At the preview screening for our series, I was asked whether there should be a cap on the number of tourists and, indeed, whether they should be admitted to the Galpagos at all. My view is that if it werent for the receipts from ecotourism, and the incentive those give for conservation, the islands would already be almost devoid of wildlife.
There should, of course, be controls, though what should be the optimum number of visitors is a difficult calculation to make. Since tourists are a source of income, and a very good one, there will always be pressure to increase their numbers. But there comes a point when the wildlife and the environment begin to suffer, and the tourists destroy the very thing that attracted them in the first place. At the moment, I would have thought, the authorities have got the balance about right.
There will always be criticism, there will always be problems. But what a disaster it would be if the islands were closed off. Scientists mustnt be too arrogant: the world doesnt entirely belong to them. The scientists must be given the chance to do their research, but the public at the same time must be allowed to see the Galpagos and to understand the processes of evolution. Wise administration of ecotourism can allow both those things to flourish.
How to visit the Galpagos Islands: Read our practical 'Trip of a Lifetime' guide
I had already been involved in several 3D projects for Sky [including Flying Monsters, the first 3D programme to win a Bafta] when my producer, Anthony Geffen, mentioned the possibility of putting the technology to the test in the Galpagos. I jumped at the chance: I knew the islands would be a natural for 3D. And so they have proved.
Why 3D? I was asked several times in the run-up to the screening of our series. What does it add to wildlife filming, and particularly to filming in the Galpagos? Well, it enables us to provide a more informative picture; to enhance the quiddity, the essence, of the animal were filming, whether thats a Sally lightfoot crab, skipping across a pool of water, or a waved albatross, engaged in a dance of courtship that at one point looks like duelling.
Ive been working in television since the days of smeary 405-line pictures in black and white. All the developments we have made since have had to do with improving the quantity and quality of the information using that word in a computer sense that we can put in front of the viewer. 3D is the culmination of those developments.
The heightened reality, which is very dramatic, doesnt suit everything; its of no benefit, for instance, in describing a distant mountain range. But when you see an animal close up in 3D, you suddenly become aware of aspects of it that you just cant see in 2D. When you watch a spider weave a web, for example, you can see the distances involved, you can see relationships between different points; you gain a much better understanding of the intricacy and complexity of the whole operation.
We have made three programmes, dealing in turn with the explosive origin of the islands (powerfully conveyed in computer-generated imagery), the driving forces behind evolutionary innovations, and the latest developments in science and research. We were shooting for about six months; during that time we were reminded constantly of the species-transforming power of the Galpagos, and also of how much is there that we have yet to discover, let alone try to explain.
In our second episode, which will be screened this evening, we report on a puzzle concerning the behaviour of the whale shark the biggest fish on the planet off the northernmost islands of Wolf and Darwin. Female whale sharks are spotted there throughout the year, but in considerably greater numbers between June and November, corresponding with the garua, or dry season, when the Humboldt and Cromwell currents are most intense. The whale sharks are not feeding, and they do not appear to be pupping, as no juveniles have been recorded. So what brings them there? A project in which they are being fitted with satellite tags has begun to try to answer that question.
Continued here:
Sir David Attenborough on the Galápagos Islands
