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This is the cliff from the top of which Leonardo DiCaprio- the hero of the 1999 Hollywood movie The Beach dived into the Andaman Sea. I am on the speedboat on the Phi Phi Islands tour and this is the first stop at the Maya Bay where the said movie was filmed. There has been much damage to the coral reefs and the ecosystem here due to over tourism, especially after The Beach came out, so the beaches of Maya Bay are out of bounds to tourists till 2021 at least. Scores of speedboats still call here though, as you can see here, to allow their passengers to swim and snorkel here- so much for preserving the environment. Notes about the Phi Phi Islands National Park appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
These drawings are all award winners of a contest dedicated to World Environment Day with 80 children from seven schools where the Global Environment Facility and UNDP are piloting a project on protected areas. The kids are all from villages bordering the Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve in Uzbekistan.
Read more about the contest
I joined an eco-tourism daytrip from Guyana's capital Georgetown to the Arrowpoint Nature Resort. We drove out of town to marina on the Demerarr river, where we boarded a speedboat and crossed the river, then, taking about 45 minutes, navigated the Kamuni River into the Santa Aratack Amerindian Reserve, stopping at Santa Mission Amerindian community and the reaching Arrowpoint, where we had the options of walking in the rainforest, kayaking, swimming among activities.
These drawings won awards in a contest dedicated to World Environment Day. Eighty children from seven schools participated, as part of the project on protected areas being piloted by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP. The kids are all from villages bordering the Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve in Uzbekistan.
Read more about the contest
Perspective
This photo was taken from Signal Knob Overlook on Dickey Ridge. Signal Knob Overlook is a scenic overlook along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The camera was pointed west overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.
Landscape
A portion of the Shenandoah River is visible in the right-hand portion of the photo as it winds its way through the Shenandoah Valley. The foreground of the photo is the valley, and the mountain at the edge of the valley is the Massanutten. Beyond the Massanutten, the Allegheny Mountains are barely visible.
Photo by Kevin Borland.
The first stage of installing the Rod Surface Elevation Table Marker Horizon. Inserting the pipe into the earth.
Photo by Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
After a short post-lunch nap at my resort hotel, one of the hotel officials said he would take me for a jungle walk in the afternoon. That was included in the room rate. It is a short walk of a few hundred metres from the gates of my hotel to the river- the East Rapti River, and this is the first thing I saw on the jungle walk. The guide pointed out to a couple of Mugger crocodiles on the opposite bank of the East Rapti river. We will talk about these critters later on in this album. (see subsequent pictures-sadly I do not have close views of them). The wide range of vegetation types in the Chitwan National Park is haunt of more than 700 species of wildlife and a not yet fully surveyed number of butterfly, moth and insect species. Apart from king cobra and rock python, 17 other species of snakes, starred tortoise and monitor lizards occur. The Narayani-Rapti river system, their small tributaries and myriads of oxbow lakes is habitat for 113 recorded species of fish and Mugger crocodiles. I didn't carry my long lens thinking it is only a jungle walk and may not be required. (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
These drawings won awards in a contest dedicated to World Environment Day. Eighty children from seven schools participated, as part of the project on protected areas being piloted by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP. The kids are all from villages bordering the Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve in Uzbekistan.
Read more about the contest
Tortoises at Dawn, Galapagos Islands, 1984..Giant tortoises in pond, Geochelone elephantopus, Alcedo Volcano, Galapagos Islands.."The Galápagos Islands provide a window on time. In a geologic sense, the islands are young, yet they appear ancient. The largest animals native to this archipelago are giant tortoises, which can live for more than a century. These are the creatures that provided Darwin with the flash of imagination that led to his theory of evolution. ..Immutable as the tortoises seem, they were utterly vulnerable to the buccaneers and whalers who took them by the thousands in the last two centuries. But one population eluded them. Inside the Alcedo volcano on Isabela Island, an earlier era lingers. This caldera is sealed off from the outside world by steep lava slopes that rise to 3,860 feet on the equator. It was not until 1965 that an Ecuadorian biologist found a way down inside and discovered a world where giant tortoises roamed in primordial abundance. This group had presumably never seen humans. ..They hadn't seen many more when I entered the time capsule of the caldera. For one memorable week, I lived among the tortoises of Alcedo. Photography one morning was one of those precious experiences where I could be part of a scene rather than a distant observer. The tortoises were resting in a pond as soft mist mingled with sulfur steam from nearby fumaroles and dust from an erupting volcano to the west, and I was able to create an image that evokes the era when reptiles dominated life on land."..- Frans Lanting.
We had to take several detours as the main trail was water logged in many places. The already difficult terrain (slush, slippery mud trails, dripping water, tree branches and tree roots coming in the way all the time) was made even worse by those many detours. Still, I was enjoying myself immensely. I am on a morning jungle walk following a boat ride on the East Rapti river in the Chitwan National Park in Nepal. (see previous pictures earlier in this album). Walking safaris on the periphery of Chitwan National Park can be organized through your accommodation. Anything from half-day hikes to multi-day jungle walks, which include camping on the fringes of the national park, are possible with prior reservation. The walk I took was organised by my resort. Forest rangers and guides might downplay the risk of a Rhino encounter, but it is possible- in fact my guide was telling me the story of how he encountered an angry Rhino a few months ago when guiding two Dutch tourists. He pushed the guests to safety into a ditch and himself escaped with minor injuries, thank goodness. It is not advisable to push your guide to take you closer to the animals nor should you accept any offers from them to do so. Stay with the guides and do not stray off alone because the tall elephant grass can hide a Rhino or two. Rhinos have extremely poor eyesight and will see you only when you are quite close. And when they charge, it is final- they do not do false charges like the elephant. And with a two tonne beast bearing down on you, it will definitely not end well. Yes, there have been fatalities, several of them in fact. (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
A selfie on what I think is the beach on Koh Lawa Yai island, just off Phuket, Thailand. I am on the Ao Phang Nga National Park speedboat tour- known more popularly as the James Bond Islands tour out of Phuket and this is the last stop on the tour. I really had nothing to do on this 1 hr 20 min halt as most of our group members have wandered off on their own, most of them to grab a beer. I got talking to the newly wed doctor couple from northern India whom I had struck up a conversation with at the Ko Panyi Moslem floating fishing village (see previous pictures earlier in this album). The newlyweds were having a spot of trouble with their brand new Canon camera as it refused to focus, and so between us we were trying to get it to work again. It didn't come back to life, sadly. I therefore took some pictures of the newlyweds with my Nikon and with my iPhone, for their record and later sent the photos to them through WhatsApp, much to their delight. During the course of our WhatsApp exchanges, they confirmed that their new Canon had mysteriously come back to life, on it's own. It was a focusing problem. The did have a massive smudge on their lens- fingerprints, and a whole lot of them- which I told them they would be well advised to clean up. They offered to take a picture of me on the beach, and so this is it then. (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
This adult Sabine's Gull drifted into the cove out of the fog, and landed on the ice in the marsh; I snapped a few pics, and moments later it gently lifted up and disappeared back into the fog. A beauty.
Sabine's Gull is surprisingly rare along the Yukon's North Coast. This is the only one I have seen on Herschel Island, which is remarkable.
CIFOR scientists and staff from the ministry had installed a sedimentation and carbon stock measurement tool called the Rod Surface Elevation Table Marker Horizon (RSET-MH) in various places near the Pulau Dua coastline.
Photo by Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Another wonky shot before the Koh Tapu pillar rock (known as a 'stack' in geological terms) on James Bond island on Phang Nga Bay, Thailand, courtesy my guide! This island featured in the 1974 James Bond film ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’- I have already put in extensive notes about this earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). After being rather cheeky, at times even rude and sarcastic, I had no option other than to request my guide to take a couple of selfies of me at this island. He surprisingly agreed quite willingly and was making me do all sorts of wonky things here. I only wish he had paid a little more attention to the position of my hands to get a slightly better picture, though in his favour, the bright light falling on the iPhone screen probably rendered the display pretty dark. Oh well! I am here as part of the James Bond Islands tour (or Phang Nga Bay islands tour) out of Phuket, Thailand. Notes about the Ao Phang Nga bay appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
Prosper Sabongo a PHD student measures the circumference of a Funtunia Africana in the forest reserve near the village of Masako. Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Several banana boats then appeared out of nowhere to take on passengers- two pax per boat excluding the boatman please- so that means three pax on each of these unsteady rubber kayaks! Transfering onto one of them is an adventure in itself, as you have to step off your boat onto one of these incredibly shaky and unstable rubber boats and then find your bearings and sit down, without tumbling into the water. Having a heavy dSLR around your neck is no help either! This is the second stop of the day, for canoeing at Ko Hong island, part of the James Bond (Phang Nga) islands tour off Phuket, Thailand. Yes, we did enter that low cave you see up front. Sea-canoeing is a popular activity in the park. It is a form of eco-tourism which is said to be available in several variations, as popular one-day tours, or more extended tours involving overnight camping on island beaches. You will see more of the area, as many mangrove swamps and island grottoes are only accessible by canoe. That's what the brochures say. For us, this is a one hour stop for us for a bit of an adrenaline rush- sitting on that unsteady rubber kayak is a rush in itself, although you would be only sitting and the poor boatman sitting at the rear will do all the rowing for you. (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
I am on the James Bond Islands tour out of Phuket, Thailand, and we are not on the third stop of the tour at Khao Phing Kan or James Bond island, which was the shooting location for the 1974 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. This island cluster is part of the Ao Phang Nga National Park, notes about which appeared earlier in this album. As we proceed to the rear of the island to see Koh Tapu, the pillar shaped rock which featured so prominently in the Bond film I just mentioned it was refreshing to see a little bit of nature, unspoiled by man. Just like Maya Bay (elsewhere, but also around Phuket) suffered severe damage to it's fragile eco system due to over tourism, especially after the Hollywood blockbuster The Beach was shot there, which led to the closure of the beaches around Maya Bay until 2021 at least, I fear Khao Phing Kan or James Bond island will also suffer a similar fate, judging the the shedloads of tourists who descend on this island day after day, year in and year out, especially due to the James Bond movie connection. (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
The Taku River in northwestern B.C., is part of the area covered by a new Land Use Plan and Government-to-Government Agreement that that creates 13 new protected areas, and provides resource development opportunities and investment certainty over 3 million hectares in the region. July 19, 2011 Photo credit: Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
Amazing wild Rhino spotting right in my hotel back yard under our belt, (see previous pictures earlier in t his album), (we did not spot a single Rhino for the rest of the day), it was now time for the boat ride. The hotel had prepped the jeeps which will take us to the river bank, and had divided the guests into groups- I was lucky to sit right up front with the driver- solo travel does have it's plus points- and not be squeezed on the rear seats of the songthaew like safari vehicles. So here we are then at the river bank. It was wet, soggy, slushy and slippery, thanks to last night's heavy downpour. And to make things worse, these boats are real low and unsteady and dangerously unstable, difficult to get onto and sit down- literally, as the stools provided- which you have to place under you bum as you sit, are barely a couple of inches high. Add to that is the muck and slush fro everyone's shoes, especially the ones who have made their way all the way to the rear of the boat. This is the East Rapti river, which runs right through the Chitwan National Park in Nepal. Established in 1973, this was the first national park to be set up in Nepal. Chitwan National Park granted the status of an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 932 square km and is located in the sub-tropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in the districts of Nawalpur, Parsa, Chitwan and Makwanpur. In altitude it ranges from about 100 mtr in the river valleys to 815 mtr in the Churia Hills- so yes, it is quite a large park- more of a wild life reserve than a park actually. (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)