Conservation

Conservation, Culture

From Fear to Fascination

How “Jaws” became the shark's greatest champion

When Jaws was released half a century ago, it instantly sank its teeth into our consciousness – and has never loosened its grip. Steven Spielberg's gripping masterpiece follows three mismatched men – aquaphobic Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), passionate ichthyologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and salty shark fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) – hunting the great white terrorising a New England beach resort. The Birth of the Blockbuster Jaws was the first film to earn over $100 million at the box office, inventing the summer blockbuster. It wasn't just cinema; it was a pop-culture phenomenon. Fifty years on, we're still jawing about Jaws. Wendy Benchley, leading shark conservationist and widow of author Peter Benchley, remains astounded by the film's enduring relevance. Speaking from Washington DC, she says: "I'm amazed that Jaws remains relevant after 50 years. It's unique not just because of the movie magic, but the positive ripple effect it created." An Unexpected Conservation Legacy Perhaps Jaws' most important legacy is how it radically changed our perception of sharks. Beyond box-office success, it surprisingly boosted protection of these mighty creatures. The film reframed our relationship with sharks, overturning stereotypes of vicious killing...

Conservation

Ocean with Sir David Attenborough

A plea to put an end to bottom trawling in our seas

Ocean, Sir David Attenborough’s latest documentary, exposes the curse of modern-day industrial fishing: bottom trawling. Sir David cannot contain his anger. This highly destructive practice is laying waste to marine life all over the globe. It involves gigantic trawlers pulling a massive metal beam across the ocean floor and driving all the creatures it throws […]

Conservation

IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES

The unsung hero of the environment turns 60

Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides a vital service to us all. It is the world’s most far-reaching information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species, watching over them with the care of a doting parent. It has an enormous and beneficial […]

Conservation

Birdwatching in St Lucia

The search for the elusive Jacquot, the emerald island’s national bird

A few months ago I went birdwatching to St Lucia in search of the elusive Jacquot, the island’s national bird, and learnt about biodiversity, endangered species and the power of environmental activism. My wife and I are nearing the end of an eight-hour hike up a vertiginous mountain trail. We are in the heart of […]

Conservation

Nature, wildlife and climate change

A story of peacock spiders, seabirds and koalas

The collective actions of animals over millions of years have shaped the planet’s climate to make it habitable for all. Our addiction to fossil fuels has become a smoke screen for this facet of reality. It’s true that humans are the major cause of climate change. However, the solutions aren’t simply about humans engineering new […]

Conservation

Everland and the Alto Mayo REDD+ Project

Changing the economics of deforestation

In 2019, I visited northern Peru to travel to an area of rainforest that had, at one time, seemed destined to disappear. I was part of a team supporting a successful conservation project in the Amazon, known as the Alto Mayo REDD+ Project, set up in 2008 by Conservation International and Peru’s National Parks Agency. […]

Conservation

Second Lives

Creating circularity and ‘second life’ products

As we are seeing such severe changes in climates across the globe, it is time for us to question our consumer and shopping habits. We should look for brands that are creative, sustainable and committed to be positive agents of change in what concerns the future of our planet. Circularity, commonly known as a lifecycle […]

Conservation

A Buzzing Network

Eco-conscious companies turn to beekeeping

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article on the plight of bees, and one of the questions I asked was what people in metropolitan areas such as London could do to promote this cause, so following a chat with our Editor-in-Chief, we decided to do a follow-up piece focusing on urban and corporate […]

Conservation, Toys

Pay It Forward

Watches for Eco-Friendly Dads

In the last five years or so, environmental concerns have multiplied exponentially in most industries. Watch brands are no different and alignment with sustainability and eco-friendly practises has become an important concern for many of them. There are three main avenues along which watch firms demonstrate their green credentials. First is the co-branding of a […]

Conservation

The Future Is In Our Past

Regenerative farming at Daylesford Organic

At a time when some are starting to believe that the end of life on our planet as we know it is not a matter of if, but of when, a new hope has risen from eliminating technological advances and simply going back to the old ways of doing things – in this case farming. […]

Conservation

Good and Grounded

The heart of ethical eating

“The sheep are here to do a job,” says Tracy “Bill” Betteridge, self-confessed eccentric and owner of Chiltern Lamb, a farm in Medmenham, a rural idyll in South Oxfordshire. Those words define her approach. Matter-of-fact, insightful, brimming with passion. We’re sitting in her log cabin, drinking coffee 15 metres from her “girls”. Beyond the kitchen […]

Conservation

Asking The Right Questions

Franziska A. Gsell on IWC’s green future

Smart, glamorous, and with an enchanting personality, IWC Chief Marketing Officer Franziska A. Gsell has been leading the brand toward a greener future since she was appointed chair of its sustainability committee in 2015. Although IWC started this journey in 2007 when it was certified carbon neutral, Gsell has helped the company accelerate its efforts […]