Video about conservation in Hawaii compared to Australia and North America

The keynote presentation at the 2007 Hawaii Conservation Conservation
by Michael Soulé (Environmental Studies, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA) on

“Is Island Conservation Fundamentally Different from Continental Conservation?”

photo credit: RKHawaii

Professor Michael Soulé says about his presentation in Hawaii:

Conservationists don’t need reminding that context must be considered and somehow dealt with in doing conservation work in real places.

There are several kinds of context: geographic context (e.g., climate, topography, biogeography), economic context (e.g., poverty levels, income disparities, investment in women’s education), political context (e.g., civil rights, political access, freedom of the press, fair elections, rights and sovereignty of indigenous peoples), and culture context (e.g., religion, literacy, corruption, diversity, history).

As biologists, we are best able to consider the biogeographic and scale issues. For example, it may be informative to compare the conservation visions and challenges of large continents versus small ones, or compare continents to islands. I will compare the conservation challenges in three places that span such a range.

These are
(1) mainland North America;

(2) the island-continent of Australia; and

(3) the archipelago of Hawai‘i.

I will discuss how these three places differ with respect to

• (a) threats such as exotics/ferals and future “invasibility,”
• (b) history such as extinction episodes in pre-history and in recent history,
• (c) sensitivity to climate change,
• (d) the kinds, scales, and relevance of dispersal behaviors and adaptive evolutionary potential for different taxa, and
• (e) the role of large, highly interactive species in maintaining biological diversity.

Be inspired for your Seychelles vacation by seeing these videos from TravelChannelVOD. They show you different aspects and qualities of The Seychelles Islands. From my own experience I think they give you a quite OK impression of these very attractive islands for any kind of relaxing holiday. To me an island vacation in the Seychelles archipelago is one of the trips I always want to repeat. Simply beautiful settings and such a nice atmophere.

If you are still undecided about making that trip to Greenland, do not let the harsh cold dissuade you from visiting because you will surely miss out on a lot of wonderful things unique only to Greenland. In fact, now is the best time to visit Greenland because scientists predict that in a couple more years, a large part of it will have already melted and its brilliant glaciers and bergs will only be part of its history. Aside from those mentioned, here are some ten things that you need to see and do in Greenland.

1.) National Museum

When visiting any country or city for the very first time, it is always a good part of the itinerary to include its National Museum. In this particular museum, you will see the mummified bodies of what is believed to be those of the people who died when their boat turned over back in the 1400s. You can also find here other artifacts as well.

2.) Festival of Snow Sculptures

This is an annual festivity attended by locals and foreigners. Here, you will see a magnificent showcase of some of the world’s best snow sculptures on parade. Go to the country’s capital, Nuuk, to witness this yearly event.

3.) Greenland Tours

In order to fully enjoy your stay in Greenland and see as much as possible during your trip, it is best to take guided tours that will take you to Kangerlussuag and then to Ilulissat. These tours will take you around the cities. Here, you will experience native life in Greenland including the traditional welcome coffee drink from a local.

4.) Hiking and mountain climbing

One of the best hiking and mountaineering experiences you can ever have is in the mountains of Greenland. The best place is said to be Ice Cap. However, you should always have an experienced guide with you as you can easily get lost or injured if you don’t know your way around.

5.) Qaqortoq

This is located in the southern part of Greenland. This is where you will find the oldest recorded fountain of the country as well as old building structures, and these buildings go as far back as two centuries ago. You will also see here a mini Eskimo Museum.

6.) Dog sleds

What is a visit to Greenland without trying its famous dog sledding down its icy slopes? Skiing is also a must. You can go skiing across the country provided you have a guide, and you are well-versed in the sport.

7.) Disko Bay

It is said that one iceberg here can weigh approximately more than 6 million tons! One of the most breathtaking sights you will ever witness here or perhaps anywhere in the world is the sun touching the icebergs illuminating their brilliance. Be prepared to be enthralled by this magnificent sight.

8.) Old Town Museum

This is located in Upernavik. It is a place considered to have a friendlier climate than most places in Greenland. The Old Town Museum houses historical mementos of the country including those about the earliest people who have inhabited the place.

9.) Polar Bears

Definitely not to be missed, polar bears are only seen in the cold regions, hence, they are a sight to behold in Greenland. Although fiercely wild and can seriously injure anyone he comes across with, the sight of this white bear is enough to entice any tourist to catch a glimpse of this wild animal. You will surely be amazed at the power and beauty these animals possess.

10.) Musk ox and other animals

After polar bears, tourists also come to this icy country to catch glimpses of musk oxen. You can also see in Greenland a few of Santa’s reindeer and walruses. Whales are also abundant including the majestic white whales.