Since the industrial revolution, 7 billion humans have edged out billions of animals, confining most remaining wildlife to a few parks and preserves, where they live on the brink of extinction.  These protected areas, from the Serengeti Plains to Yellowstone National Park, are surrounded by human development, and scientists are coming to grips with unforeseen implications for these islands of habitat. Islands of Life will explore the new field of Island Biogeography, which is studying exactly how large parks and preserves have to be for all their native species to survive; we will examine the emerging principles of this new field, and meet the seminal researchers.

Islands of Life will take viewers around the world to some of the most dramatic natural areas on earth, where biologists are helping vanishing species with inovative solutions. Park managers are trying to heal fragmented habitats by re-creating landscape-level connections that can insure the healthy function of these ecosystems into the future.  It will be a journey of discovery, as we learn what elephants, lions, elk, grizzly bears, tigers, and jaguars need:  room to roam, neighbouring populations for genetic diversity, and connected ecosystems that allow migration and adaptation to a changing climate. This is a new vision of preservation - on a continental scale – known as Connectivity Conservation.

Islands of Life will be broadcast to a national and international audience. In the United States it is being developed for the award-winning PBS science series NOVA. We will ignite a global dialogue on the critical topic of habitat conservation, inspiring many millions of viewers to become engaged. We will explore iconic landscapes around the world, and meet the men and women who have dedicated their lives to preserving the last redoubts of wild nature.

Episode One

Yellowstone to Yukon - Grizzly Bears, Grey Wolves, and Caribou  In 1925, there were grizzly bears in 23 areas of the U.S. outside of Alaska.  Now there are only two places with grizzlies – Yellowstone Park and northern Montana. Harvey Locke’s dream is that the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative can reconnect wilderness islands and enable bears to repopulate some former habitats.  Y2Y, as it is known, is a grand model of connectivity conservation that is revitalizing the Rocky Mountains in the US and Canada, and inspiring similar efforts the world over.

Serengeti Park, Tanzania, and Masai Mara, Kenya - Lions, Zebra, and Wildebeest There is no greater movement of animals on earth than the great migration of Tanzania and Kenya. The key to the survival of this wildlife spectacle is the connected landscapes of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Masai Mara.   But as human populations grow and occupy more of the surrounding lands, the ecosystem is becoming smaller and more fragmented.   Biologists are urgently trying to understand, how much protected land is really enough?

Australia - Cassowaries, Koalas, and Wallabies are important species that will benefit from the revitalization of the Great Eastern Ranges – one of several corridors proposed under Australia’s “Natural Defence Strategy”.  Numerous habitats within this region provide a home for the greatest concentration of endemic wildlife on the planet. We'll hear from biologist Graeme Worboys, whose passion has inspired this “whole of nation” vision. We will meet all manner of creatures -- great and small – from saltwater crocodiles to tiny mountain pygmy possums, whose future hangs in the balance.

Southern Africa – Elephants One of the greatest challenges in conservation is finding a place for elephants.  Mike Chase, of Elephants Without Borders, is studying the needs of the greatest concentration of elephants in the world.  It turns out that the largest land animals on earth also need one of the largest ranges to survive, moving hundreds of miles over the course of many years.  There’s no single park that can manage this, but five countries - Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, - are joining to create the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, the largest connectivity project in Africa. The TFCA includes well-known tourism destinations such as the Victoria Falls and Okavango Delta, and wildlife areas that total 278,000 sq. km.

North America, a continental vision of coexisting with wildlife.  A founder of Conservation Biology, Michael Soule will elaborate new ways of sharing landscapes, leaving room for both humans and animals.  Margo McKnight is director of the Wildlands Network, which it trying to bring this vision to life.

Episode Two

Central and South America - Jaguars  A keystone species, usually the top predator, is an indicator of the health of the whole habitat.  From Mexico to Chile that’s the jaguar.  Several corridor projects aim to protect the large ranges and uninterrupted landscapes the jaguar needs.  From the central highlands of Peru, to the Amazon jungle of Bolivia, biologist Eduardo Forno is championing the Vilcabamba Amboro Conservation Corridor.   We'll also look at jaguars in their northern range, through Costa Rica, Belize, and into the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico, where seven governments are cooperating to establish the Meso-American Biological Corridor.

Bhutan and Nepal - Tigers The foothills of the Himalayas represent a last chance for one of the world’s most endangered animals, the Bengal Tiger.  Big cats need a lot of territory, so Ghana Gurung is linking the parks of northern India with preserves in his native Nepal. He is also teaching villagers in between how to live with tigers.

Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda - Mountain Gorillas   The last few mountain gorillas live on the brink of extinction.  Their remaining stronghold is on the slopes of Mt. Virunga, a tropical volcano that straddles three war-torn countries.  Park wardens from Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda are working together under the leadership of former warden Tom Selengama to create the Greater Virunga Landscape, a network of protected areas and wildlife corridors that may give the mountain gorilla a chance.

Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Columbia, and Panama – Whales, sharks, sea turtles Large landscapes can be underwater, as we'll see with the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, which is linking terrestrial parks including the Galapagos Islands across two million square kilometres of ocean.  Marine conservation will include Cocos Island National Park in Costa Rica, a storied concentration of sharks, whales, and deep-water species. 

 

Islands of Life is a unique story about the frontiers of conservation biology, a new vision of re-assembling a fragmented planet.