sea, Eastern Cape, and Cathedral Peak, Drakensberg

Now? Drakensberg, and Swartvlei, Western Cape

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

Squirrel. Brought one up on Cape Town and it was a delight.

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?

Man and his unthinking exploitation of resources - leading to global warming.

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

Get aware, take care of the environment, use resources sparingly or you will destroy exactly that which you need in order to survive.