National Geographic

BerkellleeeySouunndChoiiiseulSouuunndMount PleasantRoyal Air Force Station``````VolunteerPoint``````LivelyIsland``````Wickham HeightsStanley``````Rincon Grande``````ARGENTINA``````CHILE``````(ISLAS MALVINAS)FALKLAND IS.(U.K.)``````ATLANTIC OCEAN``````Tierra delFuego``````0 mi 2000 km 200``````Claimed by ArgentinaClaimed by United KingdomU.K. oil and gas exploration areas``````MAPAREAMAPAREA``````SOUTHAMERICA``````ANTARCTICA``````WHERE WILDLIFE IS IN CHARGE 75``````manages them. Researchers and tourists have beenallowed only on carefully controlled visits.Fast-forward to today, and the resiliency of natureis in evidence everywhere around me. The diversityon display is as if the Pacific Northwest, the West In-dies, and Antarctica had collided in the South Atlantic.On five-mile-long Steeple Jason, 48 bird species havebeen observed. But the extraordinary profusion ofFalklands wildlife still faces man-made risks: pollu-tion, degraded habitat, oil slicks, baited hooks draggedbehind fishing vessels, and, notably, climate change.The ocean may cool around the islands and warmfarther away, disrupting the food web that nourishesseabirds and marine mammals. Increased oil explora-tion near the islands has also raised concerns about adevastating spill. The Falkland Islanders, though, havea growing incentive to embrace conservation. Withmore than 60,000 tourists visiting a year, ecotourismis now the second largest source of revenue, behindfishing and ahead of sheep farming.As a trained biologist, I can’t help but be obsessedwith the difference between the islands left alone andthe islands touched by our heavy hand. What can welearn from Steeple Jason’s abundance? There is hope,and there is healing, if we choose to let nature be. Ex-ploring the island’s sloping grasslands and loomingmountains is like walking back a thousand years intime. The ecosystem pristine. The wildlife extrava-gant. The animals unafraid of us.Mischievous Johnny rooks try to steal items out ofmy camera bag. Albatrosses hover overhead, suspend-ed on the constant updrafts that blow off the Atlantic.One taps the back of my head lightly with its feet as itpasses above me. I imagine it does so on purpose; theseare precise birds. Where else can animals feel so freeto engage in play with the likes of us? More important,how can we help them remain so unafraid? If we keeptreating our fragile Earth simply as a place for resourcesto be extracted, it will continue to suffer. I see SteepleJason as a testament to Earth’s resiliency but also a callfor urgency. We need more Steeple Jasons, more placeswhere we stop waging war on the environment and givenature the time it needs to flourish. j``````3DXO1LFNOHQD SKRWRJUDSKHU ƃOPPDNHU DQG PDULQH ELROR-gist who was raised in the Canadian Arctic, has documentedwildlife around the world for National Geographic.``````CONTRADICTING CLAIMS%ULWDLQDQG$UJHQWLQDZDUUHGRYHUWKHLVODQGVin 1982, and both claim them. Tensions remainas interest in oil and gas exploitation grows.``````A delicate balanceThreats to biodiversity includeovergrazing and the introduc-tion of non-native species,such as predators that canalter the natural ecosystem.