The Perfect World Magazine by The Perfect World Foundation

PE R F ECT

NUMBER 2

T H E

F O T O R E P O R TA G E

WORLD MAGA ZINE

Awareness initiative

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for knowledge, inspiration and solutions

The Perfect World

AWARD

the exclusive scandinavian wildlife conservation award

A global forest

ATTENBOROUGH plants the first tree in

Gothenburg, Sweden 1

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CONTENT

EDITORIAL Seahorses swimming with cotton buds, climate change, rhinos being poached for their horns and elephants for their ivory, sharks drowning after their fins have been cut off, lion trophy hunting, coral reef bleaching and dying off at a furious pace, polar caps melting, weird weather and wildfires. This all leads to anxiety, anger, uncertainty and fear, which are legitimate feelings. But the problem with anxiety, anger, uncertainty and fear is that they breed more anxiety, anger... you get where I’m going. But on the other hand, knowledge and insights create power. And power breeds power. Welcome to The Perfect World Magazine, where we aim to share knowledge, inspire and empower. You and me together, we have the incredible power to influence and create change. And of course, in the west we do not have orangutans living in our gardens, we never hear the shots of ivory poachers in the middle of the night, and maybe we only think about bees when we add a spoonful of honey to our tea. But everything works in harmony – animals, nature, the climate and people. And even though it might not feel like it in our everyday lives, we are all part of one big ecosystem, each depending on the other for our own existence. I’ll give the final word to animal and nature advocate Harrison Ford (also known as Indiana Jones), because, as he once wisely said, “Nature doesn’t need people, people need nature.”

MARIE KJELLSDOTTER Editor in Chief

PUBLISHER The Perfect World Foundation Kungsgatan 48 A, SE-411 15 Gothenburg, Sweden info@theperfectworld.com Tel. +46 31 170 000, www.theperfectworld.com Ragnhild Jacobsson, CEO CHARITY ORGANIZATION STATUS – 501(c)(3) US Federal tax exemption for donations to non-profit organizations ADVERTISING, SPONSORING PARTNERSHIPS Daniel Wilke, Head of Marketing daniel@theperfectworld.com | +46 736 329 827 OTHER QUESTIONS Marie Kjellsdotter, Editor in Chief marie.kjellsdotter@theperfectworld.com COVER PHOTO: Petra Björstad

This publication is climate compensated by tree planting

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SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

THE PERFECT WORLD INSTITUTE

OUR ECOSYSTEM’S TINY FRIENDS

102

AN UNEXPECTED RELATIONSHIP

104

THE PERFECT WORLD AWARD

111

CONVERSATION WITH EU

116

THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY

120

SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK

124

A LIFE BELOW THE SURFACE

128

JOEL KINNAMAN & SYLVIA E ARLE

130

HOPE ON THE HORIZON

136

VIDEO GAME SAVES THE PLANET

138

LET’S TALK ABOUT PLA STIC

142

WOMEN WITH SUPERPOWERS

150

VOLUNTEER TRAVELS

A VITAL DECADE TO COME

The Perfect World Foundation’s founders, about the future

EXPEDITION SVALBARD

Travel feature from the 80th parallel

COSMETICS EMPIRE

THE A STONISHING DEEP SE A

DATA TRANSPARENCY

THIS EMPTY WORLD

Taking a stand for wildlife

Liz Taylor, grew up with the ocean

Empowering people and the planet

Nick Brandt, awarded conservation photographer of the year, 2019

THE TRUTH OF BLOOD BE ADS

HISTORIC IVORY BURN

Asian elephants facing a new threat

The burning of 105 tonnes of seized ivory, in Kenya

A portrait of the legend of legends

Cooperation for new sustainable, and climate-smart solutions

School project to save the pollinators

Elephants, bees and a beauty brand

The exclusive Scandinavian wildlife conservation award

Pierre Schellekens, about climate change and wildlife extinction

Orangutans loosing their habitats for the sake of toothpaste and shampoo

Let’s give Mother Nature her voice back

Meet shark defender Emma Casagrande, and her secret weapon

The Blue Bucket – a global team of ocean cleaners

The world’s first open water Sanctuary for whales, in Iceland

Meet Jupiter & Mars, two virtual dolphins and climate heroes

Associate Professor, Bethanie Carney Almroth, explains plastic and plastic pollution

REUSE ON THE RED CARPET

ONE MILLION TREES PLANTED

MAGICIAN OF RECYCLING

FOSSIL FREE ENERGY

154

THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

TURNING THE SHIP AROUND

158

SUPPORT OUR WORK

AMONGST WILD RHINOS

162

ANTHROPOCENE FOOTPRINTS

COLUMN

Victoria Silvstedt wants to inspire people to wake up

The global Attenborough forest

Musician Danny Saucedo encourages us to rethink the way we live and act

The TEXEL battery, a new planetfriendly energy storage technology

Martin Stenmarck, about handing over the rudder to the next generation

Youth ambassador Liam Pitts visiting rhino breeding centre in Zimbabwe

When the savannah is empty, you’ll only have yourself to blame

The world’s first female antipoaching unit, working unarmed

An adventure for life

Climate-smart lifestyle, food and recipe

We are completely dependent on your donations, sponsorships and commitment to our cause.

Chapter from author and biologist, Bo Landin’s book – Footprints

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A V I TA L D E C A D E

T H E DE ST I N Y OF OU R F R AGI L E PL A N ET

A DE C A DE PA S T, A N D A DE C A DE TO COM E La rs a nd R ag n h i ld Jacobsson sti l l spend – a f ter a l most t went y yea rs of work i ng closely toget her w it h w i ld l i fe conser vation – ever y si ngle day sav i ng w i ld a n i ma ls i n cr isis, spread i ng awa reness a nd br i ng i ng new tech nolog y solutions to t he ma rket. A l l w it h t he a i m of shapi ng a susta i nable f ut ure, for generations to come. The Per fect World Foundation was founded 10 yea rs ago as a n of f icia l non-prof it orga n ization, a nd t he com i ng 10 yea rs w i l l become t he countdow n for f i nd i ng t he severely needed solutions to end t he si lent ex ti nction of our w i ld l i fe a nd to save t he pla net – our d isappea r i ng pa rad ise.

Lars and Ragnhild Jacobsson met twenty years ago, and right from the start they decided to work closely together with wildlife conservation. In 2010 the couple realized they needed all possible help and support to accomplish real change for the planet, and decided to found The Perfect World Foundation. Today, 10 years later, after privately funding the organization’s work, the couple has taken on a new strategy for the coming next 10 years – to build an independent organization so the foundation can stand strong in the future without being dependent on its founders funding. The 10-year plan, named “the final countdown”, also includes new strategies for a number of events focusing on finding real and sustainable solutions for the dire situation our wildlife and nature are facing, and turning it in to a new positive decade for our planet. “We need to listen to the scientists. We’ve no more than 10 years to turn this spiralling and negative trend in to something positive. If we don’t take this opportunity and create the needed changes, there won’t be much left of our wildlife and nature for the future to come,” states the couple.

A GLOBA L W I LDLIFE CH A R IT Y ORGA NIZATION The Perfect World Foundation was originally founded in Gothenburg, Sweden. Today, the foundation is established as a global organization with 501(c)(3) status, and a representative office in Palo Alto, California. Over the past 10 years the foundation has been working with conservation projects worldwide, ranging from rhino conservation in Africa to securing elephant corridors in Asia to avoid the human-wildlife conflict in India. The list of wildlife projects we’ve supported is extensive, and includes even more animals like moon bears, orangutans, manta rays, sea turtles, koalas, pangolins, baboons, cheetahs, dolphins, dogs, gorillas, bonobos, colobus monkeys, wolves, polar bears, puffins, beluga whales, bats, flying foxes, donkeys, wild horses, elephants, rhinos, lions and many more… and more to come. Alongside wildlife preservation the organization has also been working with ocean conservation, and planted some 100,000 trees around the world to absorb atmospheric CO2 and counter act global warming. NEW TECH NOLOGY FOR TH E FUTU R E Unfortunately there are several reasons to why our wildlife and

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nature are in crises today, ranging from wildlife trafficking, poaching, habitat loss to ocean pollution and wildfires. But one reason is possibly more worrying and terrifying than the others – global warming. The dramatically increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, caused mainly by the use of fossil fuels, is the single largest threat to human life, wildlife and nature, as we know it. Around the world we are facing dramatic heat waves, wildfires, draughts, hurricanes, melting polar caps, raising sea levels, ocean acidification, crop failure… the list goes on. The effect of global warming is devastating for wildlife and nature. For more than 15 years The Perfect World’s founders have been working on developing new technologies to find solutions for eliminating the use of fossil fuels, and 10 years ago they started United Sun Systems, now TEXEL Energy Storage. TEXEL has developed a new efficient battery technology together with, among others, the US Department of Energy with the sole aim to reduce the use of fossil fuels. And early on founders also donated a large part of the company stock to the foundation, not only to create the pre-conditions for the organization to become independent by predicted incomes from a second party, but also to keep the organization in the loop of these important challenges. “Off course we all need to change our behaviours and way of living in the future, but we also need to develop new technologies to be able to keep on building the modern civilization we are accustomed to… but in a more sustainable way,” says The Perfect World’s co-founder Lars Jacobsson. TH E PER FECT WOR LD HONOR A RY AWA R D Over the last seven years, The Perfect World Foundation has awarded a key person in bringing global awareness to wildlife and nature conservation. The Award has now grown in significance to become the most prestigious award and recognition of conservation efforts, in Scandinavia.

“During the years we have had the great honour to meet and award wildlife conservation heroes from all over the world,” Lars and Ragnhild Jacobsson add with great awe. The list of award recipients is impressive. In 2014 the award was supposed to be presented to Mr Mark Shand, (brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall) for his dedication to saving the Asian elephant, but due to Mr Shand tragic accidental death just weeks before the award banquette, the award was handed over to the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at a small ceremony in London. Following Mr Shand awarded conservationists over the years are: Dr Jane Goodall, Dr Richard Leakey, Dr Sylvia Earle, Sir David Attenborough, Miss Greta Thunberg and the recipient 2020, Prince Albert II of Monaco.

CLI M ATE A I D – FI NA L COU NTDOW N LIFT OFF 2020, The Perfect World Foundation is organizing the first event in their 10-year ‘final countdown’ initiative, which will be the ‘event no. 10’ in the in the countdown to the ‘event no. 1’ in 2030. This year’s event ‘Climate Aid’ – in cooperation with the Opera House in Gothenburg, Sweden – will be a Concert in association with a Climate Summit… open for everyone to join. The foundation also has ongoing dialogues with opera houses around the world to further on bring the Climate Aid event to other countries and continents. JOI NI NG FORCES By working with a long-term approach and being dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness, the organization is positive that it will be able to accomplish real and needed changes for the planet’s wildlife and nature. The organization’s more than one million followers on social media reflects both the scope of reach and the long-term commitment. We’re always looking for and welcome new cooperations with companies worldwide, with the purpose of joining forces to bring sustainable products and services, and awareness, to the consumers. TH E PER FECT TE A M We’d never been able to recharge our batteries and get started with the work for a new gala, banquet, conference and other awareness and fundraising events every year, if it hadn’t been for the enormous support and appreciation we’ve received from all over the world. This not only from the wildlife projects we support, but also from banquet guests, conference participants, sponsors, volunteers, donors, and especially our strong and dedicated ‘Perfect Team'. We wouldn’t have succeeded without you, and we won’t succeed in the future without your help. We have so much left to fight for. TOGETH ER W E CA N CH A NGE TH E WOR LD “We don’t expect anyone to be perfect. Our aim is to bring knowledge and awareness to the large crowd, and encourage everyone to take steps in the right direction,” says co-founder Ragnhild Jacobsson.

Please join us in our fight to keep our fragile planet alive for coming generations, we need to join together to achieve a sustainable future where mankind live in harmonious co-excitants with nature and animals. It is possible, but only if we work together. We will keep fighting for the voiceless. To be continued – Ragnhild and Lars Jacobsson

PER FO F ETCOTR EP P AO RT RT NAE G R ES

Haircare for a FRENDLIER WORLD

We believe that really good haircare doesn’t have to be produced at the expense of our planet. That’s why we only do 100% vegan and cruelty-free haircare. All with climate-compensated packaging through reforestation projects in South America. But we want to go that extra mile. This year, we made a donation of €50,000 to Care for Wild Rhino Sanctuary, together with The Perfect World Foundation. find out more at marianila.com

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E X PEDIT ION

S VA L B A R D Ni ne advent urous a nd c ur ious travel lers f rom Sweden, t he U K a nd t he USA a re ready to go. A head of t hem l ies a seven-day ex ped ition by boat t h rough t he sea ice of t he A rctic Ocea n, i nto t he 80t h pa ra l lel nor t h. A nd encounters w it h pola r bea rs i n majestic, blue icescapes awa it. At t he a ir por t i n Oslo, t he ex ped ition members a re welcomed by The Per fect World Foundation’s founders, R ag n h i ld a nd La rs Jacobsson, Swed ish ex plorer Ola Sk i n na r mo a nd t he tea m’s f i l m ma ker f rom Ca nada.

BY THE PERFECT WORLD FOUNDATION

Already now, several of the expedition’s foreign members feel like they’re a long way north. But Oslo is merely north. Their destination is the extreme, far north. First there is a stopover in the Arctic town of Tromsö, and then a 90-minute flight over the Arctic Ocean to reach the town of Longyearbyen, on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. From here, the expedition will venture even further by boat out into the Arctic Ocean, to the extreme north. SA FET Y FIR ST On the first evening in Longyearbyen, the expedition’s participants all meet up for a delicious meal at Huset restaurant, to get to know each other better before setting sail. After dinner and a visit at the local museum, the team gather on the expedition vessel for an initial safety briefing.

“If you end up in the water without a survival suit, you won’t last many minutes,” the expedition’s captain says gravely. “Where we’re going there are no roads, no airstrips, no hospitals and no

PHOTO: LARS JACOBSSON

people.” One of the team members says nervously, “I think it’s going to be safer to stay on board.” THROUGH WATER A ND ICE FA R , FA R NORTH The next day, the adventure starts. The expedition team climb aboard the legendary polar vessel M/S Stockholm, fitted for only 12 passengers. The ship, constructed with a riveted steel hull in the middle of the last century, will take its passengers far north into the melting pack ice from the North Pole – the expedition’s destination!

The journey heads directly north, and the first destination is to reach the 80th parallel, to circumnavigate the northernmost island in the archipelago, Spitsbergen (literally, ‘pointed mountains’), which was named after the majestic razor-sharp mountain peaks that rise straight out of the icy ocean. After passing the 80th parallel north, the ship enters waters protected by Nordaustlandet, one of the largest islands in the north-eastern part of the Svalbard archipelago. 11

POLAR EXPEDITION PACKING LIST Small day trip backpack with rain cover. Thick jacket with sturdy hood. Wind and waterproof shell jacket and trousers. Thick fleece or wool jumper and trousers. Two sets of thermal underwear. Warm/wind proof beanie. Mittens and gloves. Buff/scarf. Wool tights and socks. Waterproof high boots. Sun cream and lip balm with SPF 20 or more. Sunglasses with good UV protection. Binoculars and camera. Swimwear. Shoes for indoor use – in Svalbard it’s customary to take off the shoes you wear outside when you go inside, even in public buildings.

COLD, DA MP A ND IC Y WATER S The expedition’s team are very well prepared – the items on the packing list are vital for survival in these extreme areas. The cold combined with the dampness and the icy ocean makes this region extremely inhospitable, yet no one in the group has any complaints. M/S Stockholm’s crew of 12 take care of the expedition’s travellers really well, between and during the team’s day trips away from the ship.

The day trips are most often made using rubber dinghies to reach the shores, and close to the wild animals. First ashore is always a trained crew member equipped with a rifle, to ensure safety in case of a surprise encounter with the North’s apex predator, the polar bear. Polar bears are one of the world’s most dangerous animals, and they live so isolated and far away from mankind that they have no fear of us. The impact of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem has made it difficult for polar bears to find food, and many are starving. People walking about in their territory – are food! U NFORGETTA BLE NATU R A L EX PER I ENCES The unspoiled beauty of the Arctic is breathtaking. Around midsummer the sun stands high in the sky 24 hours a day, and the animal life is amazingly vibrant. The expedition team get to experience hundreds of thousands of nesting seabirds, walruses, seals and blue whales. And on three occasions, close encounters with polar bears.

One night, the ship is slipping through the pack ice just 20 metres away from an ice floe where a male polar bear is feeding on a seal. A female polar bear with her two cubs first circles around the scene from suitable distance, before finally challenging the male polar bear in the hope of getting a mouthful of the rapidly shrinking meal. The whole expedition team stayed up that night watching the unforgettable drama unfold. Even the team’s great adventurer, Ola Skinnarmo, admits that it was a very rare experience, that he’d never had before. 12

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Puffins are found in the northern Arctic Ocean up to 80 degrees north, and the expedition team were able to watch these long-living birds (can live to become up to 30 years old), with their muffled, grumbling call, warming themselves in the sun on the rocks.

DID YOU KNOW THAT WALRUSES ... are the largest seal species in the world, and live in large flocks along the Arctic coast or around the North Pole. ... have two big tusks that can be up to one metre long, and weigh almost as much as a normal sized car â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a whole tonne. ... find their food in the ocean at a depth of 10-50 metres / 35-165 feet, but are usually never under water for more than ten minutes at a time. ... donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use their tusks to get food, but scratch the ocean floor with their beards to get at their food. ... have almost no natural predators and can live to be up to 40 years old. Polar bears might sometimes try to scare walrus herds, but never dare to go after an adult walrus.

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The Arctic Ocean is freezing cold, and polar bears swim in it. You need to be brave and a little mad to throw yourself from the gunwale – though the traditional Arctic dip only lasts a few seconds for most daredevils. The safety line and the promise of a warming dram of ‘Gammel Dansk’ made all of the expedition’s members find the courage to jump in... with horrified delight.

TH E A RCTIC DIP Each day the whole group gather on M/S Stockholm to have lunch and dinner together, and to share the day’s adventures and the nature photos they captured, over a welcoming meal. On day 5, at almost exactly the 80th parallel north, the ship crew spots a place with an incredibly beautiful iceberg. A perfect background for this year’s photo of the traditional ‘Arctic dip’.

Remembering from the 2017 expedition that you actually do survive the freezing waters, The Perfect World’s Ragnhild and Lars are first to jump in this year, with a tandem jump from the gunwale, closely followed by the rest of the expedition team. All the returning ice bathers are rewarded with a warming dram of ‘Gammel Dansk’ for their daredevil dip… which for most of them lasts just a few short seconds. PL ASTIC A ND GHOST NETS But these days in the Arctic aren’t only about fantastic experiences, breath-taking scenery and ice-cold dips. The expedition team also witness lots of plastic litter in the places they disembarks during their day trips with the rubber dinghy. Perhaps even worse than the plastic are the many ghost nets (fishing nets lost in the ocean) that may have killed catastrophic amounts of marine life on their journey through the Gulf Stream. This current can carry ghost nets and plastic waste from both southern Europe and the southern parts of the United States, all the way up to the Arctic. EX PEDITION SVA LBA R D 2018 The Perfect World Foundation’s main aim for their expedition to Svalbard in 2018 is partly to follow up on the previous year’s expedition focusing on the extreme temperature increases in the area, and also, to document the spread of plastic pollution in the ocean, which affects even these extremely remote areas, and how it impacts wildlife.

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SVALBARD Is a group of Norwegian islands located in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. In addition to a few thousand polar bears, the islands are also inhabited by about 3,000 people. Almost two thirds of Svalbard consists of protected areas. The name Svalbard means ‘cold coasts’ and is found in Icelandic texts from the 12th century.

M EETI NG TH E POL A R R ESE A RCH ER S The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), a research institute where scientists from all over the world gather, is located in Ny-Ålesund, a small village north of Longyearbyen on Svalbard. From here, research is done to understand and predict changes in the earth’s climate, water temperatures, the Gulf Stream and plastic pollution, and to see how these changes affect everything from the ocean’s smallest inhabitants, the krill, to whales, polar bears and, of course, humans. Meeting these scientists is one of the most important purposes of the expedition; to film, interview and learn from these specialists who have ringside seats to watch the big changes, which are more evident here than anywhere else on Earth. POL A R ICE IS M ELTI NG ON A LL SI DES In the Arctic, scientists have on several separate occasions measured air temperatures that exceed 20°C / 68°F warmer than normal. These temperature increases, together with the new phenomenon of rain in the area, increase the ice melt from above. And new record high water temperatures of up to 13°C / 55°F mean that the ice is melting from below as well.

The polar ice is also melting because of increased temperatures in the Gulf Stream. This current flows from the Gulf of Mexico up to Svalbard, where it flows under the ice cap of the North Pole and turns to follow the east coast of North America and back again to where it started. The cold ice of the North Pole is like a motor for the Gulf Stream, and is essential in keeping the water moving. TH E STR E A M’S DE A DLY DOW NSI DE The Gulf Stream also carries plastic waste and ghost nets up to the North Pole. At the expedition’s visit to the research centre in Longyearbyen, the team get to watch a film, documenting a polar bear dragging around 100 kilos (220 lbs) of ghost net. The bear was starving and exhausted. By freeing the polar bear from the net, the researchers were able to save it, but so many more polar bears suffer the same fate unaided.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT POLAR BEARS ... are the only bear species described as a marine mammal – a mammal that spends most of its life in the ocean. ... never hibernate. Pregnant polar bears spend a lot of time in their ‘den’, and enter an inactive stage during pregnancy. … are the only bears that have fur under their paws and between their toes. This is because polar bears lose most heat through their paws. Their toes are also partially webbed. … need to eat two kilos of fat a day to survive, have about 10 cm / 4’’ of fat around their body and manage to keep their body temperature at 37°C / 98.6°F in air temperatures as low as -40°C / °F thanks to their layer of blubber. ... are the largest living land predators. A polar bear can grow up to 3 metres / 10 feet long and weigh up to 700 kilos / 1,545 pounds.

The researchers also tell us that it is estimated that about 70 percent of all seabirds in the area have eaten plastic debris, and most likely have bits of plastic filling their stomachs, leaving diminishing room for nourishing food. This can lead to starvation, however, the full consequences this has for the seabirds aren’t yet fully understood. Sharp plastic objects can pierce the stomach and cause fatal injuries. But we also know that plastic gives off harmful substances and can act as a magnet for various chemicals. Disturbances in seabird fertility are therefore predicted to be one of the consequences of birds eating plastic. TH E POL A R BE A R’S FIGHT AGA I NST TH E CLI M ATE Polar bears are one of the world’s largest land predators, and with no natural enemies are at the top of the food chain in the Arctic’s marine ecosystem. This is why they are the first to feel the effects of global warming. Polar bears hunt for food out on the sea ice. Higher temperatures due to climate change mean the ice covering the Arctic Ocean melts earlier and earlier each year, leaving the polar bears with shorter hunting periods. As the ice pack disappears, so does the polar bears’ ability to hunt for seals – their main source of food – and to eat enough to build up a reserve for the winter. In open water, polar bears don’t stand a chance of catching fast seals. To hunt successfully, polar bears need to creep along the ice and surprise their prey. Now, polar bears have begun to change their diet. Instead of hunting seals, they increasingly eat bird eggs to survive. But in addition to eggs not being an adequate diet for polar bears, this creates an imbalance in the Arctic

ecosystem. In the long term, the birds will adapt, spread out and choose more inaccessible breeding sites. But the polar bears can’t easily do the same. Polar researchers have already observed a decrease in the Arctic’s polar bear population, and observations of starving polar bears have become commonplace. A SI NK I NG PA R A DISE We all know that the escalating increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is the main culprit behind global warming and its consequence – climate change. CO2 levels are the highest they’ve been in at least 800,000 years. Worryingly, the biggest changes have occurred in the last 50 years, with CO2 levels in the atmosphere increasing from 280 ppm to 410 ppm (parts per million). In order to reverse climate change, the global goal must be to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere to 350 ppm, before 2100.

The team’s many unforgettable experiences during the expedition to one of the world’s most pristine places are clouded by the realization that this paradise is undergoing dramatic change. Changes that will quickly affect the rest of the world, with more weather changes and extreme weather (droughts, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes etc.), higher sea levels and increased acidification of the oceans, all of which cause devastating disturbances to ecosystems and threaten biodiversity. When the expedition team leaves Ny-Ålesund behind, the researchers’ last worrying words stick in their minds – CO2 levels have now reached an unfathomable 413 ppm.

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TH E PER FECT WOR LD

E X PLOR ER S CLU B SEE TH E WOR LD I N A W HOL E NE W WAY

Svalbard, Borneo, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda. Rhinos, orangutans, lions, elephants, whales and polar bears. The Perfect World Foundation, with its sister organization Volunteer Travels, regularly organizes adventure trips that are out of the ordinary. The trips are tailored through the organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; partnerships with animal and environmental organizations all over the world, with the aim of bringing travellers closer to the real work being done in the field.

JOIN THE EXPLORERS CLUB TODAY FOR NEWS AND THE CHANCE TO TRAVEL WITH US ON ONE OF OUR EXPEDITIONS.

26 FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT US AT TEL.: +46 311 700 00 | EMAIL: EXPLORER@THEPERFECTWORLD.COM

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As a member of the EXPLORERS CLUB you get an invitation to take part in an adventure trip where you can experience the natural world accompanied by experts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as it should be experienced. New trips are now being planned with the EXPLORERS CLUB to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Borneo, and Svalbard once again. Join us and meet the researchers and heroes behind the aid organizations that research, save or conserve rhinos, elephants, gorillas, orangutans, polar bears and many other animals.

20k

there are only 20 to 30 thousand wild polar bears left in the Arctic region

2 1/2 polar bears need two kilos of fat per day to survive

T H E A RC T IC SE A IC E I S M E LT I NG

POL A R BE A R S A R E STA RV I NG The greatest threat to the polar bears’ survival is global warming. Polar bears depend on hunting for food out on the sea ice, higher temperatures due to climate change causes the Arctic sea ice to melt and diminish more rapidly and earlier for each year, leaving polar bears with less hunting grounds, and a shorter hunting period. As the sea ice disappears, so does the polar bears’ ability to hunt for seals, their main food source, and the hope of eating enough to build up fat reserves for winter. In open water, polar bears don’t stand a chance against the fast seals. When the ice melts the biodiversity under the ice also changes, where lots of krill and small fish live. When krill and small fish disappear, seals starve and die, and the polar bears’ main source of food with it. Ocean plastic pollution is an increasing problem and a major threat to the wildlife in the Arctic region, affecting the polar bear, its prey and habitat. About ten years ago, most polar bear populations were considered healthy, and in some cases they also increased, after the dramatic decrease because of unlimited hunting in the 18th and the main part of the 20th centaury. Researchers now fear that the number of polar bears could fall by two thirds by 2050 due to climate change.

polar bear cubs are only about 30 cm long when they are born and weigh no more than half a kilo

The Perfect World Foundation’s attempts to support and help polar bears are almost exclusively about stopping global warming. In addition to arranging two expeditions to Svalbard with the aim to document and spread awareness about the results of arctic research projects, the foundation organized a climate conference and a fundraiser ‘The Polar Bear Ball’ together with Sir David Attenborough in 2018. Since the advent of what is now known as industrialism about 100 years ago, the level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased dramatically in the atmosphere from 280 ppm (parts per million) to today’s level of 415 ppm, which incidentally is the highest level in over 800,000 years. To reduce climate change, we must bring CO2 emissions under control and end use of fossil fuels. To combat global warming due to the increased amount of atmospheric CO2, The Perfect World Foundation has launched the tree planting initiative ‘The Attenborough Forest’, with tree planting projects around the world. Trees absorb CO2 and therefore reduce the global warming effect. The organization’s goal is to plant one million trees, and at the same time work hard on development of new climate-smart technologies, in order to save polar bears and other life on Earth… including human life.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to help us plant trees to fight global warming and save our POLAR BEARS.

P E R F E C T PA RT N E R S

CO S M ET I C S E M P I R E

TA K E S A S TA N D FOR E N DA NG E R E D W I L DL I F E The Cha nteca i l le fa m i ly is passionate about cosmetics a nd nat ure. So much i n fact t hat t hey have ma naged to merge t he t wo i nto i nspir i ng projects a nd products t heir c ustomers ca n ta ke active pa r t i n.

BY HEDVIG VON MENTZER

PHOTO: PHILIPPE CHANTECAILLE

Sylvie Chantecaille has been a trailblazer for decades. Her courage and creativity has taken her across the Atlantic, into major corporations and helped her build an empire that cares about the environment as much as she cares about her customers’ skin. Not only did she start one of the first “natural” skincare companies – back in 1998 when it wasn’t even trendy – but she wanted the results of conventional skincare at the same time. Thanks to extensive research and technological innovation, the products are capable of nourishing the skin and the body while incorporating centuries-old traditions to revitalize the spirit as well. Chantecaille caters to modern women who demand high-performance, health-enhancing products that are both efficient and effective. Companies such as Chantecaille recognize the importance of nature. After all, it is the source of raw materials, so it’s vital for the continued production to take care of the environment. Sylvie Chantecaille realized that she wanted to incorporate her passion for animals and their welfare into the business when she noticed a dwindling number of butterflies in her garden. “I’m a serious gardener, and every year we used to have a massive migration of butterflies during the month of August in our East Hampton garden. When we started seeing only one or two a week, it prompted me to look into why they were disappearing. I created a gorgeous set of butterfly eyeshadows, which supported the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary and it opened my eyes to the 30

exciting possibility that there was a way to use my day job for a cause I was so passionate about. After our Monarch palette, I kept discovering new issues and challenges against our world’s animal species and ecosystems that prompted us to start the annual palette for charity,” says Sylvie Chantecaille. “The real surprise for me was that we were able to do it, and that it happened so quickly- everyone was immediately interested in helping the charities we partnered with. We took the energy, efficiency, and skill we put into making the perfect product, and added a story and cause to it. After our second philanthropy collection for coral, I realized that people clearly wanted to know more, and to help more. They were interested not just in the product, but the stories. They wanted to know how to help, and what was being done.” The three Chantecaille children now work in the company and their scope, like their mom’s, has always been about more than corporate work. Sylvie shares her passion with her daughters Olivia and Alexandra, her son Philippe and husband Olivier. Together, the family brings a dedication to enhancing wellness, supporting the environment, championing for animals, and a consuming passion for quality, purity and form. Which causes to support is a very organic process, according to Alex Chantecaille. “It’s usually driven by issues we feel strongly about that are also quite pressing. The only ‘requirement’ is that it be about endan-

P E R F E C T PA RT N E R S

our skincare formulas. Our customers often take the information we share with them and go even farther. The first year we collaborated with the David Sheldrick Foundation, they reported a massive surge in individuals fostering their own orphaned baby elephants! I still hear store managers telling me they look forward to their monthly updates on how their elephants are doing.” It may sound like glamorous charity work, but the Chantecaille family have a very hands-on approach. In June 2018 Alex and her brother Philippe joined the expedition to the North Pole for the Polar Bear Project. They travelled with The Perfect World Foundation, accompanied by Arctic explorer Ola Skinnarmo aboard an icebreaker travelling through Svalbard. Hoping to see polar bears and understand the grave situation of the shrinking ice caps, Alex and Philippe experienced an intrepid journey into nature that also provided a deep education into the mounting crisis of global warming.

gered species, threatened wild areas, or areas of human or animal conflict. We’ve had the wonderful adventure of building up a rolodex of friends who run amazing charities for the planet that it’s a true joy to partner with them. Educating our salespeople and customers about our conservation projects makes me so proud. To see their enthusiasm and knowledge grow is one of the cooler parts of our business – it’s contagious! Our team is currently pledging to each reduce their personal CO2 emissions – we are actually offsetting the CO2 generated from their travel by sequestering forests in South America through the Carbon Fund.” “Cause-metics” (coined by Alex) Collections have been launched as Chantecaille’s continued passion and commitment to nature and to endangered species grows stronger and stronger. From the humble honeybee, to the majestic elephant and the gigantic whale, no cause is too small, no animal (or insect) too little. It’s becoming more important to consumers, too. “I think people realize the impact that consumerism has on the planet and feel better when their purchases are sustainable and give back to causes that matter to them. It’s great that millennials are so into conservation! Often the thing that people say they like the most about us is our engement to the causes we support and the high percentage of naturals in

“We learned of this amazing trip through our friends at the Elephant Family. It’s always been a dream of mine to go to the North Pole and so when the chance arose, I leaped on it and brought my photographer brother along. There’s nothing like living on an icebreaker in the Arctic circle, having insanely gorgeous adventures for a week, to become the closest of friends! It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life! Seeing polar bears, arctic foxes, and walruses in the wild inspired such a passion to help them. Their dependence on this pristine frozen landscape was undeniably evident to us. I became invigorated to help reduce my personal CO2 emissions, drastically cut down on single-use plastic – because, yes, we saw a lot of plastic floating up in the Arctic, sadly – and to communicate this urgent message to our customers.” This Spring’s Polar Collection boasts a Polar Ice Eye Palette inspired by the icy and ethereal shades ones sees in the far northern region and the Lip Cristals, a sparkly lipstick with a polar bear cub decorating the cap. To help offset the melting of the Arctic, the company has committed to plant a tree for each Lip Cristal sold. The initiative is in partnership with The Perfect World Foundation and the trees will be planted in the Attenborough Canopy in Kenya. The Attenborough Foundation has pledged to create a canopy of trees and continue to plant trees in Kenya as a protective measure against the growing crisis of global warming. In the summer of 2018, the Chantecaille family met Sir David Attenborough in Gothenburg Sweden, where he was honoured by The Perfect World Foundation for his lifetime commitment to nature and wildlife. Perhaps there will be future projects for Chantecaille with The Perfect World Foundation as well. Alex Chantecaille absolutely doesn’t rule it out. 31

THE ASTONISHING DEEP SEA

W E CA N' T K EEP ON USING

T H E OCE A N A S A SE W ER A N D A SU PER M A R K ET AT T H E S A M E T I M E A s a daughter of a ma r i ne biolog ist a nd ma r i ne zoolog ist… a nd a stepfat her t hat was icht hyolog ist, a nd a second stepfat her t hat was a ma r i ne eng i neer… t here is no understatement i n say i ng: Liz Taylor g rew up w it h t he ocea n.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

PHOTO: LANCE YAMAMOTO / KIP EVANS

Diving deep into – and spreading knowledge about – the fairly unknown, mysterious and amazing deep sea is Liz Taylor’s every day life. Under the surface in their self-developed submersibles (DOER Marine Operations) she, together with her mother Dr Sylvia Earle, research, explore and observe the deepest and darkest parts of our oceans.

What is a submersible, and what do we need them for? “A submersible is a small underwater vessel, carrying 2-5 people. It’s run entirely on batteries, which makes it rely on a surface support ship for long distance transport and charging, unlike a submarine that is self-sufficient. A submersible is a complete game-changing asset when exploring the deep sea. Not only for scientist but also for ordinary people, to help us all understand what’s happening under the surface. The ocean always looks so beautiful at the surface but once we get below the surface we can see the impact of the damage that has been done. The difference in experience that a submersible gives us is like if you imagine for instance going to Africa to see the wild animals and doing so by flying over and lowering down a camera from a

helicopter… that’s a completely different experience than a Land Rover safari in the bush. Exploring the ocean in a submersible will in the same way allow you to have all of your senses and peripheral vision. You can follow a hunch, your curiosity is free to explore without being attached to the ship as when using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). You have the ability to stop, wait and observe, and have a more complete understanding of the ecosystem you are exploring. Both are valuable tools but very different experiences.”

It’s said that only 5 percent of the ocean floor has been explored. Why do we need to explore the ocean floor? “Every drop of the ocean between the surface and the floor is full of life. In our submersible we have the capacity to gently descend at any speed to observe and make connections between the very small planktonic animals, the drifting animals, and all the animals and plants in the ocean that together are making up the fabric of the life support system we all depend on. We have taken that for granted for a really long time, so bringing that direct awareness to people can really help them understand why the ocean does matter. You can see some fantastic forms that have evolved over eons of time in very delicate elaborated creatures, in very slow moving creatures, incredible creatures that have light

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and all kinds of body forms that have adapted them to the deep sea… so it’s very inspirational not only for scientists but also for an artist or ordinary citizens to have that element of discovery and seeing something with fresh eyes for the new time. We find something new on every single dive into the deep so it’s just an incredible awareness heightening experience that help us really grasp how reliant we are on the ocean for our survival.”

Diving deep into the ocean sounds, contradictorily enough, both super exciting and super scary to me. How does it feel to hover around in the deep ocean in a submersible? “Some people might find it scary and off-putting to think about going deep into the ocean but with the submersible you are in a 34

one-atmosphere environment, meaning that you are not experiencing the kinds of pressures, temperatures and harsh environments like for example a scuba diver experiences when trying to go deep. Inside the submersible there is no decompression, you have a full view of what is going on around you, and it’s really much safer than getting into your car and drive to the market.”

My fascination with the ocean took me to the Great Barrier Reefs in the 80s, to get my scuba open water diver certificate. In retrospect, I realize that I have actually experienced an underwater world that no longer exists. “True! With any of us growing up with access to the ocean and the opportunity to get in to scuba dive or just snorkelling – we are all witnesses to the rapid change that is going on. The loss of

THE ASTONISHING DEEP SEA

diluting wastewater and plastic by putting it under the surface where no one will see it. It’s that real dynamic of what we are putting in and what we are taking out at the same time, that has put the ocean now at an incredible stress point. And now that we know that’s the greatest sign of hope. We know today how important it is to protect our oceans, unlike for 50 or 100 years ago when we thought that the ocean was just to big for us to have any sort of impact on it. Now we know that we are impacting the ocean. We know that there is just so much the ocean can absorb and swallow without getting harmed by it. And this knowledge gives us no excuse to keep on doing business as usual. We have to acknowledge what has happened and make positive steps to correct past behaviour.”

The debate is in everyone’s face, all the time. Knowledge is power but can also be frightening and paralyzing… yet we have to know things, to do things. What can you do for the ocean, as a single individual? “There are so many things we can do as individuals and communities that can make a difference. Governments as we sometime see can be slow moving and ponderous. But the good news is, as citizens we remain very nimble, and we all have the ability to make better choices in our daily purchasing habits and daily consumptions. Some of the obvious changes that you can do as individuals, which we hear a lot about, are striving to eliminate single-use plastics from our lives through the choices we make. Why not leave the products in plastic on the shelves. An action that would rapidly drive manufactures to react when their products aren’t selling, and with some luck provoke them to adapt to better packaging methods. We also need to be aware of the carbon footprint of things we buy, and reflect over if there are alternatives produced locally with less carbon impact on the environment. It does make more sense to buy local grown and seasonal foods, than products that have been shipped 10,000 miles to reach our market.” biodiversity, the loss of the big fish due to the very heavy non-sustainable industrial fishing practices, and of course the affect of everything we put into the ocean. I have always said – we can’t use the ocean as a sewer and a supermarket at the same time. We are reliant on the ocean for production of the oxygen that we breathe, and it controls the weather patterns and the great currents. The ocean is a very delicate system that has been billions of years in the making, and yet we’ve managed to unravel so much of it in just the last century. It’s shocking.”

What do you see as the biggest threat to the ocean? “I guess it’s the simultaneous action of extracting ocean wildlife on an industrial scale, and also using the ocean as an industrial dumping ground. We’ve had this notion that we can just keep

Finally, who would be a dream guest to accompany you on a dive into the deep see …if you could choose anyone? “It’s hard to choose but I love the idea of taking a musician – maybe someone popular – who has always been kind of terrestrial, down with me in the submersible. Let them see the lightshow, hear the sounds, witness the curiosity of the fish that come to visit the vessel, and then to see them take that experience and communicate it through music to their base of fans. I feel that we really need to reach the people that haven’t been reached, particularly the young people who may be a bit afraid of the ocean… afraid of the sharks, afraid of the jellyfish. So to take a musician that has such communication power and let them experience the deep sea to see how it would be interpreted into music – would be a dream guest to me.” 35

D ATA T R A N S P A R E N C Y

I N A P E R F E C T WO R L D

WE AR E ALL DATA SC I E N T I S T S Data t ra nspa renc y prom ises to put t he needs of people, a nd ou r pla net, f i rst .

B Y N I E L S S T E N F E L D T, C E O , S T I B O S Y S T E M S

Speaking with a group of students recently, I asked a question that on one hand seemed simple, and on the other, slightly profound; What is data? Think about it. At the most basic level, data is a collection of facts and figures representing physical realities like conditions, ideas or objects. From there, data becomes the basis for calculations, analysis or decisions. While in computing, data is information transformed into a format to be stored, shared or processed. Whichever way you look at, one thing is certain. In the current business environment, data equals power. And that makes data a pretty big deal. With so much potential being realized from data, the race is on to capitalize on it. That’s great news if you’re a data scientist with access to powerful analytics and constantly growing data stores to glean insights from. But what’s in it for the rest of us? DATA TR A NSPA R ENC Y OPENS DOOR S Transparency as applied to ethical business behaviour has been a buzzword in corporate social responsibility (CSR) for years.

But the concept of data transparency may be less familiar. That’s about to change. At its core, data transparency is similar to providing visibility into data as it travels across an enterprise, and among members of a value/supply chain. But making data transparent introduces a new audience – the consumer – providing them visibility that makes companies more accountable, trustworthy and responsive to their constituents. And providing a window into their environmental and sustainability initiatives that promises to empower customers to make informed decisions based on the things that matter to them most. DATA TR A NSPA R ENC Y I N ACTION A familiar, though somewhat behind the scenes example of data transparency occurs any time there is a food recall, where, for example, a batch of lettuce picked at a specific place/time can be traced to packages to be removed from store shelves.

Providing this kind of transparency to end customers is an extension of that concept and the opportunities it creates will be empowering. Here is one example from my own recent experience. 37

D ATA T R A N S P A R E N C Y

Shopping for jeans, my teenage son asked about their environmental impact. In addition to countr y of origin, he wanted to know how much water was used to create the different wash that made them unique. Then he used the information to form his decision based on his personal beliefs.

A few months ago I went shopping for a pair of jeans with my teenage son. Anyone with kids that age knows they can be pretty demanding. But I never realized how much until, after narrowing it down to two pairs, my son asked about their environmental impact. In addition to country of origin, he wanted to know how much water was used to create the different wash that made them unique. Then he used the information to form his decision based on his personal beliefs. I have to admit, I was astounded. EMPOW ER I NG EN V IRONM ENTA L DECISIONS I should say that many brands we do business with today don’t yet have the ability to provide this kind of transparency. Nor would the majority of consumers today ask for it.

But make no mistake. These interconnected realities – brands committed to data transparency, and customers who demand it – are coming. Together they’ll help fuel a new era of environmental and socially conscious decision-making and activism that will have a dramatic impact on life, as we know it. A BETTER WOR LD THROUGH BETTER DATA Despite being surprised by my own son, addressing the growing environmental consciousness of consumers is high on my agenda. As a long-time leader in master data management (MDM), Stibo Systems has been working on this for decades. By breaking down barriers inhibiting the flow of – and visibility into – accurate, trustworthy data, we already enable unprecedented transparency. And in doing so, we’ve already helped countless companies around the world do what they can to make the world a better place by making data science more accessible to everyone. 38

Of course, great foresight and thinking alone wouldn’t have gotten us to this point, as we also need to point to our foundational ownership structure. Those interested in engaging the global business community to support environmental action might be interested to learn more, as it means we don’t serve any single beneficiary or investor that might prize short term profit over long-term objectives. The ability to pursue innovation played an essential role delivering on our mission, while remaining true to the values of our founders and predecessors who were committed to an ambitious CSR agenda long before anyone knew what that meant. It makes me proud to know we’re helping other companies to do the same now. And as a dad to be engaged in something that can help preserve our planet for the next generation to enjoy. That’s ultimately what data transparency is all about.

F O T O R E P O R TA G E

ENHANCED DIGITAL PRESENCE

DIGITAL BRANDING DONE RIGHT TURNING DATA INSIGHTS INTO VALUE

Proud sponsor of The Perfect World Foundation 39

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

BUS STATION WITH ELEPHANT IN DUST

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

PHOTOGR A PH ER OF T H E Y E A R

N IC K B R A N D T The Per fect World Foundation’s awa rd ’Conser vation Photog rapher of t he Yea r’ was presented to Br itish photog rapher Nick Bra ndt i n 2019, for h is un f i ltered i nter pretations of ma n’s i n f luence on t he nat ura l world. Bra ndt’s latest ser ies of photog raphs, ’ Th is Empt y World ’, ref lects t he col l ision bet ween a n i ma ls a nd people i n a world of relent less development, i n wel l-t hought-out a nd i ntr ig u i ng i mage compositions.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

In 2013, after twelve years of photographing in East Africa, Brandt’s celebrated trilogy, ‘On This Earth, A Shadow Falls Across the Ravaged Land’ was completed and released in full. In this series of beautiful black-and-white images Brandt aimed to portray animals as sentient creatures, not so different from us. In Brandt’s epic panoramic series titled ’Inherit The Dust’ from 2016, he documents man’s devastating influence in places where animals once roamed freely. The images, where his full-scale animal portraits were placed in landscapes of explosive urban development, factories, wastelands and quarries, depict how two worlds have collided with catastrophic consequences. In Brandt’s latest project, ’This Empty World’, he addresses humankind’s escalating destruction of the natural world. The series explore a world overwhelmed by exploitation, where there is no longer room for animals to survive. The people portrayed are also

PHOTO: NICK BRANDT

often swept along by the forceful tide of modern progress. Each image is a combination of two different moments, captured several weeks apart, and almost always from exactly the same locked camera position. Initially, a partial set is built and lit. The sites chosen for the different sets are ordinary, inhabited and unprotected places, close to villages, people, herds of livestock, motorcycles and other human presence. Then weeks, even months, go by before the animals living in the region are comfortable enough to approach, usually at night, and enter the frame. When the animals are caught on camera, the full set is built, with motorway and bridge construction sites, petrol stations, bus stations and more. In all but a few images, the camera remains in the same position, and a second sequence is then photographed with a large group of people drawn from local communities. The

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

NICK BRANDT 2013 12 years in the making, Brandt’s celebrated trilogy, ’On This Earth, A Shadow Falls Across the Ravaged Land’ was completed and released. In the trilogy Brandt established a style of portrait photography of animals in the wild similar to that of the photography of humans in studio setting, attempting to portray animals as sentient creatures, not so different from us.

2016 In Brandt’s series of epic panoramas ’Inherit The Dust’, he recorded the impact of man in places where animals used to roam, but no longer do. In each location, Brandt erected a life-size panel of one of his unreleased animal portrait photographs, placing the displaced animals on sites of explosive urban development, new factories, wastelands and quarries.

Design outline for a set with bridge construction site.

2019 Brandt releases his latest series ’This Empty World’ which addresses the escalating destruction of the natural world at the hands of humans, showing a world where, overwhelmed by runaway development, there is no longer space for animals to survive. Shoot in East Africa, the series is the first time Brandt is working in colour, in an ambitiously scaled project using constructed sets.

final image is a composition of the two documented elements – animals and humans. And once each project is completed, all the installations that were built are taken down and all the parts are recycled, with virtually zero waste, leaving no trace in the landscape from the photo shoot. Until 2019, Brandt has exclusively photographed in Africa (his next project deals with climate change in America), and one of his goals has been to document the destruction of the natural world there, before it is erased forever by humankind. In 2010, Brandt co-founded the non-profit organization Big Life Foundation, which helps protect 1.6 million hectares of East African wilderness in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro region. With its capacity to hire 350 local rangers and staff through donations from, among others, The Perfect World Foundation, Big Life has been able to dramatically reduce the eradicating poaching in the region.

Initially, a partial set is built and lit. Weeks, even months, go by before the animals living in the region are comfortable enough to approach, usually at night, and enter the frame.

When the animals are caught on camera, the full set is built. In all but a few images, the camera remains in the same position, and a second sequence is then photographed with a large group of people drawn from local communities.

Once each project is completed, all the installations that were built are taken down and all the parts are recycled, with virtually zero waste, leaving no trace in the landscape from the photo shoot.

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

CONSTRUCTION WITH ELEPHANTS AND EXCAVATOR

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

CHARCOAL BURNING WITH GIRAFFE AND WORKER

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

HIGHWAY BANK CONSTRUCTION WITH ELEPHANTS AND WORKERS

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

CONSTRUCTION TRENCH WITH JACK AL

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

THE GATHERING

THIS EMPT Y WORLD

PETROL STATION WITH ELEPHANTS AND KIDS

THE TRUTH OF BLOOD BEADS

ELEPH A N TS SK I N N ED TO M A K E

BLOOD BE A DS The poach i ng of A f r ica n elepha nts’ ivor y t usk s is wel l doc u mented. But ha l f way a round t he world i n Mya n ma r, t heir cousi ns, t he A sia n elepha nts, a re ten ti mes more v u l nerable. A nd a re now faci ng a g row i ng new t h reat – bei ng hunted for t heir sk i n.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

The research team in Myanmar ‘stumbled across’ a frightening discovery during a routine tracking study at the end of 2014. Peter Leimgruber, Head of Environmental Conservation Ecology at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, explains what happened in an interview with PBS NewsHour. “It was actually a big shock. During our monitoring of elephants with GPS collars, we suddenly noticed that some elephants disappeared. Their collars stopped working, and they were gone,” Leimgruber explains and elaborates further, “We had 19 elephants with GPS collars and we knew that five of them had fallen victim to poaching as we had found them dead. And then there were two that had just vanished. Their movement patterns had changed just before their disappearance, in a way that indicated that they were probably also killed by poachers.” After extended search efforts between 2015 and 2017, the research team ended up finding a total of 45 dead elephants in a very limited area. The scope of the poaching was surprising. In contrast to African elephants who live on the open savannah, Asian elephants prefer the jungle’s seclusion, making them very difficult to hunt. 54

PHOTO: ELEPHANT FAMILY

“Even our ‘trackers’ have to spend countless hours in order to get through the dense terrain when locating elephants to equip them GPS collars,” states John McEvoy, one of the researchers on site in Myanmar. Before 2014, poaching of Asian elephants was a relatively rare phenomenon as only some of the males, but not all, have tusks. But with this new skin poaching trend, the poachers now target adult males, adult females, and calves, threatening the whole species. Due to reduced living space, there are only 2,000 wild elephants left in Myanmar (2018), which means that at the current rate, hunting elephants for their skin could wipe out the Myanmar elephant completely within the next 50 years. “Lots of buyers prefer to buy the elephant skin unprocessed by the kilo, to be sure that it’s genuine elephant skin,” says Belinda Stewart-Cox from Elephant Family, an organization working to save the Asian elephant. Since the end of 2014, Elephant Family has charted poaching and black market trade in elephant skin, which has shown that China is the largest market for elephant skin from Myanmar. “Some skin is sold cut into smaller cubes, which are dried and

THE TRUTH OF BLOOD BEADS

BLOOD BEADS The beads are made from the skin of Asian elephants. The skin is cut in cubes and dried, then sanded into beads and polished. The blood red beads are used to make rosaries, bracelets and necklaces.

THE DEADLIEST RED COLOUR The bead’s red colour comes from the blood in the skin. To give the beads a deeper red colour (perceived as higher quality, with a higher price tag), the elephant is skinned as soon as it falls to the ground while the blood is still fresh under the skin. Cases have even been reported of elephants being skinned alive.

ILLEGAL TRADE According to international laws, trading of elephant parts, of any kind, from Asian elephants is prohibited, with a few specific exceptions.

then processed into beads. The beads get their deep red colour from the blood in the skin. The beads are used to make rosaries, bracelets and necklaces,” explains Belinda. Elephant skin is also ground into powder and used in traditional Asian medicine, with undocumented effects. Both beads and powders are marketed openly on social media platforms in China, such as Baidu and WeChat. The Perfect World has supported Elephant Family’s work since 2014, with contributions to projects such as the undercover work of mapping elephant skin poaching in Myanmar. “This poaching threatens a whole species. And the goal is to skin the elephants as soon as they have fallen to the ground so that the blood, which gives the beads their red colour, is still fresh under the skin,” says Ragnhild Jacobsson, one of the founders of The Perfect World Foundation. She continues, “It’s even been reported that elephants have been skinned alive. More blood in the skin gives the beads a deeper red colour and a higher price on the black market. It’s terrifying how human vanity can threaten to wipe out a whole species – for the sake of a bracelet or necklace of blood red beads.” 55

elephants are pregnant for almost two years, 620–680 days. And only carry one calf at a time

every 15 minutes an elephant is killed in Africa, in the poaching for their ivory

E V E RY F I F T E E N M I N U T E S

A N EL EPH A N T IS K I LL ED I N A FR IC A At the beginning of the 1900s there were around 10 million elephants in Africa, today there are only around 400,000 elephants left. Increased demand for ivory and illegal trade has led to African elephants being poached massively. Experts estimate that as many as 35,000 elephants are killed every year in Africa. If poaching continues at this rate, the African elephant could become extinct within a generation.

A SI A N E L E PH A N TS A R E

T H R E AT EN ED W IT H HOM EL ESSN ESS Today, there are only around 40,000 Asian elephants left in the wild. One of the largest threats to Asian elephant is habitat loss – shrinking living space as human population rapidly increase. The human-wildlife conflict in overpopulated areas of Asia creates clashes between agriculture and elephants, most often Asian elephants are killed by local farmers who want to protect their crops. Another threat to Asian elephants is the growing market for what are known as blood beads – dried elephant skin, cut into cubes, sanded and polished into beads, and used in jewellery. In this cruel hunt, elephants are skinned as soon as they fall to the ground while the blood is still flowing through their veins, as it’s said to give the beads a deeper red colour, and higher value at the black market. Cases have even been reported of elephants being skinned alive. Asian elephants are also used as both working animals and tourist attractions. Elephant calves, used in this industry, are separated from their mothers long before they can survive on their own. The elephants are beaten into submission and treated cruelly while ‘working’.

over 3,000 elephants are kept in captivity in Asia, and used as tourist attractions

Save the

As an animal and nature protection organization, it’s difficult not to support and help elephants. If extinction continues at the current rate, there will soon be no elephants left. Over the years, The Perfect World Foundation has been involved in and supported several projects to save elephants in both Africa and Asia. Projects like antipoaching teams, efforts to secure land areas in India to establish so called elephant corridors to avoid human-elephants conflicts, undercover work to map and end ivory smuggling in Asia, and also wildlife conservation organizations such as the Elephant Family, and much more. In 2016, The Perfect World Foundation organized a fundraising gala, ‘The Elephant Ball’, in aid of organizations and projects in Africa and Asia who work to protect elephants from poaching, and to train and involve local community. The same year, the organization also teamed up with Dr Richard Leakey in his work to spread knowledge globally to stop the ivory trade. In the spring of 2016, The Perfect World Foundation participated in the world’s largest ivory burning in Nairobi, Kenya, when seized ivory from thousands of elephants was burnt in a protest against the ivory trade. As a ripple effect from the protest, ivory trade in China was banned in July 2016, which is the greatest success so far in the war to save the last elephants. The Perfect World Foundation has also made it possible for children from Kenya’s poor neighbourhoods, like Nairobi’s slums, to visit national parks, to see and meet wild animals for the first time, to give the children the opportunity to experience and learn about wildlife. It’s difficult to motivate Africa’s future generations to save elephants if they have never had the chance to see and experience wildlife. Our work will continue until the day when our remaining elephants’ future is secured for generations to come.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

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T H E I V O R Y B U R N I N K E N YA

H ISTORY ’S MOST E X T ENSI V E

I VORY BU R N The Per fect World Foundation, a nd severa l ot her w i ld l i fe a nd env iron menta l conser vation orga n izations f rom a l l over t he world, were present i n Na irobi when Kenya Wi ld l i fe Ser v ice bur ned t heir 105-ton ne stock of seized ivor y, f rom over 6,70 0 elepha nts, i n a n a nti-poach i ng event. The event a i med to show t he world t hat ivor y t usk s don’t have va lue to a nyone but elepha nts. Just a few week s a f ter t he bur n, bot h t he US a nd Ch i na ba n ned ivor y trade.

BY LARS JACOBSSON

Over the past decade, more than 150,000 elephants have been killed for their tusks in Africa alone, which is the equivalent of one elephant being killed every 15 minutes. Organized crime syndicates, the same criminals who trade drugs and weapons, dominate poaching. In this organized hunt for ivory, all imaginable methods and resources are used including helicopters, binoculars with night vision and satellites. The elephants are usually shot with rifles, but hunting also takes place with bows and arrows, and waterholes have been poisoned with cyanide in order to kill the elephants on the quiet, causing the death of lots of other animals who drink there too. The difficulty in combating this form of crime is that it’s concealed – from the hunting to the smuggling and the trade. Guards, veterinarians, political officials, port staff for smuggling etc. are bribed. Anyone could be involved. The militant terrorist organization Al Shabaab has been linked to elephant poaching in Africa, as ivory is an important commodity to be able to buy or trade weapons for their holy war – Jihad. TH E BL ACK M A R K ET I N I VORY China and Vietnam are the two largest single markets for ivory trading, with these markets jointly trading tens of thousands of kilos of ivory every year.

Nhi Khe, a small town a few miles outside of Hanoi in Vietnam, is considered to be the centre for ivory and rhino horn trading

PHOTO: LARS JACOBSSON

in Asia. It has always been unclear why this small village plays such a central role, but the rumours are that corrupt politicians are behind this trading place. On both sides of Nhi Khe’s main street, there is shop after shop selling ivory and rhino horn, and this is where traders from Asia gather to buy, sell and distribute the illegal goods throughout Asia. In China ivory is a luxury and status symbol, like an unusual diamond or a piece of gold jewellery. It’s hard to see the animals behind these objects. Lots of traders stock the ivory while waiting for elephants' extinction, as the value and prices will skyrocket then. The fewer live elephants there are left, the higher the value of ivory, and the more elephants they shoot ... this vicious circle can only have one ending: total extinction. The bigger the piece of ivory is the more sought after it is, and the higher the value on the market. This means that all the big elephant males with the largest tusks are shot first. This also means that the herd’s leaders, whose task is to raise the younger animals, vanish, causing complete chaos to break out among the teenagers and young animals. This is often what makes young elephants begin to behave abnormally, and creates conflict between humans and animals. The poachers who risk their lives to kill these animals receive about $7 per kilo / 2.2 lbs for ivory. On the market in China, the buyers pay about $3,000 per kilo / 2.2 lbs for the same ivory. 59

T H E I V O R Y B U R N I N K E N YA

DID YOU KNOW THAT ELEPHANTS ... are social and family-oriented animals with strong emotional lives. Elephants have been observed visiting the remains or the place where an elephant from their family or herd died for decades after their death. Elephant calves have also been observed grieving to death after their parents were killed by poachers. ... are the world’s largest land animals? An African elephant can reach 3 metres / 9.8 feet tall, weigh between 4,000–7,500 kilos / 8,818–16,534 lbs, and live to be up to 70–80 years old. And their tusks never stop growing. … are pregnant for almost two years, 620–680 days, and only have one calf per pregnancy. … spend between 12–18 hours every day eating grass, plants and fruit. … bathe in streams or swamps and then throw mud and sand over themselves as a ‘sun protection factor’ to protect their skin from the roasting sun.

High-ranking government officials in China are thought to be behind this trade, and the Chinese President is often blamed directly for the threat of extinction the elephants face. TH E L A RGE I VORY BU R NI NG In spite of the smuggling and corruption, there are several strong groups fighting the threat of extinction, and over the past ten years, over 1,000 rangers have been killed by poachers in Africa. The powerhouse Dr Richard Leakey has for many years run Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an organization under the Kenyan military. In his efforts to stop elephant poaching, Dr Leakey crashed his propeller-driven plane in 1993 and lost both of his legs. It turned out that the plane had been sabotaged, and terrorist organizations were strongly suspected, but no one has ever succeeded in proving anything. Ivory and other animal products valued at hundreds of millions of dollars that have been seized in the fight against poaching are kept in the giant storerooms of KWS, and it is known that ivory is stolen from these storehouses and ends up on the black market. In April 2016, the pressure on the Kenyan government became too great, as Dr Richard Leakey and other animal rights activists such as Paula Kahumbu and 60

Philip Murgor put pressure on the government, forcing them to agree to burn the stored ivory. The Perfect World Foundation, along with several wildlife and environmental conservation organizations from around the world, were in Nairobi’s National Park to participate in the world's greatest demonstration against poaching. Tusks from more than 6,700 elephants, horns from hundreds of rhinos and much more were gathered into 12 giant piles to be burned, with the message that the value of these products cannot be measured in money, only in life. The joint global pressure of the organizations on world governments resulted in all ivory trade being banned in both the US and China on 1 July that same year. In September 2016, Dr Richard Leakey, the main initiator of the ivory burning, was presented with The Perfect World Foundation’s honorary prize, The Perfect World Award, during the organization's ‘Save The Elephant’ support gala in Gothenburg, Sweden. The award is presented annually to a person who has made a significant difference to conserving our world’s environment and wildlife.

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I WA N T T O I N S P I R E

PE OPL E TO WA K E U P You rea l ly don’t have to be per fect, but you have to tr y to do what you ca n. But “t he big pol iticia ns – t hey r u le t he world ”, so t hey have to sta r t ta k i ng responsibi l it y so t hat we ca n create rea l cha nge. Meet The Per fect World a mbassador, Victor ia Si lvstedt.

BY SEBASTIAN SANDBERG

After 17 years in the US, and many years as a model and TV personality, Victoria Silvstedt is back in Europe. Based in Monaco, she is now focusing on her own business as a stock and currency trader. At the same time, she also wants to be a good role model for her over 730,000 Instagram followers, and in her role as ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation. DONATED EV ENI NG GOW N FOR TR EES In September 2018, Victoria attended ‘The Polar Bear Ball’ in Gothenburg, Sweden when The Perfect World Foundation presented Sir David Attenborough with the organization’s honorary award. For the evening’s charity auction, Victoria donated her light blue evening gown, by fashion designer Elie Saab. “I usually donate money, but I thought the dress would be a fun thing to liven up the auction. It’s also important to recycle, so the dress getting reused and a second owner was an added bonus,” Victoria says. She laughs a little and continues, “Also, the money goes to planting trees, so that dress must be climate positive now.” R EUSE ON TH E R ED CA R PET “I definitely want to wear my dresses several times,” Victoria replies straightaway to the question of whether she only uses her

PHOTO: GIL ZETBASE

dresses once. She continues, “The press in Sweden have understood that recycling is ‘cool’, but unfortunately that’s not the case in other parts of the world. The press and media there need to change their outlook, and stop criticising celebrities for wearing the same dress on the red carpet more than once. It’s not a negative thing! That’s why I usually borrow dresses from different designers – that feels like the best option for me.” PR I NCE A LBERT OF MONACO Victoria thinks that The Perfect World Foundation’s award banquet in 2018 was an amazing evening, made even more extraordinary by the presence of Sir David Attenborough. On the question of who she would like to nominate for The Perfect World Award, she answers, “If I got to choose an award candidate, I’d choose Prince Albert of Monaco. Monaco is full of people with a lot of influence and money, and Prince Albert truly does everything he can to get those people to pay attention to what’s happening to our world. He does such a lot for the environment, and runs his own organization that focuses on our planet’s alarming situation. Also all buses in Monaco are powered by electricity and Prince Albert drives an electric car himself. He has an eco-friendly mindset in

PERFECT AMBASSADORS

everything he does, and I even got ‘help’ from Monaco when I bought a new car as it’s a hybrid.” I NSPIR E POSITI V E CH A NGE Victoria has over 730,000 followers on Instagram, and to the question of how she, and other people in similar positions, can use social media to create positive change, she answers, “Social media is so big now, so if you have lots of followers you have to try to be a positive influence. It seems like more people look at social media than on the news and TV these days, so of

course it’s important to be a good role model. I want to use my platform to get people to wake up.” She goes on to say, “I’m passionate about the natural world. I was born in Norrland in the far north of Sweden, and my childhood revolved around animals and nature, and keeping the natural world around us clean and healthy. When I visit a lot of other places around the world I feel devastated when I see the endless littering, constantly running air conditioners, and all the food waste. Sweden is so great, but we’re just a drop in the ocean. Unfortunately in most countries it’s all about the money.” 63

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A GLOBAL FOREST

T H E AT T EN BOROUGH FOR E ST

ON E M I LLION TR EES PL A N TED In t he Bota n ica l Ga rdens of Got henburg , Sweden, dur i ng The Per fect World Foundation’s cl i mate con ference i n 2018, Sir Dav id Attenborough pla nted t he sy mbol ic f irst tree of t he orga n ization’s tree pla nti ng i n itiative ‘ The Attenborough Forest’. The project a i ms to pla nt one m i l l ion trees to reduce t he pressure globa l wa r m i ng puts on our pla net.

BY THE PERFECT WORLD FOUNDATION

PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ

Planting trees is one of the most effective ways to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere.

they create better conditions for biodiversity to flourish and provide habitats.

EFFECTI V E A ND NATU R A L WAY TO A BSOR B CO2 CO2 is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming. One of the ways the gas is released into the atmosphere is through burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of dead plants that once absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere. New ways of absorbing CO2 are being researched constantly, but planting trees and biomass are still the most effective and natural way to absorb the gas to date.

TH E GLOBA L ATTENBOROUGH FOR EST In Kenya, The Perfect World Foundation has already planted close to 100,000 trees. Besides absorbing CO2 the planted trees form protected areas for orphaned young elephants, and preconditions for thousands of other species. On Borneo, another project is being prepared that focuses on helping endangered orangutans by restoring their habitat. In Mexico another project is focusing on reducing desertification, and in Zimbabwe the organization has planted fruit trees in areas close to schools, to provide food for the students during their long school days, as some students have an over two-hour walk to and from school. In other words, The Perfect World’s global tree planting project ‘The Attenborough Forest’ has many aims and one common goal – to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere to counteract climate change and global warming.

The Perfect World Foundation's tree planting initiative ‘The Attenborough Forest’ is a global project focusing on planting trees to reduce atmospheric CO2. But trees don’t just absorb CO2, they also bind soil, thereby reducing desertification and the risk of the soil eroding and being discharged into oceans via rivers and streams. Another positive effect of planting trees is that

A GLOBAL FOREST

TH E A RT OF PL A NTI NG TR EES Tree planting is almost a whole science in itself, as there are about 30,000 different species of trees that all have different properties and varying abilities to absorb CO2. As we all know, trees grow in various places on earth with different climates and growth conditions. Because of this it is not possible to state exactly how much CO2 a tree absorbs, but it is possible to produce an approximate answer.

To calculate the cost of reducing atmospheric CO2 through tree planting we use the following assumptions: one tree absorbs about 10–20 kilos (22–44 lbs) of CO2 per year – we count it as 10 kilos, and one tree can live for many hundreds of years – we count it as 15 years, as there is also some wastage in the planting process. One tree costs between 1.00–6.00 US dollars to plant, depending on tree species and location – we count it as 3.82 US

dollars. Calculating with these assumptions offset approximately 39 kilos (86 lbs) of CO2 per US dollar. YOU R CA R BON FOOTPR I NT The average carbon footprint per capita in the world is approx. 5,000 kilos (11,000 lbs) of CO2 per year, but varies depending on where you live. Since most of our supporters live in the west, we estimate 10 US dollars per month to compensate for your carbon footprint – equivalent to 120 US dollars and approx. 5,000 kilos (11,000 lbs) of CO2 per year. You can use the ‘Tree Planting Form’ on our website to help us plant trees and compensate for your carbon footprint monthly, or for a whole year at a time. On our website you can also use the ‘Flight Emission Calculator’ to accurately calculate the carbon footprint for your flights… but don’t forget, Business Class costs twice as much as you take up twice the space – the calculator will help you get it right.

T R E E P LA N

OROUGHF

# AT

Our Editor in Chief MARIE KJELLSDOTTER, planting trees in Zimbabwe.

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M USIC A L GEN IUS A N D

M AG IC I A N OF R EC YC L I NG Hu mble w it h a strong opi n ion, t he si nger a nd song w r iter Da n ny Saucedo has l ived t he mea n i ng of eco-f r iend ly si nce ch i ld hood, i nspired by h is mot her. He bel ieves t hat i f we a re a l l w i l l i ng to ma ke some cha nges, i f ever so sma l l, i n t he way we l ive a nd act – it w i l l emerge i nto a sig n i f ica nt ga me cha nger for our pla net’s f ut ure.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

PHOTO: MORGAN NORMAN / PRIVATE

“Now days it can be seen as opportunistic when artists join the discussion and make statements about the hot topic – climate change. But to live and act ‘environmentally friendly’ has always been a core value in my life, I grew up with that mindset, it was passed down from my mother,” states the Swedish artist Danny Saucedo, and kicks off our conversation about choices for a more sustainable future. “I was brought up in a catholic family and every Sunday at 11am, whether you wanted to or not, you were expected to attend morning service. And in the same way, every Sunday, we would stop at the recycling centre on the way to church with the recyclables we had gathered during the week. Recycling was part of our Sunday family ritual, and it is something that has stayed with me, it is still important to me… the commitment of doing right on a personal level.”

Have you continued the family tradition of recycling? “Yes, I can even say it has gone a bit overboard sometimes when I have been so meticulous with my recycling that I have cut out the plastic attachment from paper drink cartons with plastic 68

caps, just to make sure that I have separated the paper and plastic recyclables correctly… and at the same time swearing over how ridiculously hard the manufacturers sometimes make it for us consumers to recycle.”

Is there anything else from your childhood that has shaped the person you are today? “I grew up on vegetarian food, and even as young, having a plant based diet makes you more aware of the animal cruelty of the meat industry, and now we also know that this industry is responsible for a huge part of the CO2 emissions.” I did stay vegetarian until I was 14, and became a rebellious teenager, about the same time as I quit classical music and tucked my violin away. But when I was 25 or 26 I returned to being a vegetarian, and this time with much stronger conviction – it was now my own active choice and not inherited.”

Is what you eat still important to you? “Yes it is, I’m still a vegetarian, but I’m really not fond of labels. I prefer to not eat anything from the animal kingdom, but if I

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come to a dinner party and fish soup is what is on the menu, I will eat fish soup. It will be my conscious choice. And that’s what I meant about labels, it is more important that people are conscious of what choices they are making. If you want to eat beef tartar, sure you can do that, but you should know where the beef has been produced, how it affects your health, and understand the consequences of that choice.” Danny says and continues, “I think the overall challenge is to find a way to educate people about the impact of our actions. As with climate change, how can we inspire people to listen and absorb some knowledge, and un-

derstand the impact of our accumulated actions – it is about all of us, and it will affect all of us. I try to influence people, not to convince them to become vegetarians or vegans, that realization has to be your own, but by talking about why I made the decision to become vegetarian I hope to inspire others to do the same.”

Do you see yourself as an influencer? “When I became a recognized artist, with the responsibility as role model that comes along with being a person in the public eye, it made me take responsibility more seriously – I grew as a person and l became more aware. Travelling around the world as

MAGICIAN OF RECYCLING

Together we can do so much for our planet and fight climate change, if people only were prepared to cut down on their meat consumption. And on top of that, it is not even that healthy for us.

or bus. And of course, would I like to see future solutions for battery-powered airplanes. But this inflation in finger pointing ‘flight shame’ is misdirected focus, in my opinion and according to the UN scientists, the meat industry has the biggest impact on climate change.”

an artist also made it possible for me to see and understand the situation with, among other things, plastic pollution in other parts of the world as well.”

Air travel does in fact contributes to the CO2 emissions, but also adds value to the tourist industry, which for some countries is crucial for their national economy. Do you have any thought around your own flying? “No, I do not. I’m pretty harsh in my opinion on this issue. For me to be able to do my job I need to be able to travel and fly, though with all my domestic travels I’m happy to go by train

Besides recycling, is there anything else you do in your everyday life to contribute to a more sustainable future? “What I eat, I have to return to my choice of diet again. It is here so many act without ‘impact thinking’. Together we can do so much for our planet and fight climate change, if people only were prepared to cut down on their meat consumption. And on top of that, it is not even that healthy for us.” says Danny and elaborates further, “I get this shameful feeling when I do my grocery shopping. Food from all over the world has been gathered within a few square feet of a store, where I can walk around and pick up whatever I want. I don’t have to hunt, gather or harvest, I just grab what I need… and pay at the check out. Walking out with a bag full of groceries that I have done nothing to ‘deserve’, except paid for.

MAGICIAN OF RECYCLING

DID YOU KNOW THAT IF 10 MILLION PEOPLE (only 0.13 percent of the global population) swapped meat in only one of their meals for a plant based protein, for just one day, it would… ... reduce enough CO2 emissions to drive around the world 2,438 times. … save 885 million calories. And 48 tonnes of saturated fat – the weight of 3.5 Big Bens. … save up to 5,700 acres of land, the equivalent of 89,000 tennis courts. … reduce water usage by 13 million tonnes, equivalent to 5,000 Olympic swimming pools.

Most of us don’t know where our foods come from, how much forest has been destroyed, how much water, pesticides and fertilizers have been used to produce them – completely ignorant of the ‘cost’ they have had on our planet’s resources. Realizing the real ‘cost’ of the foods in my grocery bag is in some way embarrassing to me, it’s like carrying a bag of anxiety.”

The words on everyone’s lips – climate anxiety, do you experience it? “It comes and goes. Sometimes the feeling is intense and sometimes, I’m just ‘human’ and push it away. I live by the belief of having a clear conscious, as clear as I possibly can, and I try to influence others to think and act the same way. It is about making people listen, but it is hard because everyone is so buzzy with their own life.” Can you recognize the problems with plastic pollution in global perspective? “Absolutely. I recently travelled to Cameroon, in Central Africa, together with a friend who hadn’t been back to his home country for over 15 years, to visit his mother and family. Clearly noticeable throughout my stay in Cameroon was how people just threw away their plastic waste in the streets. It gave me an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness – at home I’m cutting out the plastic 72

cap attachments from paper drink cartons, and here I witnessed streets and beaches full, and I mean really full, of plastic debris. It made me extremely sad but it also got me, and my friend Kevin, talking about how to spread awareness and influence people to act differently.” Danny replies, and tells me more about his trip. “During our stay we also joined a Cameroon pastor, he’s about my age, 30-something, and one day walking around together he had a plastic bottle of water and when empty he just threw it on the ground, and kept walking, talking about the importance of spreading the word of God. The contradiction blew my mind, and I asked him ‘What are you doing, why did you just throw the bottle away like that? Pick it up!’. He didn’t understand my reaction, and responded, ‘Why? I’m not going to pick it up, there are plenty of rubbish here, it will not make any difference’, and I said ‘It doesn’t make sense to talk about the importance of God’s word, while polluting our planet, our home. It starts with you, in a hundred years the bottle will still be here, and you will not’. My persistence eventually made him pick up the bottle, but more importantly it opened up for a heartfelt discussion about what would be the incitement for changing the behaviour of throwing waste everywhere, and to learn from each other cross boarders, take responsibility as role models for our future generations, and care for the wellbeing of our planet.”

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P L A N E T- F R I E N D LY T E C H N O L O G Y

N E W TECH NOLOGY OFFER S A FU T U R E W IT H

FOSSIL FR EE ENERGY The use of fossi l f uels is t he la rgest reason for t he i ncreasi ng globa l wa r m i ng. A nd ot her a lter natives a re urgent ly needed to reverse t he trend – now! Sola r a nd w i nd power a re a good sta r t, but stor i ng t he energ y is key. A new batter y t hat is up to 90 percent cheaper t ha n, for exa mple, l it h iu m batter ies is just a round t he cor ner. Swed ish compa ny T E X EL Energ y Storage has t he solution, a nd t he tech nolog y beh i nd it is der ived f rom t he development of t he hyd rogen bomb i n t he 1950s, a nd subma r i ne ma nu fact urer Kocku ms’ Stirl i ng eng i ne – now ser v i ng peace a nd a fossi l f ree f ut ure.

BY LARS JACOBSSON

PHOTO: TEXEL ENERGY STORAGE

TEXEL Energy Storage is an example of The Perfect World Foundation’s and its founders’ ambitions to find the necessary technical solutions, with the sole purpose to turn the world away from fossil fuels. Cheap and sustainable energy storage in combination with renewable energy, like solar and wind, is the last piece of this puzzle. FOR D MOTOR S’ & KOCKUMS’ STIR LI NG ENGI NE In 2010, The Perfect World Foundation’s founders established TEXEL and the company acquired the world’s most developed Stirling engine, the V4-90 – an engine technology that highly efficiently converts thermal energy into electricity – and it became clear that the technology could be used in the design of a new cost-effective and sustainable energy storage solution. Originally the V4-90 engine was developed by Ford Motors in cooperation with Kockums a Swedish military submarine manufacture. Kockums has used the Stirling technology in submarines for years, and the new V4-90 engine was developed to be integrated in Ford Motors’ environmental friendly cars.

Two years later in 2012, the world’s leading company specifically working with thermal energy technology, Maricopa Solar Corp, in Phoenix, Arizona, was also acquired. 74

BY-PRODUCT OF WA R SERV I NG TH E FUTU R E Savannah River National Laboratory, one of the US Department of Energy’s 17 national laboratories, was in 1948 commissioned by president Harry S Truman, to produce a hydrogen bomb. In the process of developing this bomb, they created a completely unique thermochemical battery technology that stores heat as a by-product. To store high heat of 600–900°C (1100–1600°F) to be delivered again a number of hours, days or years later is of course groundbreaking, but unfortunately doesn’t have a very large or wide field of use. By combining the unexplored thermal battery technology with TEXEL’s Stirling engine, it became possible to convert stored heat energy to electricity when needed – a huge step forward for sustainable energy, especially as this can be done at a price less than 10 percent of the price of Lithium batteries – a battery technology used by car manufacturers such as TESLA.

In February 2018, after nearly three years of negotiations over two US presidents’ administrations, TEXEL signed an exclusive global agreement with US Department of Energy and Savannah River National Laboratory, and now has exclusive access to this unique battery technology. The new TEXEL battery, with its unique thermochemical energy storage technology and the V4-90 Stirling Engine combined, is not only cheaper than other battery

P L A N E T- F R I E N D LY T E C H N O L O G Y

REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY By combining the Stirling engine, developed by Ford Motors, with the thermochemical energy storage solution, developed by the US Department of Energy, the TEXEL battery is able to store energy extremely cheap for hundreds of years with no degradation problems and is fully recyclable, sustainable and circular.

NO BACKUP SYSTEM NEEDED The TEXEL battery can be charged with any form of electricity, converted to thermal energy, but could also be charged with any form of heat source. In a microgrid, the battery could be charged with wind and solar energy, but during periods of no wind and/or sunshine the TEXEL system doesn’t require a backup system, as the battery could be charged with any heat source, for example gas. To maintain a fully renewable microgrid the gas could for example be locally produced Hydrogen gas.

TARGET MARKETS The TEXEL battery technology is targeting the large scale battery market with applications ranging from cars, buses, trucks, boats, ferries to households, commercial buildings, microgrids, island storage, communities and large grid energy storage.

Right from the start the founders decided to donate a large part of their shares in TEXEL to The Perfect World Foundation, to secure the organization’s important future work with wildlife and environmental efforts. technologies, the TEXEL battery doesn’t consume the planet’s resources, is fully recyclable and doesn’t contain any rare earth minerals, like for instance Cobalt – a major component of most traditional batteries. GA M E CH A NGI NG R ECOGNITION In September 2018, at a Silicon Valley energy storage summit, TEXEL was appointed “The success story beyond Lithium-ion batteries” by the US Department of Energy, X-Labs and Stanford University. This recognition confirmed that it was now understood that a laboratory, that had previously developed a hydrogen bomb, through collaboration with a company working with solu-

tions to store thermal energy – unknowingly and by a coincident – had developed a whole new way of addressing the future’s need for a new battery technology. Quite brilliant! A CLE A R ROA D A H E A D TEXEL is now in the phase of industrializing and commercializing the new battery technology, and is planning for Gigawatt volume production of batteries in both Europe and the US, within the next 5-6 years.

The largest quantity of CO2 emissions due to the use of fossil fuels origins from the production of electricity and heat energy. The TEXEL battery will progressively, in combination with solar and wind produced energy, replace fossil fuel generated energy with renewable energy distribution 24 hours, all year around. The TEXEL technology also offers future possibilities for the battery to be used in larger vehicles like buses, trucks, boats, ferries and airplanes. “We'll start of by delivering solutions to the larger problems, such as electricity and heat distribution, and take on the smaller challenges like the aviation industry later,” says Lars Jacobsson, founder and CEO of TEXEL Energy Storage. 75

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T H E N E X T GEN ER AT ION

WILL TURN TH E SH I P A ROU N D Beloved Swed ish si nger a nd song w r iter Ma r ti n Sten ma rck ’s com m itment to w i ld l i fe a nd env iron menta l issues is shapi ng t he nex t generation of pla net heroes a round t he fa m i ly’s d i n ner table. He has been pa r t of The Per fect World tea m si nce 2014 as compère for t he orga n ization’s w i ld l i fe suppor t ga las, a nd is a tr ue role model when it comes to spread i ng k nowledge a nd awa reness for a better world.

BY DANIEL WILKE

PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ

As a father of three, the second oldest of twelve siblings, and a sponsor of eight children in Uganda through UNICEF, Martin Stenmarck is used to helping others. He also regularly receives inquiries from charitable organizations, asking if he wants to participate in and support their work. Martin says that he’s the kind of person who’s happy to help, but it’s also important for him that his contribution really makes a difference. “Instinctively, I want to say yes to everything, but there’s also a danger in doing that. It’s important that it works out and I can really get involved. I don’t just want to be in a photo,” says Martin. Martin has been an ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation since 2014. It all started with a meeting at a café in Stockholm, Sweden. Over a cup of coffee he met The Perfect World’s founders Ragnhild and Lars Jacobsson for the first time, who wanted to know if he would like to help support the organization’s efforts to save the rhino. “When I was a child, my grandfather worked in Kenya. He brought home drawings and stories of rhinos. It’s an animal I’m especially passionate about,” explains Martin. Ragnhild and Lars had decided to arrange Scandinavia’s first fundraising gala for wildlife and the environment, and hoped that Martin would agree to compère the event. Martin could feel that their commitment was genuine and was happy to be asked to get involved and inspire others through something he enjoys – entertaining. 76

“Few people understand how much hard work is involved in arranging a charity event. Before the first gala, I don’t think even Ragnhild and Lars knew what they were getting themselves into. But they were willing to work hard for their cause, and I decided to support them as much as I could, there and then,” Martin says. Since the first charity gala, Martin has assisted the organization as compère at a total of four fundraising events, and by doing so he has helped to raise several million dollars to benefit wildlife and the environment. In 2015, Martin was given the opportunity to visit a rhino breeding project in Zimbabwe, where he had the honour, on behalf of The Perfect World Foundation, of handing over a cheque for 50,000 dollars to support the project’s work. “The money was intended to help keep the project’s rhinos safe from poachers, among other things. It was absolutely fantastic to be there and see what all our hard work had contributed to. And this was the first time I got to meet a rhino, it was absolutely magical! I had no idea they’re so soft,” Martin says. The visit to Zimbabwe was a new awakening for Martin. He says that when his youngest daughter has turned eight, he plans to take the whole family back to the rhino project in Zimbabwe to share with them what he experienced. Until then, Martin keeps the subject of the plight of wildlife alive at home by talking about it at the dinner table. “The children are our future and us adults, and me as a parent,

PERFECT AMBASSADORS

As always, MARTIN STENMARCK delivers one hundred percent as compère and entertainer during The Perfect World’s charity gala. Here, the audience are hanging on his every word at ‘The Polar Bear Ball’ in 2018, where Sir David Attenborough was the guest of honour.

PERFECT AMBASSADORS

need to find ways start conversations and show our commitment. The next generation will turn this ship around, but we adults need to hand over the rudder and show them the direction forward,” Martin says. Martin thinks that making a difference doesn’t need to be a huge burden – even small things make a difference and create a ripple effect. He gives the example of teaching children that they shouldn’t throw food away, and that everything counts when it comes to reducing our environmental impact. One of these family discussions resulted in one of Martin’s daughters choosing to become vegetarian. And since he himself works with these issues, discussions about wildlife and the environment are right at home around the Stenmarck family’s dinner table. “Continuously talking to our children about the world’s wildlife and the environment is important, but it’s also tough. Our six-year-old once asked us, ‘Will elephants still be alive when I’m big?’ We then talked for a while about how human actions affect our world, and how desperate the future actually looks,” says Martin. That same daughter has now invented a new game where her and her friends run out into the forest to see how quickly they can fill a bag with rubbish. “It’s sad that it’s come to this, but it’s a very good game”, says Martin and proudly continues to give us examples of his children’s dedication. “This summer, we are holidaying in the south of Europe, and after pressure from one of my daughters, we’ve cancelled our flight… it’s bad for the environment. If people reduce their flying and only ‘have-to-travel’, and plant trees to offset the carbon footprint of these flights, would be a valuable step in the right direction,” Martin says. Martin Stenmarck is in every way a person who wholeheartedly engages in charity projects, and it’s important to him that his work is genuine and makes a real difference. He’s a fantastic ambassador, and a role model whose commitment is infectious. Finally, I ask him what motivates him and makes him want to get involved. “When it comes to The Perfect World Foundation and the charity galas I’ve been involved with, it’s the people who motivate me. The organization has succeeded in engaging very different people from all over the world, where everyone works towards a common goal – to make a difference. The titles fade and you meet the real person behind them, and that’s really very cool,” says Martin in conclusion.

on average three rhinos are killed every day in Africa, in the poaching for their horns

there are five rhino species, three in Asia and two in Africa

R H I NO HOR N POW DE R

WORT H MOR E PER K I LO T H A N GOLD The magnificent and prehistoric looking rhinos are tragically enough killed in a higher rate than new rhinos are being born. Rhinos are severely threatened with extinction, of the original 100 different rhino species there are only five species left. Over the past 40 years, the world has lost 95 percent of its rhino population, and today there are only about 25,000 rhinos left in the wild. The majority of rhinos (80 percent) live in South Africa, where over 1,000 rhinos are still killed by poachers for their horns, every year. The demand for rhino horn has increased over the last 25 years, in the Far East horn powder is believed to cure colds, fever, headaches malaria and even cancer. In Vietnam wealthy people mix rhino horn powder with water or alcohol to make a general health and hangover tonic, and also believe that rhino horn can cure impotence and enhance sexual performance. Rhino horn, which consists of keratin just like our nails and hair, has no magical healing properties and is no more medicinal than nail biting.

two of the five rhino species have less than 80 individuals left in the wild

The Perfect World Foundation’s very first fundraiser for wild animals in 2014, ‘Save the Rhino’, was organized to help rhinos. The poaching for rhino horn was worse than ever that year, and the year also ended with the highest figure ever – 1,215 rhinos were brutally murdered by poachers in South Africa alone. Since then, our own and other organizations’ joint efforts have contributed to the figure slowly but surely declining. ‘Only’ 769 rhinos fell victim to poaching in 2018 – still upsetting figures, but they represent a positive decrease. The funds that The Perfect World Foundation has raised for rhinos over the years have been used for initiatives such as increasing security around certain extremely vulnerable areas, funding communication equipment, fences, night vision binoculars, anti-poaching teams, guard and tracking dogs, and much more. In addition, the organization has worked nationally and internationally to raise awareness and knowledge about the trade in rhino horn. The work of raising funds for rhinos continues to support actions such as moving 100 rhinos from South Africa, a country afflicted by poaching, to safer areas in Botswana, providing food to orphaned rhinos in South Africa, and supporting organizations that patrol areas that are afflicted by poaching in South Africa. The Perfect World Foundation has also contributed to funding 46 units of Wildlife Rangers to patrol in Kenya and Tanzania, to combat poaching. The organization’s efforts to stop rhino poaching will continue until the day when there is no longer any trade or poaching, and we are determined to ensure that that day will come well before total extinction.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to support and help us keep fighting for the voiceless and save our RHINOS.

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AMONGST WILD RHINOS

U N F O R G E T TA B L E E N C O U N T E R W I T H

W I L D R HI NOS In Zi mbabwe, Lia m Pitts gets to ex per ience w i ld a n i ma ls, as he says h i msel f, where t hey belong. It’s a d rea m he has had si nce he was l itt le. The ex per ience bot h sur pr ised h i m a nd gave h i m more i nsight i nto how t h reaten i ng poach i ng is to t he rh i nos i n A f r ica, as wel l as a n understa nd i ng of t he work beh i nd t he people f ighti ng to protect t hese w i ld a n i ma ls.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

Imire, in eastern Zimbabwe, is a breeding and wildlife conservation centre, with focus on the endangered black rhinos and white rhinos. For nearly 50 years, the Travers family have been running the centre with a successful breeding programme to preserve the rhinos on the nature reserve due to the ever-increasing poaching in Zimbabwe, and have over the years successfully released bred rhinos into the wild. In March 2018, The Perfect World’s fifteen-year-old youth ambassador Liam Pitts travelled to Imire with his mother, songwriter and music producer, Laila Bagge (Laila has written songs for Céline Dion, 98 Degrees, 702 and Mýa), and her partner, Korosh Kananian, to experience the wild animals and learn about the reserve’s work. When preparing to go out into the bush to track black rhinos, Craig Travers, who works as a wildlife ranger at the Imire centre, explains that there are now only about 400 black rhinos and 450 white rhinos left in Zimbabwe. However, Zimbabwe is actually the country where the rhino population is increasing slightly. Craig also states that 2–3 rhinos die every day in South Africa, and at this rate it won’t be long until there are no rhinos left in the wild.

How did it feel to encounter wild rhinos… up close? “It was totally surreal, it didn’t feel like it was really happening. We were just a few metres away from wild rhinos. They can be

PHOTO: LAILA BAGGE

quite aggressive, so we were naturally pretty scared, but I couldn’t help but think they were absolutely fantastic and beautiful animals. It was super cool to see them in real life,” Liam answers and continues, “Before I went to Zimbabwe, I thought I would see rhinos like you do on a safari, but this was for real. We were trekking in the bush, and even got chased by rhinos and had to start running to safety. It was a completely different experience to what I expected – but it was hands down one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in all my life. It was so incredibly cool to see rhinos in the wild… for real.” The stay at Imire really made Liam reflect. The Travers family showed him pictures of all the rhinos they had helped at the centre over the years, and of these far too many had fallen victim to poaching. “I knew that poaching is a serious problem in Africa, but I didn’t know just how serious it actually is. It’s incredibly sad. Exactly how bad it is was a real eye-opener. The sheer number of rhinos that are killed is what surprised me the most, to be honest,” says Liam. He is also strongly opposed to buyers of rhino horn, and adds, “The notion that rhino horn can heal diseases... a life gets taken for something that doesn’t even work. It’s so awful that I have no words for it. It’s completely sick.”

The Perfect World’s youth ambassador LIAM PITTS out in the bush just a few metres away from wild black rhinos in Zimbabwe.

Back home in Sweden again, how does it feel? “It’s really hard to explain... it feels like I got to experience something not many others will have the chance to experience. You could say it feels a bit like a dream. A dream I have had since I was little, that came true. Protecting our planet’s animals and nature is very important to me.” Do you feel that you can use your experience from the Imire centre and Zimbabwe to influence others? “Absolutely. I do feel that I can influence others, because I can tell them about my experience and what I have seen, which gives me a great opportunity to share and teach others.” What do you think is important when it comes to protecting wildlife and nature? “Learning as much as you can. The more you learn, the more conscious you become of everything that’s going on. It’s also super important, even though it’s not something we come across in our 84

own lives, to teach the people who buy products made from wild animals that eating something like powdered rhino horn won’t give them any superpowers. It’s extremely important that we make the buyers understand that they’re just harming living animals. So it’s most important to learn more… to understand more.”

Once you’ve learnt a lot, what should you do? “Then it’s important to teach others. That way there will be more and more people who really know what’s going on and hopefully that will create change. If you can, you should really teach others… it’s very important. With the right knowledge you can choose to act the right way,” Liam says with conviction, before adding, “In Zimbabwe, it was amazing to see rhinos and wildlife where they truly belong. It was a precious experience. If things continue the way they are going now, my children might not get the chance to see animals in the wild, so I’m truly grateful to have had the opportunity to have experienced it.”

COLUM N

COLU M N

When the savannah is empty, you’ll only have yourself to blame My image of what a real savannah should look like was formed when I was seven years old at the premiere of Disney’s film The Lion King. An image with lots of animals, lush greenery and constant interaction between all of nature’s different beings. But, as an adult, when I got the chance to visit a real savannah, I could only be disappointed. Now, 25 years after The Lion King’s premiere, Disney has made an updated version of the classic film. And again, a generation of children will be deceived in our cinemas by what once was. The truth is that the film’s iconic opening scene, where herds of animals stomp on the ground, is now more fiction than reality.

DID YOU KNOW THAT RHINOS ... are ungulates and that there are five now living rhino species – black rhinos and white rhinos that live in Africa, and Sumatran rhinos, Javan rhinos and Indian rhinos that live in the tropical forests and marshlands of Asia. ... Latin name ‘rhinoceros’ means ‘horned nose’. Rhino horns are made entirely of keratin, just like our nails and hair, and have no core of bone. … have no natural enemies, yet are very easily scared. When they feel threatened, their first instinct is to attack what scares them head-on – whether it is another animal or a completely harmless object. … are herbivores and munch on grass, fruits, leaves, bark and twigs – all day long

Our children are usually true animal lovers. They show their interest in animals when they politely ask to pet a stranger’s dog, wish for teddy bears, or watch one of the many cartoons that are set in the animal kingdom over and over again. Some children lose interest. But for others, their interest will grow until one day they want to see the inspiration behind the film scenes themselves, so they travel to see the wild animals in their natural habitat. But by then it’ll be too late. Unfortunately, there are lots of indications that we are the last generation to able to see many of the big mammals in the wild. And yet, we selfishly continue to buy the latest fashions, or take weekend flights to Paris to enjoy a piece of beef fillet. So when your children ask about the savannah... don’t blame the politicians... tell them the truth, you simply didn’t care enough. We’ve stuck our heads in the sand for far too long now. For many, our considerable consumer power is an unexploited tool. And yet, many parents will take their children to the cinema to fill their heads with false images of the savannah. But when the savannah is empty, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

… are one of the largest mammals in the world and can reach 1.8 metres / 6 feet tall and weigh up to 2,500 kilos / 5,500 pounds. That’s about as much as 30 adult men put together! … usually live alone, but are often seen with oxpeckers on their backs. Oxpeckers are birds that eat the irritating parasites living on the rhino’s thick skin. … are in danger of extinction. There are about 29,000 rhinos left in the wild, compared to 500,000 in the early 1900s. The biggest threat they face is poaching for their horns, which are used in traditional medicine, particularly in Asia.

DANIEL WILKE Head of Marketing The Perfect World Foundation

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T H E LEGEN D OF LEGEN DS

S I R DAV I D AT T E N B O ROU G H I’m sitti ng i n a crowded, tempora r y event space i n t he m idd le of t he Bota n ica l Ga rdens i n Got henburg , Sweden. It’s lunchti me on Thursday 6 September 2018. The sun is sh i n i ng a nd t here a re severa l hund red people here w it h me. Some a re qu ite ord i na r y Got henburgers l i ke me, ot hers a re fa mous people f rom t he worlds of pol itics, spor ts, T V, t he Br itish roya l fa m i ly, a nd t he a r ts a nd enter ta i n ment i ndustr y. In shor t, t he place is teem i ng w it h celebr ities. A l l of us i n t he aud ience, even t he fa mous people, have one t h i ng i n com mon – we feel tremendously sma l l compa red to t he g ia nt on stage beh i nd t he spea ker pod iu m. Sir Dav id Attenborough beg i ns by con f ir m i ng t he state of our pla net i n h is d isti nctive voice, a nd what we need to do. We’re a l l l isten i ng i ntent ly, captivated by ever y word he says. A nd we bel ieve h i m. A s you do when you f irst see a nd hea r a legend spea k .

BY JENNY LIDANDER

PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ / PETRA BJÖRSTAD

P O R T R A I T AT T E N B O R O U G H

We are causing these dangers, but we can deal with them. So, I thank you for inviting me here and I congratulate you The Perfect World Foundation for ever ything you are doing, and may your message spread far and wide.

HIS M ESSAGE IS SI MPLE and terrifying, but also hopeful. Our planet and its environment are in grave danger. The situation is worse now than at any other time in the history of humanity, and we’ve brought about this dangerous situation ourselves. However, we also have the ability to manage the threat. One of the biggest problems is that we humans use fossil fuels, for energy, which leads to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. This in turn leads to the enhanced greenhouse effect, and an unnatural overheating of our planet. The world’s oceans are becoming acidified, desertification is increasing, and the polar ice caps are melting. This imbalance is a threat to everything that lives on our planet.

We humans must be prepared to change our lifestyles. Attenborough believes that we must also convince our politicians that we understand the issues, and that we are ready to let them take the long-term decisions necessary to restore our planet’s health. These decisions won’t produce positive results immediately, and they might not help to re-elect politicians, but they can save our planet. He reminds us that in just a few years, we humans actually managed to take action and improve the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica by stopping our use of aerosol sprays containing freons. He also reminds us of the tireless commitment of individuals and organizations that ultimately saved the whales from the threat of extinction. A serendipitous chain of events led to this unique opportunity for me to hear David Attenborough speak in person. He is in Gothenburg as the keynote speaker at The Perfect World Foundation’s climate conference in the Botanical Gardens, and to receive the honorary ‘Conservationist of the Year’ award during the evening’s award ceremony. He’s also going to plant a tree. The tree symbolises the start of The Perfect World’s global tree planting project ‘The Attenborough Forest’. The goal is to plant one million trees, and Attenborough himself breaks ground first in the Botanical Gardens, surrounded by massive media attention.

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How could I look my grandchildren in the eye and say I knew what was happening to the world and did nothing. There are things that can be done, and we can do things together.

I N TH E U K , it’s basically a ‘crime’ not to love and admire David Attenborough, the British zoologist and presenter who has devoted his life to exploring and filming our planet’s wildlife. For over 65 years, he has educated us about our planet in his own dynamic way and let us experience animals and nature from all four corners of the world. Through his unique and convincing style, we’ve learned what the conditions are like on all continents – in deserts, rainforests, mountains, jungles, and oceans – both above and below the surface. Attenborough has arguably seen more of our planet than any other person, and through his extensive work has made us think about our responsibility as humans. His lifelong interest in wildlife, nature and environmental issues has made him famous all over the world, and in his home country he is called ‘a national treasure’. He was also voted Britain’s most trustworthy living person, in a UK survey.

David Attenborough knew early on what his calling was in life, and it has been reported that as a child he collected fossils and eggshells from birds and documented them systematically. Naturally, he also chose to study science, geology and zoology at the University of Cambridge. After his studies he was recruited by the BBC (UK’s public service broadcaster) in the 1950s, with the task of creating TV programmes. Using modern film technology coupled with his dedication, he created a completely new standard for nature and wildlife documentaries. Under his leadership, animals were always filmed and studied in their natural habitat, at a respectful distance. He has documented primates, sharks, birds, snakes, octopuses, whales, polar bears, lions, tortoises, insects, rhinos and many, many more well-known and newly discovered species. Through his innovative documentaries, Attenborough brought the natural world into the homes of the TV viewers. He didn’t only write, produce and film the documentaries, but also guided the viewers by narrating the episodes with his distinctive voice.

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People won’t care to save something they don’t know anything about. It’s my mission to report about the planet and its state.

500 M I LLION PEOPLE are estimated to have seen the television series ‘Life on Earth’, which premiered in 1979. In episode 13 of the series, Attenborough took viewers on a journey through the earth’s development – from the first signs of life to complex animal species. ‘Life on Earth’ included Attenborough’s encounter with a group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda (episode 12), and the famous clip where the gorillas took off his shoes while filming. The viewers didn’t want the series to end – this was something no one had never seen before. Life on Earth still counts as one of the classics from Attenborough’s long and world famous television career. Some of the other historic Attenborough productions include Zoo Quest, Planet Earth, Blue Planet, The Living Planet, The Life of Mammals, The Truth About Climate Change, Great Barrier Reef, Frozen Planet, and Dynasties. But there are also a large number of other masterpieces in the form of documentaries, films, books, lectures and TV series where Attenborough and his team travel the world to educate, delight, and astonish us. OU R PL A NET, Attenborough’s latest documentary series, was released in 2019 on the streaming service Netflix. During the course of the series, viewers are shown how they can help to save our planet, fight climate change, and preserve biodiversity. I N A DDITION TO HIS WOR K with nature and wildlife documentaries, Attenborough’s incredible knowledge and expertise in environmental issues has given him the opportunity to act as an adviser to many of the world’s leading politicians in the EU, the UN, the US, and the UK. He has sat down for talks with President Obama, Buckingham Palace, and many of major international environmental organizations, and most recently spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. David Attenborough is always up-to-date and active, and has no plans to retire despite the fact that he’s 93 years old. And as he says himself, why would he stop working while he can still contribute to the world? He acted as a genuine ‘influencer’ long before the concept was invented, and has inspired a huge number of people to think about how we should live in harmony with nature. When Sir David Attenborough speaks, people listen – and so they should.

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SAID ABOUT SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH The undisputed father of modern nature documentary Professor Dumbledore of the animals The hero of the environment The world’s most beloved broadcaster A lifetime inspirational speaker The most calming voice on earth The Godfather of natural history The James Bond of wildlife broadcasting

The natural world, this mysterious thing, you can’t define, it’s larger than life. The climate change is the biggest threat to our planet in thousands of years and since I can still walk, talk and act, it would be a waste not to keep active SO W H Y DO W E LISTEN so intently when Attenborough speaks? Many articles have been written about his voice, his knowledge and his significant contributions. But when I hear him talk, it still makes me wonder what it is that makes me feel such a reverence for him. His warm and wise voice creates a sense of security for anyone who has seen his programmes or listened to him in other contexts, and this extends across all generations and lifestyles. My 10-year-old son puts down his computer game and comes running when he hears Attenborough’s voice on television, shouting, “Oh, it’s him.” One of my best friends has told me, she and her family have a ‘sacred tradition’ on Sunday evenings – they all get together to watch Planet Earth. It’s something they all like, despite their different interests and packed schedules. And for the first time ever, my international colleagues were really impressed with my plans when I said, “Sir David Attenborough is in Gothenburg, and I’m going to see him.”

It’s obvious that Attenborough has a great sense of humour when you read about him or watch online interviews. He makes fun of himself, and his narrative style, by popping up in unexpected contexts like music videos and comedy programmes. Despite this, he still manages to get his important messages across through his more light-hearted contributions. He often says in interviews that he tries to focus on facts in his productions, but that he has often been sad and heartbroken behind the camera when witnessing animals suffering and difficult situations. This empathy and his personal style, together with his way of delivering his knowledge and experience, means that people look up to him in the same way as they do to a parent, a mentor, a great teacher, or a superhero. He’s just the kind of world leader we need today.

and engaged and do what I can for the world.

AS I WATCH DAV I D ATTENBOROUGH plant that symbolic first tree for the tree planting project in the Botanical Gardens, and as he receives his honorary award from The Perfect World Foundation later that day with the same tireless energy and joy, I think to myself – what I’m actually witnessing is pure happiness. David Attenborough probably feels happy that he’s able to contribute so much to the world, its animals, the environment, and mankind. It must be satisfying to have managed to live your life creating so much good that neither you nor anyone else ever wants you to stop.

“I’ve been so incredibly lucky,” says Attenborough in interviews with reporters from all over the world after the climate conference and tree planting in the Botanical Gardens. “I’ve been able to work with something I love, got to experience so many fantastic things, and travel to every part of the world I’ve ever wanted to see,” he states with a big smile. But I wonder quietly to myself – is it really luck? I think it’s got more to do with talent and relentless commitment. Happiness probably comes from the feeling of making a difference to the world, at the same time as you’ve been able to work your whole life with what you love and value the most. That’s why when David Attenborough speaks – we listen.

S U S TA I N A B L E S O L U T I O N S

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We are proud to collaborate with the Perfect World Foundation in offering this Limited Edition Halp Capsule. From every purchase, a donation will be made to The Perfect World Foundation to help protect our planet.

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“Our world is wonderful, please protect it!” Sir David Attenborough

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INSTITUTE T H E P E R F E C T WO R L D I N S T I T U T E

COOPE R AT ION FOR PL A N ET-F R I E N DLY PROG R E S S W hen t he Kenya n pa leoa nt h ropolog ist, w i ld l i fe conser vation ist, a nd pol iticia n, Dr R icha rd Lea key was presented w it h t he honora r y awa rd ‘Conser vation ist of t he Yea r’ dur i ng The Per fect World Foundation’s w i ld l i fe conser vation ga la ‘Save The Elepha nt’ i n 2016, he poi nted out i n h is accepta nce speech, “Just stoppi ng t he ivor y trade won’t help i f our elepha nts d ie of hunger a nd t h irst due to cl i mate cha nge.”

BY LARS JACOBSSON, CO-FOUNDER THE PERFECT WORLD FOUNDATION / CEO TEXEL ENERGY STORAGE

There are numerous ways of helping the environment and our planet’s wildlife in need. The Perfect World Institute (TPWI) is the branch of The Perfect World Foundation that focuses on the development of planet-smart solutions with technologies that present opportunities to create the rapid and necessary changes that must urgently take place. These changes are, for example, to reduce the use of fossil fuels and thereby reduce CO2 emissions which in turn counteracts global warming, as well as the development of new technologies and products to reduce the use of plastic, microplastic contamination, chemical usage, etc.

TPWI’s mission is to work as an independent unit, with the sole focus on making the world a better place through the development of new sustainable, planet-friendly and climate-smart solutions. There are already many companies on the market that develop new innovative technologies, but there are also many companies that do everything in their power to protect and promote their own technology, even at the expense of more sustainable initiatives, that get pushed out of the market. Our view is that one of the most effective ways to speed up the 97

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Developing innovative solutions requires more than just new technologies. TPWI’s mission is to work as an independent unit, with the sole focus on making the world a better place through the development of new sustainable, planet-friendly and climate-smart solutions. process and optimize the development of new planet-smart technologies is through an independent, non-profit organization, whose only interest is to create a world that is as perfect as possible for our future generations. The non-profit organization, The Perfect World Foundation, was officially established in 2010, and at the same time United Sun Systems (now TEXEL Energy Storage) was set up by the same founders, Lars and Ragnhild Jacobsson. Right from the start they decided to donate a large part of their common shares in TEXEL to The Perfect World Foundation, to secure the organization’s important future work. The innovation company TEXEL is developing a new battery technology for energy storage that will reduce the need to use fossil fuels and actualize the use of renewable energy. While working on developing a cost-effective and sustainable solar energy technology and the battery storage solution (TEXEL), with the objective of reducing global CO2 emissions, the idea for an independent institute emerged. An institute that independently would unite the world’s leading politicians, specialists and companies in different fields so they could share their experiences, regardless of their financial interests, with a common goal; to quickly develop commercial and planet-smart solutions. We can all agree that there is no single solution that will solve all of the world’s problems, but the various viable technologies and solutions are important pieces in the global planet-smart puzzle. But developing innovative solutions requires more than just new technologies. Often, lots of technical expertise, experience, large global networks and investors are required to help finance the idea and the development of the technology, as well as government support, communication with universities, and state laboratories. In addition, commercial and industrial knowledge, industrial and production networks, customer relations, commercial financing, legal competence for patents, written contracts and much more may be necessary. Much of this is available and well established through The Perfect World Institute and our global network.

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OU R ECOS YST EM’S T I N Y FR I EN DS

S AV E T H E QU E E N Bees, bu mblebees a nd ot her i nsects m ight not be as easy to love as majestic elepha nts or mag n i f icent rh i nos, but t hey a re essentia l for biod iversit y a nd a l l l i fe on ea r t h.

BY THE PERFECT WORLD FOUNDATION

The school project ‘Save The Queen’ is part of The Perfect World Foundation’s campaign ‘Save the Pollinators’, and was initiated by Amanda Elmander. The project is run by Amanda and her husband, former professional football player Johan Elmander, with great commitment to the cause. For this couple, getting involved in environmental issues came naturally.

‘Save The Queen’ is a great slogan. Which queen are you talking about? “Queen Bees, as a symbol for the project. The project is about teaching children how important pollinators, like bees, bumblebees and other pollinating insects and animals really are. But the project also aims to increase awareness about the fact that we are all part of a large eco system, where we all depend on each other for our own survival. Insects might not be very cute, and they aren’t generally loved in the same way elephants or gorillas are. Some of us are afraid of getting stung by them or even feel disturbed by them when having summer meals in the garden. So to understand how important they are, and actively participate in the work of ensuring the pollinators well-being, despite the fact that we may not actually ‘like’ them, is an exciting and challenging task.

PHOTO: PRIVATE / STREET STUDIOS

Insects and pollinators are all around us, and pollination occurs everywhere, which means that there are great opportunities to do things here and now, unlike projects with exotic animals that can feel very far from our everyday lives. With the Greta Thunberg ‘movement’, we think it became obvious that children want to get involved and it’s our responsibility (as adults) to show them ways to counteract the environmental problems that we are facing. Both children and adults are suffering from climate anxiety, and a productive way to release some of the stress, we believe, is to focus on solutions and things that we can actually do something about. Pollinators are our neighbours, so we can all help them!”

How was the project executed? “Schools in our local region (Gothenburg, Sweden) were invited to participate in a competition to build insect hotels, and to make a short film clip about the importance of pollinators. To learn about pollinators is part of the curriculum for fourth graders in Sweden, so they were our target group. We visited as many of the schools participating in the competition as we could, and it was an amazing experience to see how engaged the children where in the project. We got a lot of ques101

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WHAT ARE POLLINATION AND POLLINATORS?

wasps and flies are also important in

insect hotels in nature, but there

the pollination process, as are birds,

is a shortage in urban areas, where

Pollinators pollinate around 90% of

bats and some mammals.

people like to clean up and keep

all flowering plants, which makes up a

things tidy.

lot of what we eat, from strawberries

WHAT IS AN INSECT HOTEL?

to potatoes. When a flower is

Insect hotels can be very different

The hotel can be anything from a

pollinated, seeds are formed which in

depending on which insect you want

pile of grass and leaves to a piece of

turn grow to become new plants. For

to create it for. The hotel will give

wood with drilled holes of different

example, if pollinators don’t visit an

insects a place to live, lay eggs, and

sizes. Insect hotels should ideally be

apple tree, there will be no fruit on

shelter from the weather, as well

in a place with morning sun, and just

that tree. Bees and bumblebees don’t

as providing a place to hibernate

like us insects need food and water

do all the work – butterflies, beetles,

in the winter. There are plenty of

close to home.

Both children and adults are suffering from climate anxiety, and a productive way to release some of the stress, we believe, is to focus on solutions and things that we can actually do something about.

tions that we had to take back to, and ask, our support team at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. At the end of the project all of the schools submitted their film clips, and it was a lot of fun and hard work to pick a winner from all of the amazing contributions.”

Where did the idea for ‘Save The Queen’ come from? “Part of The Perfect World’s work is to raise funds to support wildlife and nature conservation projects all over the world. But another equally important mission is to raise awareness and share knowledge. We have children ourselves, and through our work with the organization it has become increasingly clear how important it’s for our children to be given the right values so they can protect our planet from the very beginning. Adults are more 102

set in their ways, and they often find it more difficult to be part of change. For children, it comes naturally. You tell them how things are, and what needs to be done, and they are more likely to act accordingly, that’s why we wanted the project to focus on school children… our future pollinator advocates.”

So are you pollinator experts? “We don’t know as much as we’d like to about pollinators, so it was great to team up with Gothenburg Botanical Garden, who provided support and the educational material. By working together, we could achieve our common goal of increasing awareness about why pollinators are so important.” Why is it so crucial to take care of pollinators? “We are seeing rapid and negative changes for our insects, and species are dying out. Without pollinators much of the food we eat will disappear, and biodiversity would suffer. It’s fascinating when you learn more about pollinators to realize how clever nature is. Certain insects and plants live in symbiosis – a specific plant and a specific pollinator are dependent on each other for their own survival, as only this particular pollinator can pollinate this particular plant. Neither of them can survive without the

AMANDA and JOHAN ELMANDER, ’beesy’ building insect hotels.

other, and that’s why we have to protect all of our pollinators to preserve our biodiversity… and have access to food.”

What threatens pollinators? “Pesticides, monoculture and climate change are the major reasons why insect species are dying out. It’s scary that pollinators aren’t taken into account when regulations for pesticides are determined, since we know that we will have nothing to harvest without them. Whether it’s pesticides that are killing bees in Brazil, or heat waves killing bats in Australia, we will all suffer the consequences of vanishing food supply.” What can we all do to help pollinators? “If you have a garden… don’t mow the lawn, or at least part of it. Insects love it when parts of your garden are allowed to grow wild, and the lawnmower itself also destroys ‘insect homes’ and potential insect food. You can build an insect hotel. In spring place the ‘hotel’ where

there is morning sun, shallow water within reach, and preferably a meadow close by, if possible. Lots of nursery and garden centres sell special planting seeds that are particularly suitable for pollinators. Making an insect hotel is incredibly easy, it could be just not mowing the lawn or keeping, and not burning, some of your garden wastes, as this will create wonderful conditions for insects. Pesticides are one of the reasons our insects are disappearing. Buying locally grown and seasonal foods means less transportation and less emission, while supporting local growers. For example, by buying locally grown honey, you help beekeepers, bees and the vegetation in the area. If you eat meat, buy it from nearby organic farms, where the animals graze outside and are part of creating viable conditions for insects. Also consider the pesticides and fertilizers you use in your own garden, and make sure they are as organic as possible so they don’t destroy the flourishing natural flora or fauna.” 103

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T H E U N E X PECT ED R EL AT IONSH I P BET W EEN

E L E PH A N T S A N D BE E S Joi n i ng forces is one of t he most power f u l i nstr u ments for a cha r it y orga n ization t hat a i ms to ra ise awa reness. Spread i ng k nowledge to as ma ny people as possible is a huge cha l lenge. The Per fect World Foundation is a lways on t he look out for people a nd compa n ies who sha re our bel ieves a nd who a re eager to joi n us i n our m ission. Toget her we ca n reach a broader aud ience, a nd a mong ma ny ot her t h i ngs, help people to ma ke better choices, si mply by buy i ng products t hat a re better for t he env iron ment.

BY AMANDA ELMANDER

PHOTO: LERNBERGER STAFSING

One of these prosperous collaborations we have, is together with Mattias Stafsing and Patrik Lernberger, founders and owners of the Swedish beauty brand ‘Lernberger Stafsing’, that have been Perfect World ambassadors for many years now.

How did you get in contact with The Perfect World Foundation? “We’re driven by our passion of beauty. Part of that is about the environment and health, which is how our paths crossed with The Perfect World Foundation and our close friend Amanda Elmander, also works as a volunteer for the organization. As part of our support, we help celebrated guests get glamorous for the red carpet before the annual gala. It’s a prime example of how style and substance meet and raise the bar. Most recently, we helped Sarah, Duchess of York, to get red carpet-ready. This, in turn, led her to choose work together with us when her daughter Princess Eugenie got married last autumn. These kinds of meetings become possible thanks to our work within beauty while they also help us reach out to people with our message and spread the word in the long run.” This year, Patrik and Mattias pledge to make a bigger commitment to The Perfect World Foundation by dedicating a product in collaboration with the organization. In the process of deciding what cause would be the aim of this campaign, it soon became very clear.

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The ‘S.O.S Barrier Repair Cream’ and The Perfect World Foundation… what’s the story? “The product that we were in the process of launching when we begun our discussions with The Perfect World Foundation is a rescue cream, to be used on skin when sensitive or damaged. When we decided on the name ‘S.O.S Barrier Repair Cream’, it just felt like a perfect match with the threatened situation of the pollinators, they are also in a S.O.S situation, and in need of help and rescue.” Now all that was missing was a The Perfect World project that would align with what Patrik and Mattias wanted to dedicate their product and proceeds to and one amazing project stood out. The human-wildlife conflict with elephants in Africa is a big problem. As agriculture is spreading out the risk of farmers’ crops and properties being destroys by elephants increase. But nature is clever, and discovering that elephants are afraid of bees turned out to be a welcome solution. A local project realized that they could lead the elephants away from areas where people are living by placing beehives at strategic locations and minimize the conflict. The impact of the beehives doesn’t stop with just easing up the human-wildlife conflict, it also provides farmers with better crops, adds an extra source of income by selling honey and beeswax, it saves trees from being destroyed by the elephants passing by, and helps biodiversity thrive.

“We are currently replacing our ingredients of animal origin, such as keratin and silk protein, with plant based alternatives. At the moment, about 85 percent of our haircare range is vegan. Our ambition is to reach 100 percent by 2021. To date, we have about 70 products in our product range, and only three of them contain water-soluble silicone, which more often is a standard ingredient in beauty products on the market. Silicones give hair and skin products a superior feel, but are also harmful to the environment, so we’re currently challenging our chemists and suppliers to develop products with alternative eco-friendly ingredients. Searching for ingredients in nature makes us dependent on pollinators – who produce the natural ingredients for our products. Therefore, supporting the planet’s pollinators and rising awareness about their endangered situation was an obvious choice for us.”

What’s the ambition, what do you hope your product will be able to contribute to? “Our goal is to raise money to educate beekeepers, buy and put up plenty of beehives, and also plant a community garden to provide the bees with nectar, to keep them happy and alert in their ‘job’ to keep the elephants at a distance.” Ragnhild Jacobsson CEO of The Perfect World Foundation concludes, “We’re super pleased with our collaboration with Lernberger Stafsing. What we aspire to do with all of our collaborations is to find companies who share our dream of a better world. We strive to find a link between what they do and a cause that we work to improve, and most importantly, to support people and organizations worldwide that dedicate their lives to projects that are curtail for the survival of endangered wildlife and biodiversity.” 105

PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÃ&#x2013;

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T H E E XC LUS I V E SC A N DI N AV I A N

W I L DL I F E CONSE RVAT ION AWA R D Every year The Perfect World Foundation awards a significant person who has contributed to the conservation of our natural world. This person has also, maybe most importantly, contributed to increase global awareness about the importance of protecting our planet and its wildlife, to ensure a sustainable future for all its inhabitants. The crystal award statuette 'The fragile Rhino' is uniquely designed and made by Orrefors Kosta Boda, the renown and historic Swedish glassblowing and glass design company. In 2020, Prince Albert II of Monaco was the seventh ‘Conservationist of Year’ to receive the prestigious recognition, awarded on 16 September during The Perfect World Foundation’s event CLIMATE AID, in Gothenburg, Sweden. For previous award recipients (2014–2019), please see the following pages.

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GR ETA T H U N BE RG “Many people say that Sweden is just a small country and it doesn't matter what we do, but I've learnt that you are never to small to make a difference.” – Greta Thunberg Miss Greta Thunberg is a Swedish climate activist, and the youngest The Perfect World Award recipient to date. She sparked an international movement to fight climate change beginning in 2018, with the simple message ‘School strike for climate’ handwritten on poster board, Thunberg began skipping school on Fridays and protesting outside the Swedish Parliament. Through social media, her actions have spread and influenced millions of young people all over the world to organize and protest. Launching ‘Fridays For Future’, Thunberg and other concerned youths throughout the world have continued to pressure leaders and lawmakers to act on climate change through their regular walkouts. Thunberg has also travelled the world, meeting with global leaders and speaking at assemblies to demand climate solutions and a recommitment to the Paris Agreement. As the face of the climate youth movement, Thunberg has also been invited to speak at numerous climate events all over the world. In December 2018, her emotional speech at the United Nations COP24 in Katowice, Poland, went viral. Thunberg’s message is direct – listen to the scientists – and her actions and movement has shown that the young generation are committed to rise up and demand a sustainable future for the planet, humanity and wildlife. Thunberg was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in March 2019, and a few months later she became the youngest individual ever to be honoured as Time's ‘Person of the Year’.

DAV I D AT T E N BOROUGH “The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.” – David Attenborough Sir David Attenborough knew early on what his calling was in life, and it has been reported that as a child he collected fossils and eggshells from birds and documented them systematically. Naturally, he also chose to study science, geology and zoology at the University of Cambridge. After his studies he was recruited by the BBC (UK’s public service broadcaster) in the 1950s, with the task of creating TV programmes. Using modern film technology coupled with his dedication, he created a completely new standard for nature and wildlife documentaries. Under his leadership, animals were always filmed and studied in their natural habitat, at a respectful distance. Through 108

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his innovative documentaries, Attenborough brought the natural world into the homes of the TV viewers. He didn’t only write, produce and film the documentaries, he also guided the viewers by narrating the episodes with his distinctive voice. Attenborough is probably the one person who has brought us the most knowledge about our planet’s natural world. All from his television series ‘Life on Earth’, which premiered in 1979, and is estimated to been seen by 500 million people, to his documentary series ‘Our Planet’, released in 2019, in which we get to experience our planet's natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures. And in 2020, with his documentary film ‘A life on our Planet’ Attenborough tells us how we need to work with nature, rather than against it … to save it. In addition to his work with nature and wildlife documentaries, Attenborough’s incredible knowledge and expertise in environmental issues has given him the opportunity to act as an adviser to many of the world’s leading politicians in the EU, the UN, the US, and the UK, and as speaker at major international environmental forums around the world.

S Y LV I A E A R L E “Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.” – Sylvia Earle Dr Sylvia Earle’s bottomless passion for exploring, understanding and protecting the ocean and its inhabitants started when she was just a 12-year-old girl moving to the west coast of Florida, with her family. This was her first encounter with the sea, and the beginning of a lifelong love story. Earle, one of our times most prominent oceanographers and marine biologists, has over seven decades discovered and explored the ocean. She was one of the first to dive with SCUBA equipment, she has lived underwater in over 10 research projects, helped develop underwater robots, tried more than 30 different types of underwater vehicles and even, wearing the underwater suit JIM, walked on the seabed at 380 meters deep. With her presence in the field she has paved way for women in science, and she has always had the courage to stand for what she knows, because at heart Earle is foremost a scientist. In 1990, she was appointed Chief scientist of the US Administration, NOAA, a prestigious role that didn’t leave much room for a passionate and outspoken researcher. In order to not be limited in her mission to protect and preserve our planet’s oceans, nor to compromise on her freedom to express herself, based on what she knew as a scientist, Earle resigned two years later. Today, Earle works with her own foundation to increase interest and knowledge of how we can all protect and respect our oceans. She turns knowledge into hope through her work with marine national parks, that she calls Hope Spots, which provides proof that the ocean can recover and that we can create balance in our relationship with nature. 109

R ICH A R D L E A K E Y “We will burn ivory and we hope every country in the globe will support Kenya and say never again should we trade ivory.” – Richard Leakey Dr Richard Leakey is probably the one person who has done the most for the conservation of the African elephant, turning the escalating extinction of the species to a rise of the African elephant population. Leakey is a Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist, and political figure, who was responsible for extensive fossil finds related to human evolution and who campaigned publicly for responsible management of the environment in East Africa. 1968–1989 Leakey was director of the National Museums of Kenya, and was in 1989 made director of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department (the precursor to KWS – the Kenya Wildlife Service). Devoted to the preservation of Kenya’s wildlife and sanctuaries, Leakey embarked on a campaign to reduce corruption within the KWS, crack down on ivory poachers, and restore the security of Kenya’s national parks. In doing so he made numerous enemies. In 1993 he survived a plane crash in which he lost both his legs below the knee. It has never been proven that the plane was sabotaged (but Leakey has no doubts). In Leakey’s war against the ivory poachers he was ruthless and brilliantly successful. He raised a 100 million pounds overseas and instructed his rangers to start shooting poachers instead of tracking them. 2016, in Nairobi, Kenya, Leakey torched millions of pounds' worth of stockpiled ivory – the largest ivory burn in history – and lobbied successfully for a world trade ban. For the first time in over a century, African elephant numbers began to rise.

JA N E GOODA L L “We are part of the animal kingdom, not separated from it, we could have a blood transfusion from a chimp if it matched the blood group, we really could, and the other way around too.” – Jane Goodall Dr Jane Goodall is one of the best known scientific researchers and conservationists in the world, and she became famous in 1960s for her ground breaking studies of wild chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. At this time, 26-year-old Goodall was a novice and specifically hired by famed paleoanthropologist and archaeologist Louis Leakey who’d been looking for a mind unbiased by scientific theory. Goodall’s work in Tanzania made her a pioneer in the field and her observations in the 1960s – revealing that chimpanzees eat meat, make and use tools, express emotions, have a sense of humour and laugh, have personalities, and have communication signals like kissing, embracing, holding hands, patting on the back, 110

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shaking the fist, all of them done in the same context as we do them – transformed the world’s understanding of humankind’s closest relative. Through her studies, Goodall realized that the animals and nature needed to be protected. So in 1977, Goodall stared shifting her time from science to activism, and dedicated her mission to environmental education, wildlife conservation and saving the declining primate population from extinction. Today, almost six decades after entering Gombe National Park, she considers her work more important than ever as poaching, wild animal trade and loss of habitat due to human activities are still threatening the endangered primates to expiation.

M A R K SH A N D “I always say that basically elephants are a lot more intelligent than human beings… they are quiet, they are superior, they are wise. Without them we are pretty well lose, we lose them, we lose the forest, we lose everything.” – Mark Shand Mr Mark Shand said his life changed in 1988 when he on his travels in India fell in love with a beautiful female Asian elephant named Tara. It was though Tara he learnt that the Asian elephant could be teetering on the brink of extinction. The human-elephant conflict across India was out of control, and the increasing pressure of human population was destroying the forest of the Asian elephant. To survive, starving herds had no choice than to raid crops, causing damage, destruction and death. This realisation was why Shand in 2002 co-founded the wildlife foundation ‘Elephant Family’, to make sure that he could do something about the human-elephant conflict and readdress the balance. Shand dedicated the last 27 years of his life to saving the Asian elephant, and made it his life’s purpose to bring this forgotten animal to our attention and became their greatest guardian. Shand was a British travel writer and wildlife conservationist, known for his nature documentary ‘Nature’ (1982), ‘Expedition India’ (2000) and ‘In the Wild’ (1992). He published his first travel book ‘Skulduggery’ in 1987, based on an expedition to Irian Jaya in Indonesia, followed by ‘Travels on My Elephant’ in 1992, ‘Queen of the Elephants’ in 1996 (awarded the Prix Litteraire d'Amis award) and ‘River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra’ in 2003. ‘Travels on My Elephant’ tells the story of Shand’s travels trough India with his elephant Tara. The book became a bestseller and won the ‘Travel Writer of the Year Award’ at the British Book Awards in 1992. In 2014, Mark Shand was nominated to be the first recipient of The Perfect World Foundation Award as ‘Conservationist of the Year’. To all our grief Shand unexpectedly past away by a freak accident weeks before the award ceremony and the award was accepted on his behalf by his sister Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and his brother-in-law Price Charles, royal presidents of Elephant family, accompanied by Ruth Ganesh, Principal Trustee, and her sister Mary Powys. Mark Shand was a tremendous inspiration to The Perfect World Foundation, and will always remain so in the future. 111

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C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H E U

E U R E P R E S E N TA T I V E P I E R R E S C H E L L E K E N S

A BOU T C L I M A T E C H A N G E A N D W I LDLI FE E X T I NCT ION Biod iversit y, hu ma n activ it y, globa l wa r m i ng , t he Pa r is ag reement, cl i mate cha nge pol icies a nd ta rgets f rom a EU perspective. BY SEBASTIAN MARX

PHOTO: EU OFFICIAL

across the EU take to the streets strongly promoting firmer political action to fight climate change: How do you see this influencing the EU? Do you feel pushed to do more? “Yes, I think we are listening to their messages. I always think it’s a positive thing when youngsters get involved into politics and this campaign has clearly put climate change higher onto the agenda again. A lot has already been done and a lot is going on in regard to climate change. For example, we work to implement the Paris agreement and to concretise the EU’s commitment towards 2030 and we are working on a long-term policy towards 2050. But clearly the campaign that youngsters have sparked has given us an increased push and it has certainly increased the profile of the climate change issue.”

Mr Pierre Schellekens, how long have you been working for the European Commission? “I’ve been working for the European Commission for 23 years now. I joined the first group of Swedes working for the EU in 1996 as a result of Swedish membership in 1995.” What is your role in the European Commission? “Today, I work as the deputy head of Cabinet of Commissioner Arias Cañete. He is the Commissioner for Energy and Climate Change. My role is to support the Commissioner in formulating the future EU climate policy.” Talking about Climate Change, in a time where young people

You mentioned the Paris agreement, the agreement within the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aiming to limit the threat of climate change on a global scale. How do you see this agreement now when we have big actors like the USA redrawing from the agreement? Do you think wecan live up to the agreement on a global scale? “The important thing to say is, that the overwhelming majority of the international community remain committed to the Paris agreement. We have clearly seen that a push is continuing in Europe, but not only in Europe. In Asia, in Africa, in Latin America we see a clear will to deliver on the Paris agreement. So I would still say, that there is a clear international commitment to the Paris agreement which provides a framework for how we are supposed to deal with climate change in the years to come. Now we have a debate about how we can try to make sure that the Paris agreement, which is the basis, is further strengthened in terms of ambition and in terms of meeting it’s fundamental objectives of avoiding climate change by keeping a global temperature rise during this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

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Human impact on climate change is one important issue, but we also start to see big effects of human activities on various species. The United Nations just came up with a new report, which states that about 1 million species will be disappearing soon if we don’t do anything mainly due to deforestation and agriculture. How is this reflected on the European level? “There are mainly two reasons for the challenges that we are seeing for our biodiversity, which is a fundamental challenge and very worrying tendency. One of them is of course direct human activity in terms of deforestation and agriculture. But the other one is climate change. By successfully addressing climate change we are also addressing the loss of biodiversity. We therefore focus on our work on climate change, but the EU also has its dedicated policies on biodiversity, where we define our targets. The strategy aims to halt the loss of biodiversity in the EU and help stop global biodiversity loss by 2020. We remain committed to these international efforts.” Right now, you are also in the difficult process of negotiating a new budget for the EU and quite recently there was a new proposal supported by France, Sweden and some other member states to dedicate 25 percent of the EU budget to climate change action. How realistic do you think these proposals are and would this be enough to successfully tackle Climate Change? “This proposal would mean that 1 Euro out of 4 of the EU budget is directly targeting climate change related measures. That’s quite a lot. Following our proposal for the next EU Budget this would mean around 320 billion Euros dedicated to Climate Change action in the years 2021-2027. Is it realistic? It is very realistic. Today we are nearly at 20 percent in the EU budget being dedicated to tackle climate change so raising it to 25 percent is absolutely realistic. One thing to keep in mind is that addressing climate change is a cost at least in the short term but there are benefits in the long term and these benefits can well exceed the costs. But there is always this need of investing first. This being said, these investments are of an order of magnitude where they remain realistic from the European level. Keeping our current energy model would mean more or less continuing to spend 2 percent of GDP on our energy system. If we want to reach net zero emissions it will be more expensive, and we estimate that we would need to spend 2,8 percent of our GDP in our energy system. This is clearly a lot of money but it does remain within the boundaries of what is fully realistic. This doesn’t take into account many of the benefits that we will see for example in terms of reduced energy imports, where we today pay 266 billion euros in imports of gas and oil into the EU every year. Other benefits in terms of improved air quality and better quality of life, in terms of protected biodiversity, in terms of the fact that we also make our economies 114

more efficient and productive by these measures, also needs to be taken into account.” How do you think that organizations like The Perfect World Foundation play a role in creating change? “When we want to create change there is always awareness-raising involved. It’s true that we currently focus on climate change, but it’s important also to talk about biodiversity and conservation of species and many other important environmental challenges. Organizations like The Perfect World Foundation play an important role in keeping and raising awareness on all these issues. But it’s not only about raising awareness. It’s also about finding solutions. I mean, we can define policies at EU level but the concrete solutions to these issues, like the development of new technologies, generating investments and so forth, they will first and foremost be happening in the real world, outside the EU institutions. The way we help is by creating a stable framework and a strong incentive through the regulations and funding programmes that we set up. But then it’s up to companies, researchers, civil society, national and local politicians and citizens to find these solutions. Climate change won’t be solved by the EU alone. Nor will it be solved only by civil society. It will be solved by working together on these issues.” Finally, Pierre, we talked about the young people taking to the streets and we do have a lot of concerned citizens worrying about climate change. Are you optimistic about our future? “I am and remain fundamentally optimistic. Although we sometimes take too much time, we do have the capacity to resolve the climate change issue. What I find very striking is that reaching a climate neutral world is already possible today by using the technologies we have available. Some of them still need to be deployed on big scale, but they do exist today. It’s more a question of political will. It’s not only about addressing climate change. It’s about changing our societies in a way that I find quite interesting and exciting. It’s about changing the way our cities work, about changing how we deliver and produce our energy and how we create a better quality of life for us all. I’m also very optimistic about what’s happening in the private sector, what companies are innovating and investing in. They’ve really now adhered the message, accepted the science and when private sectors start to move, they move quickly. We should be careful to say that this is a kind of Canossa walk we take to punish ourselves for a greater good. I don’t think it is. I think it’s a clever policy, a policy that we should have carried out whether there is a climate change or not and a policy that simply will improve our quality of live. Of course we will solve this!”

In love with artglass | Bertil Vallien | www.kostaboda.se

orangutans stay with their mothers until they are 7 to 11 years old

orangutans are only found in two places in the world, on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo

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DEST ROYS OR A NGU TA NS’ HOM ES All species of orangutans are critically endangered, mainly due to deforestation in favour of agriculture and oil palm tree plantations, but also because of poaching and pet trade. The orangutans have lost well over 80 percent of their habitat in the last 20 years. Forest fires have been used by the palm oil industry to prepare land for commercial oil palm tree plantations. Orangutans living the greater part of their lives in trees are left homeless, and easy targets for poachers. There are currently about 50,000 to 65,000 orangutans left in the wild, and it’s estimated that about 2,000 to 3,000 orangutans are killed every year. This corresponds to 5 to 8 orangutans being killed every day, and at this rate orangutans are very likely to become completely extinct within 50 years. Furthermore, the illegal pet trade with baby orangutans continues. Hundreds of baby orangutans are each year taken from the wild to be raised as pets. When capturing baby orangutans, the mother is most often killed, and it’s estimated that four to five orangutans are killed for each baby orangutan reaching the black market.

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around 80% of the orangutans’ habitat has been destroyed over the last 20 years

One of the first projects that The Perfect World Foundation got involved in concerned the extinction of orangutans. The biggest threat to these amazing animals is habitat loss, as rainforests are being destroyed to give room for the palm oil industry’s plantations. Palm oil is used in a huge variety of products found in our grocery stores, such as ice cream, chocolate, cakes, juice, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, Nutella, to mention a few. Deforestation due to human expansion, where rainforests are burnt down and destroyed to provide space for people, agriculture and oil palm tree plantations, is the threat that must be urgently stopped to save the orangutan and their habitat. The Perfect World Foundation is working closely with a number of different organizations on site in Borneo and Sumatra, where we have been involved in, amongst others, efforts of providing food for orphan orangutan babies, a simple and tangible project for our sponsoring partners to get involved in. The cost of providing a young orangutan with food for a whole month is no more than around 50 dollars.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to support and help us keep fighting for the voiceless and save our ORANGUTANS.

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HOM ELESS FOR T H E SA K E OF

TOOT H PA S T E A N D S H A M POO Nobody cou ld have a nticipated t he hor rors t hat awa ited Pen i a nd her mom a f ter t hey strayed i nto a v i l lage i n sea rch of food. Their home had been destroyed a nd t he f ra ntic mot her was desperate. Sta r v i ng a nd d isor iented t hey were set upon by a n a ng r y mob of v i l lagers. The adu lt ora ng uta n, considered a pest, was tied up, beaten a nd d row ned. The i mage of l itt le Pen i, eyes w ide w it h fea r, cl i ng i ng to t he back of her dy i ng mot her, is one t hat w i l l haunt me forever.

BY SOPHIE POLLMANN

PHOTO: INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE

The Bornean orangutan population has fallen by nearly 150,000 in the last 16 years. What if I told you that you are partially (and unknowingly) responsible for whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening to the orangutans? Orangutans only exist on two islands, Borneo and Sumatra in Southern Asia. Rapid and relentless deforestation for industrial-scale agriculture, particularly palm oil plantations, leaves orangutans without a home, exposing them to hunters who kill the adults and capture their babies to sell as pets. Conservationists estimate that a further 45,000 will vanish in the next 35 years. The remaining population stands between 70 and 100,000. You can do the math; if nothing changes, we will lose them forever.

PA LM OI L IS USED I N EV ERY THI NG from snack foods to soaps. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s found in over half of all packaged items on our supermarket shelves. Up to 300 football fields of forest are bulldozed every hour to make room for palm plantations. Take a moment to absorb that alarming statistic.

Almost 80 percent of orangutan habitat has been eradicated by human beings in the last 20 years and over 3.5 million hectares of Indonesian and Malaysian forest have been destroyed to make way for palm oil. The demand for palm oil is skyrocketing worldwide. The recent spike in use of palm oil, by the snack food industry in the US, can be traced to it being used as a replacement for the controversial trans fats.

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Orphaned orangutans on their way to feeding at International Animal Rescue’s centre in Borneo. The Perfect World Foundation has contributed to the rehabilitation centre by providing food for 100 baby orangutans.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ORANGUTANS … only live in the tropical rainforests of the two islands of Borneo and Sumatra, in southern Asia. … measure 120-150 centimetres / 4-5 feet, can weigh up to 100 kilos / 220 lbs, and live to be 30 to 40 years old. … live almost their whole lives up in trees. … have extremely long arms. A fully-grown male’s arm span can reach 2 metres / 6.5 feet from fingertip to fingertip. … are one of the closest living relative to us humans. We share 97 percent of our DNA with them. … only get pregnant and give birth every eight years. … stay with their mothers for the first seven years of their lives, and are the animals that stay with their mothers the longest, with the exception of humans. ... are listed as a threatened species. Deforestation has reduced their living space, and together with illegal hunting put the orangutan population at serious risk.

Due to our hunger for palm oil, Indonesia has the highest rate of deforestation in the world. When the forests disappear, so does the wildlife. Irreplaceable wildlife species like the Bornean orangutan are being driven to the brink of extinction. As of now, every third mammal in Indonesia listed under endangered species due to deforestation encroaching on their habitat. And the adverse effects do not stop there. Deforestation releases huge quantities of greenhouse gases, people are also often forcibly removed from their homes. Trace the trickle-down effect of deforestation and you will see that our own species is at risk. OR A NGUTA N M E A NS ‘M A N OF TH E FOR EST’. We share 97 percent of our DNA with them, making the orangutan

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one of our closest living relative. Orangutans are smart, inquisitive and majestic; they have been on this planet for millions of years and in a blink of an eye they are vanishing from the face of the earth. And it’s our doing. If we can’t protect the orangutan; if we don’t care enough to save an animal so closely related to us, then the future is bleak for all threatened species. Orangutans act as umbrella species; if we protect their ecosystem, countless other animal and plant species will be saved as well. This includes us; we need the forests for the health of the planet, our home. IT WAS I N TH E M I D-EIGHTI ES , when I was a small child, that my passion for conservation and animal protection was born. I was watching the news at home in southern Sweden where I

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grew up, when footage from the annual baby seal hunt in Canada came on the screen. I was horrified, and in that moment I decided to help those who have no voice to help themselves. Years later, when I first joined International Animal Rescue’s (IAR’s) head office in the UK, we were mainly an animal rescue charity. Since then our work has expanded to include conservation, protection and re-forestation of forests, law enforcement and tackling the illegal wildlife trade. IAR is fighting every day to save the critically endangered orangutan, and we need help. As expressed by Karmele Llano-Sanchez, IAR’s Program Director and head vet in Borneo; “We are in a crisis and we are running out of time.” PENI, TH E BA BY OR A NGUTA N mentioned earlier, sur-

vived her terrifying ordeal. Despite IAR’s efforts to save her mom, she succumbed to her injuries inflicted by the villagers. Peni spent several years at our Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo where her emotional scars from seeing her mom tortured and killed slowly healed. Orangutans stay with their mothers for 7 years, the longest of any animal except humans. The bond between mother and baby is extremely strong. Peni was released back into the wild where she thrives today. IAR cares for over 100 orphaned orangutans and rescues and relocates many more every year. IT IS OU R DUT Y AS HOMO SA PI ENS , which means ‘the wise-man’, to wise up and save the orangutan.

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SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK

LET’S GI V E MO T H E R N AT U R E H E R VOIC E B AC K BY S A R A H , DUC H E S S OF YOR K

I grew up on a farm, surrounded by nature. In many ways, I’ve always been most comfortable in the open air, preferably in the company of children and animals. When my mother left to live in Argentina, my ponies became my best friends. Today, I have six Norfolk terriers who are my pride and joy. I draw a lot of strength from being in the countryside. I’m a keen photographer, and I’m fascinated with capturing patterns in nature: flowers, leaves and trees.

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roamed across most of Asia, but now it is limited to just 15 percent of its original range. In just three generations of animals, its numbers have halved. We need to fight to save this majestic creature. Through The Perfect World Foundation, I have been privileged to meet some of the world’s leading environmentalists and thinkers: Richard Leakey, Sylvia Earle and Sir David Attenborough.

I also love the underwater world. Many years ago, Jean-Michel Cousteau, the environmental filmmaker and son of famed marine conservationist Jacques Cousteau, took me diving in the Bahamas and opened my eyes to the treasures that exist under the sea.

As Sir David, who I was pleased to present with an environmental award in Gothenberg last year, has pointed out, he was born in the geological age of the Holocene – a 12,000-year-long period of stable climate that enabled our species to settle, adopt agriculture and create civilisations.

So I’m incredibly proud to be a global ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation, which is doing so much to promote animal and nature preservation and conservation. Among the many issues I’ve been focusing on is the plight of the Asian elephant, which is threatened by poaching and the loss of habitat. It once

But in his lifetime, everything has changed. We now live in what has been called the Anthropocene, an age when human activity has come to dominate the Earth. Humans are now so all-powerful – and so careless – that we are wiping out other species without even noticing that we have done so.

SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK

PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ

SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK presented The Perfect World Foundation’s honorary award ‘Conservationist of the Year’ to SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH during the organization’s award banquet in Gothenburg, September 2018.

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SARAH, DUCHESS OF YORK

All around, our planet is tr ying to speak to us. We don’t just need to listen, we need to up speak for her, and that’s what I will go on tr ying to do.

Scientists have recently sounded the alarm about an ‘insect apocalypse’, which has seen many insect populations collapse to a calamitous degree and means that 40 percent of species are now threatened with extinction. Whereas in the previous history of the Earth, it has been natural disasters such as asteroid strikes or supervolcanic eruptions that have driven extinction events, now it is our activities as humans that are causing them. Scientists are telling us that if insects were to disappear, the effects for all of life on Earth would be truly catastrophic. They believe insects are being wiped out by overuse of pesticides and fertilisers, urbanisation and, of course, climate change. I’m not an expert, but I do think we should listen to those who are – and they tell us that temperatures are breaking records all around the world. Arctic sea ice has been in rapid decline in the last few decades, and the amount left at the end of summer is now around 40 percent smaller than it was even in the 1980s. Sea levels, meanwhile, are rising at their fastest rates for 2,000 years, and the number of people exposed to the risk of flooding each year is expected to triple by 2030. Plastic pollution in the seas is another major problem, that my family has sought to highlight. My daughter Princess Eugenie recently became an ambassador for Project 0, a charitable initiative committed to protecting the ocean from pollution by single-use plastics. We were proud to ensure that her wedding last year was a plastic-free occasion. We try to do our bit by recycling and using environmentally friendly products wherever we can. All around, our planet is trying to speak to us. We don’t just need to listen, we need to up speak for her, and that’s what I will go on trying to do. If all of us who care about the future of our world work together, we can give Mother Nature her voice back. 125

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A L I F E B E L O W T H E S U R FAC E W I T H

T H E OCE A N ’S RU L ER S Sha rk defender Em ma Casag ra nde devotes her l i fe to spread i ng k nowledge a nd understa nd i ng , usi ng her secret weapon – her ca mera. Wit h it she doc u ments her ex per iences a nd advent ures i n t he ocea n for t he whole world to sha re.

BY MY TILJESTAM

PHOTO: ANDY CASAGRANDE

“It’s an amazing experience to see the animals up close underwater, in their own habitat. Through my pictures, I want to share the beauty of what lives below the surface. Photos and films allow me to spread information about our oceans around the world, so people can see and experience what’s deep down at the bottom of the ocean, even if they haven’t been at that particular place themselves,” says Emma. “Oceans are so extremely important to our planet. Large parts of the oceans are dying extremely quickly because of lack of knowledge, so it’s important to act now,” she continues.

dents are bait-related; that is, when a diver swims with caught fish, or bait. Sharks can also misinterpret what they see. “A surfer can easily be mistaken for a seal as sharks see surfers from below, like silhouettes on the surface. It is much safer to dive with the sharks under the water so they can see what you are, than to surf on top of the water. If you’ve just caught a fish and are swimming around with it attached to your waist, things can easily go wrong. Accidents can happen even though humans aren’t actually on the sharks’ menu. I have a great deal of respect for these fascinating animals when I swim in their company,” says Emma.

SH A R KS DO NOT E AT PEOPLE Emma has swum with white sharks and tiger sharks and dived in oceans all over the world. “It’s important to be calm and confident in the water if you want sharks to come close enough so that you can film them. If you move too fast, the sharks might swim away, and then you’ll have to wait again. The various shark species behaves quite differently, so it’s important to be knowledgeable when you are close to them. Staying calm and attentive works best with all wild animals,” she explains.

She loves to take still pictures underwater but also films sometimes. Emma travels and works with her husband Andy, an underwater photographer, and his team. “I learn so much from the knowledgeable and experienced people who are part of the filming team, about photo and film creation, but also about sharks and other marine wildlife. Through my pictures, I want to show the importance of our oceans’ underwater life, so that more people choose to contribute to a better world. I absolutely believe that people want to do the right thing, but they may not always have the knowledge they need,” says Emma, who has been an ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation since it was founded in 2010.

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10,000 SH A R KS A R E K I LLED EV ERY HOU R Emma is what’s known as a Shark Angel – she protects vulnerable sharks and their habitat. The Shark Angels organization spreads awareness about the effects of ‘shark finning’, which is when fishermen catch sharks, cut off their fins and throw them back in the water. Alive. Where they suffer a painful death, either by drowning or blood loss. Their fins are mainly used in shark fin soup. Asia is the biggest consumer of shark fins, but large suppliers are also found in Europe and the USA. The shark fin trade is increasing even though it’s illegal in several countries, and several shark species are threatened with extinction. Shark Angels estimate that around 73 million sharks are killed each year. That’s around 10,000 every hour. “If we can stop the demand, we can reduce the problem. Some people believe that shark fins boost sexual potency or cure can-

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cer. It’s important to get people to understand that this isn’t true. Shark fins are made of cartilage, just like our ears and nose. And although sharks hardly ever suffer from cancer, you can’t get their cellular composition by eating their fins. It’s also extremely important to find other sources of income for impoverished fishermen who have to support their families. For example, diving centres could replace the fishing,” says Emma. “Best for our oceans would be if we fished responsibly, so that the fish stocks had the chance to grow at the same rate. We have to temporarily stop catching the species that are threatened to die out. Sometimes we take too much from the ocean when we should be letting it rest and recover instead.” This is exactly what Emma experienced recently when she was in Norway to swim with orcas. The Norwegian fjords have always

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Recycling is good, but I think the real solution is to reduce our consumption. It could be something simple like keeping food in glass or stainless steel containers. Or eliminating single use plastic like plastic bags, straws and food wrap. Bringing a reusable bag with you to the shops.

ture, and that we can actually make a difference. You don’t need to be angry or perfect to save the world. Nobody’s perfect! It’s easy to find faults with everything you do, if you choose to do so. Instead, I believe in being open to good ideas, spreading them, and taking things one step at a time,” says Emma.

been full of life, with fish, orcas and whales. But a number of years ago, Baltic herrings stocks were largely depleted in the Norwegian fjords and the orcas stopped coming. “There was a ban on fishing, and after a while the number of herrings increased again and the orcas came back. Nature has an incredible power to heal itself, if we just give it the chance to do so,” she says. YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A NGRY OR PER FECT Nature needs to get back in balance. Emma is hopeful even though the situation is serious. She believes that her positive outlook on life is necessary for her to be able to inspire others to take care of the ocean, as we take care of our own families or gardens. “It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel powerless when you think of everything that’s going on, but I choose to believe in the fu-

“Start by making a change in your daily life that contributes to a better environment. When it becomes a habit, move on to the next change. 500 million straws are used in the US every day. A simple change would be to stop using straws at home or in restaurants. Over 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the oceans every year. If this continues, there’s going to be more plastic than fish in the ocean,” Emma states before finally adding, “We have to stop dumping plastic and other debris in the ocean. Lots of the animals in our oceans die from our plastic waste. We can all contribute by changing our daily habits so that we produce less waste. Recycling is good, but I think the real solution is to reduce our consumption. It could be something simple like keeping food in glass or stainless steel containers. Or eliminating single use plastic like plastic bags, straws and food wrap. Bringing a reusable bag with you to the shops. Eat less meat, take your bike if you can. Most of what we do is through habit rather than need. High five to you for every habit you change!” 129

#T HEB LUEBUCK ET

A GLOBA L TE A M OF

OCE A N CLE A NER S The Per fect World Foundation’s i n itiative The Blue Bucket has t he a i m of creati ng a globa l com m itment to clea n up our ocea ns by encourag i ng ever yone to pick up plastic, a nd a l l sor ts of ot her debr is, f rom t he ocea n. The Blue Bucket itsel f is bot h a sy mbol for t he ca mpa ig n to ra ise awa reness of t he problems a round t he heav y pol lution of our ocea ns, a nd a tool to col lect plastic i n. Joi n i ng t he ca mpa ig n as The Blue Bucket advocates a re, a mong ot hers, t he worldrenow n A mer ica n ma r i ne biolog ist a nd ocea nog rapher Dr Sylv ia Ea rle a nd t he Swed ish Hol ly wood actor Joel K i n na ma n.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

PHOTO: TODD BROWN / IAN MADDOX

The goal of the Blue Bucket campaign is to inspire all boat owners, and everyone who spends time on and by the ocean, to get our Blue Bucket and start picking up plastic and trash, to form the world’s biggest movement of ocean “cleaners”. Every year more than 8 billion kilos of plastic end up in the ocean, but we are also close to 8 billion people on the planet – only one kilo of plastic picked up per person would mean that we literally could succeed in cleaning up our oceans. JOEL K I N NA M A N The Perfect World Ambassador and Swedish Hollywood actor Joel Kinnaman became known to the larger audience with his role in the success thriller film ‘Easy Money’ in 2010, and went on to become an international star with his performance. In 2011, he appeared in the thriller ‘The Darkest Hour’ and that same year, he also began playing the role of Detective Stephen Holder in AMC’s ‘The Killing’. After a long list of prestigious roles he was, in 2018, casted for the lead role of Takeshi Kovacs in the drama ‘Altered Carbon’. Living in California, Joel spends a lot of time in and near the ocean, enjoying his love of surfing, and now feels he had enough 130

of the endless pollution of our oceans. In 2019, he got actively involved with these important issues, as an advocate for The Blue Bucket campaign, to spread awareness about our oceans severe situation and to encourage people to help cleaning them up… as well as not polluting our oceans, in the first place! In his Instagram announcement ( June 11, 2019) Kinnaman says, “I’m joining together with The Perfect World Foundation and the amazing Dr Sylvia Earle in the Blue Bucket Campaign. The Blue Bucket Campaign is an attempt to enlist the world’s biggest fleet of private boat owners. There’re 12 million registered private boat owners in the United Sates alone. And we’re going to give everyone of these boat owners a Blue Bucket, so every time they go out on the ocean, they see some plastic, see some trash – you scoop it out of there. About 8 million tonnes of plastic get dumped in the ocean every year, that’s about a truckload every minute. We have to change our behaviour. I bought a single use plastic cup with a straw the other day. I fucked up. I keep fucking up. We got to stop fucking up. We got to get this shit out of the ocean and The Blue Bucket Campaign is a step in the right direction… so join me in The Blue Bucket Campaign!”

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DR SY LV I A E A R LE The Perfect World Foundation’s Ambassador, ocean expert and ‘The Perfect World Award’ recipient (2017), Dr Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, research scientist and scuba diver with more than 7,000 hours underwater. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. Earle was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and was named by Time Magazine as its first ‘Hero for the Planet’ in 1998. She has dedicated her life to preserve and save our oceans, and is a devout advocate

of public education regarding the importance of the oceans as an essential environmental habitat. Dr Earle has joined The Blue Bucker campaign to support the campaign’s aim of spreading awareness about the vital importance of our oceans, and how we jointly can make a difference by taking action. “Even the people who have never seen the ocean are touched by the ocean with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink.” – Dr Sylvia Earle. 131

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LIT T L E W H IT E & LIT T L E GR E Y A ndy Bool, Head of cha r it y t he SE A LI FE Tr ust ex pla i ns why t he creation of t he world ’s f irst open water sa nct ua r y for wha les ex ists a nd why it represents a hopef u l new f ut ure for captive cetacea ns. The sa nct ua r y i n i n Icela nd welcomed its f irst residents, t wo fema le beluga wha les, Litt le Grey a nd Litt le W h ite i n June 2019.

BY ANDY BOOL PHOTO: SEA LIFE TRUST

In 2012, a significant event happened in the lives of Little White and Little Grey, two female beluga whales living in Chang Feng Ocean Word in Shanghai. The aquarium was bought by Merlin Entertainments, parent company of the global SEA LIFE aquarium chain. In line with their long-held belief that cetaceans should not be held for frivolous entertainment, Merlin began working with NGO partners and experts to find an alternative solution which would enhance their welfare. Over six years later, following an extensive global search for potential sites, on 19th June 2019, Little White and Little Grey arrived in Iceland as the first residents of the SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary – the world’s first open water Sanctuary for whales. Merlin donated the funding required to create and build the Sanctuary to us, its partner charity the SEA LIFE Trust, and we now have sole responsibility for running it and caring for its residents in to the future. The aims of the Sanctuary are threefold: to enhance the welfare of its residents, to advance knowledge through research and education and to support protection of wild populations.

W H Y IS TH E SA NCTUA RY NEEDED Little White and Little Grey are now 13 years old. They were born in the wild in the arctic seas off the north coast of Russia and started their lives as their wild counterparts do – swimming freely with their parents and other members of their pod. They were cruelly plucked from this life at only a few years old, caught by traders who sell young belugas to captive facilities.

The shift in their lives from that point was profound – no longer able to enjoy their freedom and choose to hunt for food, to play with their peers in the pod their lives instead became regimented – trained to perform in front of huge, noisy crowds a number of times every day in a purpose built arena, a space much smaller than the wide, open ocean they were used to. There is an increasing body of evidence showing that whales and dolphins don’t thrive in an aquarium environment or performing in shows put on for the benefit of paying visitors – they can lead shorter lives, suffer psychological harm and physical injury and ultimately have no control over their lives. 133

DID YOU KNOW THAT BELUGA WHALES … are white but are born dark gray, and it can take up to eight years before they turn completely white. The word beluga comes from the Russian word “bielo” meaning white. … despite being a ‘toothed whale’, do not chew their food; instead they swallow their prey whole. … are able to swim backwards. … neck vertebraes are not fused together, giving them the unusual ability to turn its head up, down and side-to-side. The adaptation is thought to help them target their prey in areas that are full of ice or silt. … are highly social creatures and generally live together in small groups known as pods. … are sometimes called ‘melonheads’ due to the bulbous structure on their forehead. The fatty organ is believed to aid in echolocation, and it can be observed changing shape during whale vocalizations. … threats include captivity, climate change, hunting, oil and gas development, and industrial and urban pollution. Polar bears and orcas are known predators of belugas throughout their Arctic range. … gestation period lasts between 14 – 15 months. Females whales give birth to a single 150 cm / 5 feet long calf, once every three years, usually nursing from their mothers for up to two years.

Klettsvik Bay in Iceland provides the necessary natural conditions to encourage the belugas that call it home to live more like their wild counterparts. When Little White and Little Grey make the final move in to the sheltered bay in spring 2020, it will allow them to have much more choice over how they spend their time and interact with one another, just as they would have when they were first born and lived in open ocean. Exploring their new environment and the rich fauna and flora in the bay we believe will greatly enhance their lives and allow them to flourish. Whilst we’ve been focused on creating the world’s first whale sanctuary, there has been a significant shift in public perception around performing cetaceans. This has seen some facilities that house cetaceans experience difficult trading conditions as a proportion of the public choose not to visit and tour operators (notably TripAdvisor, Virgin and BA) stop selling trips to attractions that have performing cetacean shows. Those who house these animals cannot fail to note this shift and need to react to these changes by taking a lead in securing a different future for the cetaceans under their care. The welfare of those cetaceans in human care should be paramount, and a necessary part of that is for those who house them to constantly explore 134

how the welfare of those animals could be enhanced by doing things differently. To help demonstrate the welfare benefits of the Sanctuary for its resident whales we have commissioned an independent research study in to the welfare impact of living in an open water environment on Little White and Little Grey – we see this as a key element in persuading others to see Sanctuaries as a new way of caring for these amazing animals. Up until now no one has provided a realistic alternative. By creating the world’s first and only such Sanctuary, the SEA LIFE Trust has demonstrated that an alternative is not only possible, but can become a reality.

F O T O R E P O R TA G E

LOOK I NG TO TH E FUTU R E Our overarching vision is that by demonstrating the potential for open water sanctuaries we will inspire others to consider a different future for the cetaceans in their care. More specifically, Klettsvik Bay has space to accommodate more belugas and we hope that some of those other belugas currently in aquariums around the world will join Little White and Little Grey at the Sanctuary and experience the benefits of an enhanced life as a result.

What happened in 2012 heralded the start of a new life for Little White and Little Grey; hopefully 2020 will be an equally remarkable milestone for the thousands of other cetaceans currently liv-

ing in aquariums around the globe. V ISIT TO TH E SA NCTUA RY I N ICEL A ND In November 2019, The Perfect World's founders Ragnhild and Lars Jacobsson made a field trip to the open water Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland.

“Walking out of the sanctuary’s pool area, where we’d spent a whole hour together with Little White and Little Grey, I turned my head one last time meeting the eyes of the two whales looking back at me with surprise, like they where wondering why I was leaving…. I left a part of my heart behind that day,” says Lars heartfelt.

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50% of the Great Barrier Reef is extinct due to a rise in sea temperatures of about 0.1 °C

every year, over 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean, that is one garbage truck every minute

E V E RY BR E AT H W E TA K E

DEPEN D ON H E A LT H Y OCE A NS Oceans cover 70 percent of our blue planet, and marine plants produces around 50 percent of the oxygen that we all breathe. But our oceans have become dumping grounds for plastic, industrial waste and other things that don’t belong there, and negatively affecting the marine ecosystems at a furious pace. The fishing industry’s overfishing drains the oceans of its biodiversity, and alarming numbers of marine species are endangered. Selective fishing, such as shark finning and tuna fishing, unscrupulous targets single species and creates unbalance in the ocean’s ecosystem. And fishing techniques like trawling kills marine life that wasn’t even intended to be caught. Over 80 percent of the harmful contaminants in oceans can be traced to human activities on land. Agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, and industrial waste end up in the ocean, resulting in oxygen depletion and acidification that kills marine life. Over 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year – that’s one garbage truck every minute… or 10,000 garbage trucks every week or 43,000 garbage trucks every month – filled with plastic that’s dumped into the ocean. Over half of all sea turtles have mistaken plastic for food, and one million seabirds and hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die every year due to the plastic pollution. One of the greatest threats to our oceans is global warming, caused by CO2 emissions from use of fossil fuels. Global warming causes ocean temperatures to rise with enormous consequences. The marine ecosystems aren’t equipped for the higher water temperatures, even if only just a tenth of a degree warmer. Oceans also absorb large proportions of atmospheric CO2, causing acidification, which in turn affects living conditions in marine ecosystems negatively.

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over 50% of the oxygen we breathe comes from algae and plankton

In 2017, The Perfect World Foundation hosted the charity event ‘Save The Ocean’, with focus on the ocean’s vulnerable situation. Dr Sylvia Earle, the world-renowned marine biologist and oceanographer, behind organizations such as Deep Hope, was during the event banquet presented with the organization’s honorary award for her progressive work to save our planet’s oceans. In her work, Dr Earle also stresses the importance of exploring and researching the deepest parts of our oceans. We know less about the deep ocean than we do about space, which makes this research extremely important for our understanding of the ocean and our ability to preserve and save it. For The Perfect World to join up in Dr Earle’s persistent commitment to save our oceans and marine life, was an easy decision. On World Ocean Day 2019, The Perfect World Foundation launched their campaign ‘The Blue Bucket’. A project with aim to spread awareness and create a global commitment to clean up our oceans by encouraging everyone to pick up plastic, and all sorts of other debris, from the ocean and shorelines. The goal is to inspire all boat owners, and everyone who spends time by the ocean, to get our Blue Bucket, start picking up trash, and form the world’s biggest movement of ‘ocean cleaners’. The Perfect World Foundation has arranged two expeditions to Svalbard, 2017 and 2018, with focus on gaining insight into, and spread knowledge about, the research in the Arctic region. The organization also supports the preservation of the Indonesian manta rays. Sadly, one of the greatest threats to our oceans is global warming, caused by CO2 emissions. This is one of many reasons why The Perfect World Foundation in 2018, launched their large tree planting project – The Attenborough Forest – as trees absorb CO2, an extremely effective measure to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and fight global warming.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, nature, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to support and help us keep our vital OCEANS healthy and free from plastic and other debris.

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D O L P H I N S S AV E O U R P L A N E T

T WO V I R T U A L D O L P H I N S S AV E O U R P L A N E T

J U PI T E R & M A R S Ja mes M iel ke a nd Sa m Ken nedy have created a beauti f u l ly sur rea l v ir t ua l under water un iverse t hat exa m i nes t he consequences of rea l-world issues of cl i mate cha nge a nd hu ma n it y’s lasti ng i mpact on t he env iron ment.

BY MARIE KJELLSDOTTER

IMAGES: TIGERTRON

The idea for ‘Jupiter & Mars’ began to take shape after James watched ‘The Cove’, a 2009 documentary about dolphin hunting in the small town of Taiji, Japan. There, thousands of dolphins are slaughtered in September each year because they didn’t make the grade as ’perfect’ dolphins for the world’s zoos – an almost equally terrible fate for a dolphin. James, deeply moved by the film explains, “I started thinking, couldn’t I do something better with my time than just making more games for yet another generation of gaming consoles?” And so he did. In 2016, friends and game development veterans James Mielke and Sam Kennedy founded the independent, New York-based gaming development studio Tigertron, with the goal of raising awareness of the world’s environmental and climate issues through video game experiences. The thinking is with video games being a proactive, interactive medium, it would be easier to ‘speak’ to the game playing audience (PlayStation 4 has 100 million users alone) than a typical documentary might. Jupiter & Mars is an evocative underwater adventure that unfolds in the distant future, after humanity has vanished from the planet, leaving the Earth and its creatures to recover from the devas138

SAM KENNEDY and JAMES MIELKE, founders of the New York-based game development company Tigertron, and the creators behind the video game Jupiter & Mars.

D O L P H I N S S AV E O U R P L A N E T

TIGERTRON An independent, New York-based gaming development company that creates games that raise awareness of our planet’s environmental and nature issues.

JUPITER & MARS The game where dolphins Jupiter and her companion Mars navigate around in a surreal, future underwater environment, to save our planet.

GAMING CONSOLES The Jupiter & Mars video game is compatible with gaming consoles PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR.

THE COVE A documentary about dolphin slaughter in a bay outside of Taiji in Japan. You can watch the film on YouTube.

tating effects of climate change. Sea levels have risen as a result of melting polar ice, and large coastal cities have sunk beneath the waves. The ocean, with its neon-coloured fish and coral reefs, is thriving once again amidst the graveyards of sunken steel and cement ruins – remnants left behind by people. The game’s main characters, the dolphins Jupiter and her companion Mars, have been sought out by an ancient race of ocean sentinels (whales) called ‘The Elders,’ who watch over the seven seas and communicate with each other around the world. They enlist Jupiter and Mars to venture out into troubled areas of the oceans and neutralise a global network of acoustic harassment devices (AHDs) that repel marine life from man-made areas. The dolphins navigate through the oceans and explore five distinct ‘biomes’, such as tropical and East Asian islands, and sunken underwater cities based on real-world areas like Mykonos, London, and New York City, to solve a series of larger-than-life missions. James and Sam want the game to entertain first and foremost, but also hope that it will awaken peoples’ interest and encourage them to seek more information about how our planet is affected by climate change. Interested in playing? Jupiter & Mars is designed for all age ranges, and is available for PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation VR. 139

ABOUT PLASTIC

L E T ’ S TA L K

A BOU T PL A ST IC B Y A S S O C I AT E P RO F E S S O R , B E T H A N I E C A R N E Y A L M RO T H Environmental scientist and ecotox icologist at the Department of biolog y and environmental science at University of Gothenburg , Sweden

In newspapers, documentaries and social media, we are constantly bombarded by reports and heart-breaking images of plastic rubbish and the damage it causes. We know that whales die, stranded, with their stomachs full of plastic bags. We’ve seen the pictures, taken on some remote island, of young albatrosses whose dead bodies are filled with bits of plastic. And no one has been able to escape the sea turtle struggling to survive with a straw wedged up its nostril. These images are one of the driving forces behind activities led by individuals, activist organizations, authorities and industries around the world. W H AT IS PL ASTIC Before we can find solutions, we must first understand what we are dealing with. Let’s start by defining ‘plastic’. The word itself describes malleable properties, in this case of a group of materials. Plastic is not one, but several different polymeric substances (a polymer is a molecule consisting of a chain of repeating units, called monomers). Thousands of polymers are produced, but only a small number dominate the global market: polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS). The raw materials that form the building blocks used in creating plastics are extracted, in 99 percent of all production, from fossil fuel. So-called bioplastics produced from corn or sugar cane account the rest. In fact, plastic production accounts for about 8 percent of the world’s total use of fossil fuels, measured in material use and energy consumption.

In society today, we use a lot of plastic materials for a number of reasons. Plastics are cheap, durable, and flexible. Some of the underlying causes of the current plastic-related environmental crisis can be linked to the advantages of these materials. Plastic is everywhere in our lives, and it’s currently part of most of our

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technology, as it has proved to be so useful. In fact, plastic solves many problems due to the physical and chemical properties of the material. It is important in modern medicine, food packaging, construction, transport, and clothing. The industrial production of plastic started in the 1940s, and it has increased to over 322 million tonnes per year. It is expected to increase six-fold over the next 30 years. TH E DA NGER S OF PL ASTIC But the many advantages of plastic come at a high price. While the actual cost of plastic materials is low, the environmental price is not. Plastic materials are light, strong and durable, but the materials leak into the environment from the entire life cycle and production chain. Plastic pellets or newly produced raw materials are carelessly handled and find their way into the environment, sorbing pollutants and ending up on beaches around the world, and in the stomachs of animals. Plastics from production, from improper use of goods, and from improper or insufficient waste management are lost and end up in the environment. This can result in indirect health problems associated with, for example, flooding and the spread of disease pathogens. Plastics also contain thousands of chemicals, and chemical exposure in the manufacturing, use and waste phases of a plastic material’s life cycle can result in direct health problems. Numerous chemicals associated with plastics are known toxicants with documented impacts on human health and disease. These problems are linked to incorrect use of plastic on a larger scale. Our consumption patterns, and the resulting extensive production of goods, also lead to huge quantities of waste must be managed to avoid further emissions into the environment.

It is estimated that over 8 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the oceans every year, but only a fraction of the waste is visible

on the water’s surface and on beaches. Researchers estimate that only one percent of all plastic waste stays floating on the water’s surface, and five percent is washed up on beaches and coasts. The remaining plastic becomes a growth surface for micro-organisms, such as algae and bacteria, and falls into the depths of the ocean or is eaten by hundreds of different species of animals. We don’t know how long it takes for plastics to completely break down into their chemical constituents. It could be decades, or centuries, or even longer. However, we know that plastic products break down into smaller and smaller pieces, known as microplastics (< 5 mm) through fragmentation. Microplastics can be found in all habitats on earth: from the ocean’s surface to the Mariana Trench (the deepest natural trench found in the world), on beaches and isolated mountains, in rivers and lakes, in glaciers, inside the stomachs of the smallest micro-organisms, and inside fish, birds and large mammals. Microplastics are found in our clothing and beauty products, in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink.

PLASTIC GLOSSARY PLASTIC The word plastic comes from the Greek word ‘plastikos’, which means able to be moulded.

POLYMERS Polymers (from the Greek words ‘poly’, meaning many, and ‘meros’, meaning parts) are chemical compounds consisting of very long chains built by repeating smaller units, called monomers. Polymer chains differ from other chain molecules within organic chemistry because they are much longer. Polymers used in construction materials are often called plastics. However, plastics used in construction materials are based on polymers, with various additives to give the material the desired properties such as e.g. colour or suppleness. Examples of know toxicants used in plastics include plasticizers (phthalates), flame retardants, some metals, e.g. in pigments, and biocides.

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The Swedish CROWN PRINCESS VICTORIA visits DR CARNEY ALMROTH’s laboratory to learn more about plastic and environmental problems, and the various solutions.

Accounting for the consequences of all this plastic is a very difficult task. This involves many different materials that contain thousands of different chemicals (in the actual plastic products or from environmental pollutants) in various sizes ranging from large consumer products to beads measuring five millimetres across, or micro and nanoparticles the size of a virus or a DNA molecule. Large pieces of plastic debris in oceans kill animals by causing injuries and drowning, or internal injuries and starvation when they get mistaken for food. The commercial fishing industry has been hit, and tourism is suffering. We also know that plastic products expose people to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, associated with several different cancers, reproductive disorders, neurological disorders, obesity and diabetes. TH ER E A R E SOLUTIONS The problems with plastic are multiple and complex. Because of this, many different solutions are required. For several years, discussions about plastics have centred on plastic waste and the end of the life cycle of products. This means that the focus has been on individuals, consumers and their behaviour. People throw things away, either properly or improperly. And we needed to (and still need to) stop doing this. This requires efficient waste management infrastructures. But infrastructures are managed at local or national level, and are not controlled by individuals. On the other hand, the consumer has the power to choose with their wallet, control their purchases, and in doing so influence retailers’ and manufacturers’ actions. But to make active choices requires both money and knowledge of the problems associated with the products offered by the market. When it comes to plastics, the

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information available is very limited. The chemical or polymer composition of many products on the market is unknown to consumers, and often also to retailers and even to producers. This is a problem that cannot be solved by consumers, but needs to be managed by the plastics industry and might involve monitoring, new regulations requiring increased reporting, and full transparency for governing bodies at national or international level (such as the EU). Technological advances and innovations can help us develop alternative materials that mimic the properties and functions of plastics, but don’t have the same impact on health or the environment. By reducing the complexity of plastic materials, increased and safer recycling would be made possible. We can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and take important steps towards a sustainable circular economy in which material is recycled or reused again and again. W H AT YOU CA N DO As an individual, you have several opportunities to reduce your environmental impact and drive change. Always carry reusable water bottles. Avoid disposable plastic items, such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery and cups. Ask for unwrapped ‘bare’ products in your local grocery store. Review your consumption patterns and avoid unnecessary purchases. Support guidelines and policy changes that increase responsibility and obligations for manufacturers. Support research and innovation work. Finally, get educated! We will all need to act together to ensure sustainable development for future generations.

P E R F E C T PA RT N E R S

BY BILLGR EN SAV E TH E OCE A N DESIGN FOR A BETTER TOMOR ROW

We’re passionate about saving our planet’s oceans, and believe that it is every person’s duty to take a stand and show responsibility for preserving our oceans – they are the source of all life on earth, and we’re all dependent on healthy oceans. But our oceans are under heavy pressure caused by massive pollution, acidification and increasing water temperatures. In just 30 years time it could become so bad that our oceans are filled with more plastic than fish. Together we can make sure this doesn’t happen. By buying our ‘Save the Ocean Bracelet’ in The Perfect World’s web shop, the proceed in full will support their work to save our planet’s wildlife and oceans. By Billgren is also a sponsoring partner for The Perfect World Foundation’s save the ocean initiative #TheBlueBucket. You too can join the campaign and become an Ocean Cleaner!

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T H E P O W E R O F WO M E N

B L AC K M A M B A Black Ma mba isn’t just t he na me of A f r ica’s most da ngerous sna ke, it’s a lso t he world ’s f irst fema le a nti-poach i ng un it t hat protects t he a rea a round t he K r uger Nationa l Pa rk i n Sout h A f r ica f rom poachers – completely una r med!

BY MATILDA SÖDERSTRÖM

PHOTO: JAMES SUTER OCH JULIA GUNTHER

A constant war is being fought out in the African bush. The war for rhino horn – ‘the white gold’ – that today, on the black market, is worth more per kilo than gold. South Africa is home to 80 percent of all of the rhinos on the planet, and every day three rhinos are killed here on average. Poachers risk their lives, and the severe poverty in many parts of South Africa’s countryside drives young men out into the wilderness, armed and at night. They are well aware of the high prices and great demand for rhino horn. For them, the pursuit of this ‘white gold’ is an opportunity to support their families. And the closer we get to the extinction of rhinos, the more coveted their horns are, leading to ever-increasing prices. The young poachers don’t reflect on how their hunt to extinction will affect South Africa’s future. The country’s thriving tourism industry, an important source of income, attracts travellers with safari adventures that will also die out when there is no more wildlife left to show. And future generations will grow up just knowing rhinos, elephants and other wildlife from pictures in history books. WOM EN W ITH SU PER POW ER S As a result of Black Mamba’s unique methods, which have proved extremely effective, rhino poaching in the Balule Nature Reserve has decreased. Their method is to ‘fight’ poachers without using violence and weapons. The goal is not to harm poachers – but to save rhinos. Day and night, the Black Mamba unit patrols the bush on foot, partly to make their presence known, but also to

gather information, report abnormalities and remove the poachers’ snares. Of course the women sometimes come across poachers. When this happens it’s the poachers that are faced with a dilemma – should they attack the unarmed women, with children and families in some of the nearby villages, and then go back to their own village bearing the shame of having killed an unarmed woman? This is a culture where women, and especially mothers, have an incredibly high status and an important role in South African society. You could say the fact that the Black Mamba unit only consists of women is, when they stand eye-to-eye with poachers, its superpower. DA NGEROUS WOR K I NG EN V IRONM ENT Another threat the patrol may encounter out in the bush is, of course, wild animals; after all, they walk around unarmed in a Big Five area (an area where the five big wild African animals live – leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos and African buffaloes). Many of the women in the team had never seen wild elephants, lions or rhinos before joining Black Mamba – now it’s part of their everyday life.

To be prepared for the threats and challenges that their work entails, hard training is required, both before and after recruitment. As Black Mamba is a weapon-free unit in tough terrain, the women must be extremely well trained and ready for any situation that could be dangerous.

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WOMEN WITH SUPERP OWER S

TH E W HOLE COM MU NIT Y Black Mamba is so much more than just an anti-poaching unit. They also work to inform and educate the inhabitants of the local communities to create stronger relationships between humans and wildlife. Another important aspect is to create jobs for women in rural areas, to combat poverty.

Over the years, being an unarmed anti-poaching fighter has become an honourable mission, and the Black Mamba women are now great role models for younger generations who admire their efforts to nurture and conserve their common environment and wildlife. Over 40 women currently work full-time in close-knit teams to patrol the area around the clock. Their methods have revolutionised the way we think about conserving and protecting endangered species, in that their unit also includes poor communities, creates job opportunities for women from the villages, and at the same time highlights the problem and opportunities locally. NEXT GENER ATION W I LDLIFE DEFENDER S Another Black Mamba philosophy is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That’s why we must educate children to create a sustainable future. The Bush Babies Environmental Education Program runs training programmes at ten local schools, focusing on bush conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The programme reaches 870 schoolchildren who live at the border of the Kruger National Park, where poaching is a major threat and wildlife conservation is more important than ever.

The Bush Babies programme wants to create environmentally friendly communities, and broader knowledge of the negative effects of hunting a species to extinction – with the goal of creating a future generation with more conservation activists and fewer poachers. Every week, one of the Black Mamba women goes to visit schools, wearing her uniform, to inspire the children and talk about her work. This creates a ripple effect, as the children go home to their families later that day and tell them about Black Mamba, and how important it is to care for wildlife and the environment. During the school holidays, Black Mamba takes the children out to the nature reserve to show them the animals they learn about in school, and give them the opportunity to experience the area’s fantastic but vulnerable wildlife.

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WOMEN WITH SUPERP OWER S

BLACK MAMBA Black Mamba is the world’s first all-female antipoaching unit that protects the area around the Kruger National Park in South Africa from poachers – completely unarmed!

BUSH BABIES The Bush Babies Environmental Education Program runs training programmes through Black Mamba at ten local schools, focusing on bush conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The programme reaches 870 schoolchildren who live at the border of the Kruger National Park, where poaching is a major threat and wildlife conservation is more important than ever.

H EROI NES OF TH E BUSH In 2015, Black Mamba received the UN’s highest environmental honour, the ‘Champions of the Earth Award’, as the world’s most successful female and unarmed anti-poaching organization.

The Perfect World Foundation has visited Black Mamba on several occasions in the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa, and is always impressed by their strong desire to save the rhinos. “It’s important for us to support projects that are fighting so that the next generation will have the opportunity to experience the wild animals. The fact that Black Mamba’s work also includes the community, and demonstrates women’s strength, makes it a Perfect Project,” says Lars Jacobsson, one of the founders of The Perfect World Foundation. The Perfect World’s donations, which come largely from the organization’s sponsoring partner Maria Nila, have made a big difference and been used for new equipment, uniforms, tools, means of transport, fuel and education. The Perfect World Foundation will continue to support Black Mamba in their efforts, and hopes that their approach of preserving endangered wildlife by establishing new values in the local communities, will inspire more people and organizations to do the same. 149

the lion population has plummeted by close to 50% over the last 20 years

the lion is locally extinct in 15 different African countries

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POAC H I NG A N D H A BI TAT LOS S

T H E LIONS A R E FACI NG E X T I NCT ION Perhaps the most iconic animal of them all, the lion, is today another threatened species. During the last twenty years the lion population has decreased by close to 50 percent, and is locally extinct in fifteen African countries. It’s estimated that only about 23,000 lions remain in the wild. The decreasing population is mainly due to human expansion, as lions lose their habitat when cities, agriculture and roads are built and expanded. Restricted living space force lions to live closer to humans, and livestock, creating ‘human-wildlife’ conflicts. Lion attacking livestock more often result in farmers killing them, to protect their livelihood. In addition to habitat loss to agriculture, lions are also hunted for pure pleasure by trophy hunters, who want to bring home a trophy – head and skin. The skeletons are sold on the extensive black market for use in Chinese traditional medicine, predominantly in Asia. So called Lion Parks, mainly found in South Africa, are breeding lions in captivity. Lion cubs are taken from their mothers, sometimes just 24 hours after birth, to be displayed for ‘pay and play’, where tourists can come and pet baby lions. In the lions lifespan on these breeding farms they serve as tourist attractions from their first breath as cuddly pets to ‘selfie models’ in their adolescent, then trained into submission for tourist bush walks until they are fully grown and can be purchased online by trophy hunters for so called canned hunting – a hunt where these ‘tame’ lions, often sedated, are put in a larger enclosure where food are placed out to lure them close to the hunters, to then be shot and killed at close range.

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it is estimated that only 23,000 lions remain in the wild

The work of The Perfect World Foundation, together with its sister organization Volunteer Travels, has included being a major contributor to revealing and countering the terrible lion breeding industry, mainly found in South Africa. The organizations have visited some of the most dubious projects to investigate what was really going on. Several centres are breeding lions in captivity and exploit them to the maximum by letting tourists pet and cuddle lion cubs and bush walk next to young submissive lions, before finally letting trophy hunters pay big money to hunt and shoot the tame lions in large enclosures, and a few weeks later receiving a package back home with the head and skin, to hang on their living room wall. While all this is going on, the breeders trick people into thinking that they are breeding the lions in order to preserve them and release them into the wild. Truth is, these ‘domesticated’ lions would not make it in the wild. The Perfect World Foundation and Volunteer Travels have used their position to prevent people from travelling to lion parks where you can interact with lions cubs as well as adult lions, by clearly identifying these projects on Volunteer Travels’ website with red flag banners marked ‘Banned’. As always, the lion centres are all about the money, so if we can succeed in getting people to refrain from participating in these particular lion projects or visiting the lion parks, we can ultimately get these exploiting breeding centres to close down for good. In 2015, The Perfect World Foundation attended the South African film premiere of ‘Blood Lions’, a documentary about the lion breeding industry, where we gave a speech about our actions taken in the pursuit of putting an end to the lion breeding industry, in hope of inspiring others to do the same.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to support and help us keep fighting for the voiceless and save our LIONS.

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VO L U N T E E R T R AV E L S

A N A DV E N T U R E FOR L I F E Wa k i ng up at home i n your com for table bed a nd sta r ti ng t he week w it h a l l your ord i na r y ever yday routi nes ca n feel l i ke a n enor mous cha nge when you just a week ea rl ier ex per ienced t he poorest pa r ts of Gha na, or t he most v u l nerable nat ure reser ves i n Zi mbabwe.

Travelling as a volunteer is an amazing adventure into reality – no filter. You journey out into the world to participate in the work of a local long-term wildlife, environmental or social project, an experience that will take you close to the local culture and population. In addition to giving your time and commitment to a local project, gaining an authentic experience of the country, its culture, nature and wildlife are also important parts of a volunteer trip, and what makes it unique. The Perfect World Foundation works side by side with its sister organization Volunteer Travels, with the common goal of making the world a better place for future generations. We want everyone to have the opportunity to experience wild rhinos in the savannah, learn English, dive among colourful coral reefs, and have the chance to live a life of freedom. For this to be possible, commitment is required. Volunteer Travels helps curious and passionate people to get out into the world and help local projects, working for the same things as we do. Volunteer Travels works with about 100 local wildlife, environmental, marine and humanitarian projects around the world. The worldwide projects are often run by enthusiasts, and they rarely have the resources to hire enough staff. Because the volunteers pay for their living expenses, the projects can continue and local people are hired to take care of visiting volunteers around the clock.

Through Volunteer Travels, The Perfect World Foundation wants to create opportunities to send as many ambassadors as possible to the projects we work with. Part of the reason for this is to get people involved, to help on site and to see and understand the problems first-hand, but we also want the volunteers to be our eyes and ears on the ground, and to report back to us about the conditions there, and what’s most urgent. Anyone can go on a volunteer trip. You can travel alone, with family and friends or as a business or organization. It’s the perfect trip for anyone who wants to discover the world and make a difference. We organize regular volunteer trips for companies and municipalities who want to send their employees on a journey that contributes to something positive and shows global responsibility, and that they also value their CSR work. We also have families and groups who want to go on volunteer trips together, which is always appreciated. If you’d rather go alone, perhaps during a sabbatical year, holiday or after retiring, we’ll arrange it. You decide when you want to go and for how long. Our partners are flexible, and grateful for all the help they can get. No one is left indifferent by a volunteer trip. It’s an adventure of a lifetime and you’ll come home with new insights, experiences and contacts, to continue the work you started by spreading knowledge and raising awareness of the problems and possibilities that Projects and destinations >> you have witnessed yourself.

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M A R INE PROJECTS AUST R A L I A , MOZ A M BIQU E , SR I L A N K A , I N DON E SI A

Marine projects are suitable for people who love the ocean and diving, and are curious about life under the surface. In these projects you can either work on marine research by collecting data during marine expeditions at sea, or on land to help injured and vulnerable turtles. As a volunteer, you work closely with researchers and marine biologists to identify threats to wildlife and coral in our oceans, and help to improve living conditions for all species living in and by the ocean.

EX PER I ENCE A ND EDUCATION SOU T H A F R ICA , NA M I BI A , G A L A PAGOS ISL A N DS, ECUA DOR

If you’re looking for an authentic experience that will take you closer to the local way of living, our experience trips are for you. Adventures in natural environments surrounded by wild animals await you. These programmes include education to increase your understanding of animals and the environment, giving you a broader perspective and authentic experiences with magical wildlife in unspoilt natural surroundings. The aim of these programmes is to highlight the threats our wildlife and ecosystems are facing, and create commitment for the future.

R ESCUE CENTR ES IN TH E JU NGLE COSTA R ICA , ECUA DOR , I N DON E SI A , T H A I L A N D

Are you, like us, fascinated by the jungle and everything that lives there, and want all animals to be given a second chance? This programme gives you the opportunity to help out in a rescue centre for injured animals in the middle of the lush jungle. Most of these animals have been mistreated by people – they’ve been used as tourist attractions, fallen victim to the black market or been found injured in the wild. As a volunteer you take part in the centre’s daily work of taking care of these animals, and if you’re lucky you’ll even witness them being released back into the wild.

A NI M A LS IN A FR ICA SOU T H A F R ICA , ZI M BA BW E , K EN YA

Few people are unaware of the devastation of the savannah, where the wild animals are killed in trophy hunts and poaching. At our animal projects in Africa, local enthusiasts work to stop this extinction and save the wildlife in their areas, as well as to preserve and breed endangered species. As a volunteer, you take part in this important work and help with everything from taking care of rhino calves that have lost their mothers, working with lions rescued from the horrific industry of lion parks and ‘canned hunting’ or patrolling areas to deter poachers, to being part of efforts to conserve vulnerable animal species.

AUSTR A LI A’S A NI M A LS OR PH A N E D A N I M A L S, BAT R EH A BI L ITAT ION

Experience Australia’s exotic flora and fauna by taking care of injured or orphaned animals. Every year, hundreds of injured animals come to our projects in Australia, where volunteers work together with keepers to save, rehabilitate and release the animals back into the wild. The animals that can’t ever be released due to serious injuries or other mistreatment at the hands of people will stay at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives and live in as natural habitats as possible, that you as volunteer help to create. YOU’L L FI N D MOR E PROJECTS A N D DEST I NAT IONS ON

w w w.volunteer travels.com

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Have Some Goodwill! Water for Earth supports our collaboration with The Perfect World Foundation. Every package sold equals a donation and spreads awareness about their mission to protect our nature and keep our planet alive for generations to come.

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C L I M AT E - S M A R T L I F E S T Y L E

C LI M AT E -SM A RT FOOD F ROM

T H E V E G E TA BL E K I NG D OM More g reens a nd less meat on your d i n ner plate, boosts your hea lt h a nd wel l-bei ng , a nd is pla net f r iend ly. Ma r ie But ler, hea lt h motivator a nd ow ner of t he Swed ish l i fest yle restaura nt Happy M K itchen i nspires us to enjoy food t hat is del icious, hea lt hy a nd susta i nable.

BY MY TILJESTAM

PHOTO: ÅSA DAHLGREN

Her philosophy is to present pure and nutrient-dense plant-based food that tastes delicious. “I want to inspire people to make good food choices,” says Marie. According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture animal products, such as meat, milk and cheese, account for one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. And meat consumption is escalating globally. “The climate impact on the environment from food we choose to eat needs to decrease dramatically. One way to achieve that is to choose more plant-based foods. Half a kilo (1 lb) of beef generates 13.5 kilos (29 lbs) of greenhouse gases, whereas half a kilo of beans only generates 0.2 kilos (7 oz),” continues Marie, who has worked with food and health for over 30 years. CH A NGI NG DA I LY H A BITS Marie encourages us to explore new ingredients and flavours so that we have a positive desire to change our daily habits. That’s why Happy M Kitchen offers innovative plant-based food with touches of fish and shellfish that meet the requirements for sustainable fishing. As many ingredients as possible are organic and locally produced, and the restaurant is level two KRAV-certified (a Swedish certification in accordance with EC regulation 834/2007). The menu doesn’t contain any meat, dairy products, white flour or refined sugar. And as knowledge and inspiration are important factors, Happy M Kitchen regularly organizes cooking courses, where you can learn how to prepare everything from healthy breakfasts and delicious snacks to exciting lunches and dinners.

“I also often give talks about food and health. People are becoming more and more conscious, and there is a lot of interest in how food affects us, and the planet. Why not try our recipe for climate-smart tacos (next page) with beans instead of beef, which

reduces the greenhouse gas emission by approximately 13 kilos (28 lbs). Let’s say a family eats tacos once a month, that would mean they could reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 150 kilos (330 lbs) per year, just by making a small change like this,” says Marie. K EEPI NG A N EY E ON H E A LTH TR ENDS Marie’s own interest in food started early on and has evolved over time. Already as a teenager she knew she wanted to get out into the world and run her own restaurant. She developed her skills in food and health, took health courses and read all of the research she could find. With the help of altered eating habits, Marie cured her own widespread eczema, and over the years she has also contributed to helping many others to become healthier. Nowadays she lives in Gothenburg, Sweden, but occasionally goes to London, Los Angeles and other cities to keep up-to-date on food and health trends that are worth bringing back home. A M EETI NG PL ACE Happy M Kitchen has become a meeting place for people who wish to eat good, healthy food. It serves natural and organic wines, organic beer, and other drinks and snacks. You can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there, or have a coffee and cake. On Saturdays a large brunch is laid out, and cold-pressed organic juices are made by order in the gigantic juice press, every day of the week.

Everything in Happy M’s world is packed full of Marie’s knowledge and vitality. With the help of her team, she constantly develops the concept and is now fully focused on expanding. “We are currently working out a structure that means that we will be able to gradually roll out Happy M Kitchen more widely. It’s incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to reach people in places outside Gothenburg as well,” says Marie enthusiastically.

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H A PPY M K ITCH EN’S

QU IC K A N D TA S T Y C L I M AT E - S M A RT TACO S Colour bursti ng sweet potato tacos w it h cr ispy coleslaw, black bea ns a nd g uaca mole. Great for a weekend mea l, or when you just wa nt somet h i ng qu ick a nd tast y. Completely pla nt-based a nd gluten f ree. The recipe ma kes eight tacos, enough for four people.

I NGR EDI ENTS

Sweet potato tacos 1 kg /2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp chilli pepper Pinch of salt and pepper Red cabbage and black bean coleslaw 500 ml /2 cups red cabbage, sliced into thin long strips 2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (approx. 7 dl /3 cups of cooked beans) 100 ml / 0.5 cup chopped spring onions, both white and green parts 100 ml / 0.5 cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro 2-3 tbsp lime juice 1 tsp olive oil ¼ tsp salt, add more to taste Guacamole (double the recipe if you’re a fan) 2 avocados 1 tbsp lime juice Chopped fresh coriander/cilantro 1 grated garlic clove Finely chopped fresh chilli (if you like spicy food) A pinch of salt, add more to taste Other 8 corn tortillas Suggested garnishes: chopped coriander/cilantro, hot salsa sauce, roasted pumpkin seeds, grated vegan cheese 158

PR EPA R ATION Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Use the upper shelves.

Roasted sweet potatoes: Place the sweet potato cubes on a lined baking tray. Turn the potatoes to coat each side in a thin layer of olive oil (use approx. 2 tbsp). Sprinkle over 1 tsp chilli pepper and the salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out to form a single layer. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn the sweet potatoes halfway through. The potatoes are ready once they are soft and have crispy brown edges. Coleslaw, prepare while the potatoes are cooking: Place the cabbage, black beans, spring onions, coriander/cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, taste, and add more lime juice and/or salt if necessary. Leave the mixture to marinate. Guacamole: Mix the diced avocado with lime juice, garlic, salt and finely chopped chilli (if using). Mash with a fork so that the mixture becomes a fine paste without any large avocado pieces. Add the chopped coriander/cilantro, taste, and add more salt if necessary. Tortillas: Heat both sides of each tortilla in a small frying pan on a medium heat. Stack the warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a lint-free tea towel to retain the heat. To serve: Place a generous portion of coleslaw in the middle of each tortilla, top with roasted sweet potatoes and add a spoon of guacamole on the side. Add your chosen garnishes and serve immediately.

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Lorem ipsum

501

(c)(3) status

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US FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR DONATIONS TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

S U P P O RT T P WF

TO H EL P PROT ECT OU R W I L DLI F E

SUPPORT OUR WOR K T R E E P LA N

ORO UGHF

# AT

A s a non-prof it cha r it y orga n ization we a re completely dependent on your donations, sponsorsh ips a nd com m itment to our cause.

OFFSET YOUR CA R BON FOOTPR INT

BECOM E A SPONSOR ING PA RTNER

By becoming a Perfect World monthly donor, you support the organization’s global work, and the work that goes into maintaining the foundation’s day-to-day work. We fight to preserve our planet’s wildlife and protect the environment with awareness campaigns, awareness and fundraising event to support wildlife conservation projects and our work with global partners. The Perfect World Foundation is completely dependent on your support, donations and engagement in our cause. Please find more information on our website: www.theperfectworld.com

‘The Attenborough Forest’ is The Perfect World’s global tree planting project with the aim to decrease atmospheric CO2 and fight global warming. The average carbon footprint per capita in the world is approx. 5,000 kilos (11,000 lbs) of CO2 per year. We estimate 10 US dollars per month to compensate for your carbon footprint – equivalent to 120 US dollars and 7,200 kilos of CO2 per year (read more at page 63–64). Using the ‘Tree Planting Form’ on our website, you can compensate for your carbon footprint monthly, or for a whole year at a time. www.theperfectworld.com

The Perfect World Foundation is dependent on sponsorships and close cooperations with companies. We can only create the needed change for our planet’s wildlife and the environment by working closely together with companies that support our cause and are interested in taking steps in the right direction. To get involved as a sponsor, please contact us at email: info@theperfectworld.com or give us a call at tel: +46 311 700 00

CLEA N UP TH E OCEA N TH E BLUE BUCK ET

CH A R ITA BLE BEQUEST

DONATE TO A SPECIFIC CAUSE OR A NI M A L

The Perfect World’s initiative ‘The Blue Bucket’ has the aim to create a global commitment to clean up our oceans by encouraging everyone to help pick up plastic and debris from the ocean. Join the campaign. To get your own ‘Blue Bucket’ or start a fundraiser to clean up the ocean and beaches, visit our website. To become a #TheBlueBucket sponsoring partner, please contact us at tel: +46 311 700 00 or email: info@theperfectworld.com.

By giving The Perfect World Foundation a charitable bequest in your will, you will contribute to making our fragile world a better place for generations to come. If it is your wish to include The Perfect World Foundation in your will, the organization will manage your donation to continue our long time work to preserve our planet’s wildlife and nature and fight climate change. Our aim is to make sure that future generations will be able to experience The Perfect World that we ourselves have been able to enjoy. For more information and assistance, please contact us at tel: +46 311 700 00

If any of our projects or a specific animal is held closer to your heart, or as business harmonizes with your company’s CSR or/and environmental work, we can arrange for your donation, or sponsoring, to exclusively aim the specific cause/project or animal of your choice.

OC E

AN CL

#T H

For more about our work, please visit our website: www.theperfectworld.com

BECOM E A MONTHLY DONOR

LU E BU C

Read more about The Blue Bucket campaign on page 128–129, or find out more on our website: www.theperfectworld.com

On our website and in this magazine you can read more about the projects and animals we support worldwide. For more information and assistance, please contact us at tel: +46 311 700 00 www.theperfectworld.com

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in Asia 10,000 moon bears in captivity have their bile extracted every day

moon bears can be kept captive in small cages for up to 30 years on bile farms

C AG E D MOON BE A R S I N

C A P T I V IT Y FOR T H EI R BI L E In China, over 10,000 moon bears are kept in tiny cages on what are known as ‘bile farms’ and around another 1,000 bears suffer the same fate in Vietnam. On these commercial farms moon bears have their bile extracted regularly, not only to be used in traditional Chinese medicine, but also in many common household products. Various very painful methods are used to puncture the bears’ abdomen to extract bile, causing the bears to suffer severe infections. Most bear bile farms keep the bears constantly locked up in cages that are often so small that the bears cannot turn or stand on all fours. Some bears are caged already as cubs and never released, and can live in their tiny cages for up to 30 years. The bears are usually dehydrated, starved, and suffer from infections, diseases and malignant tumours, which often end up causing their death. Despite a large number of efficient and affordable plant-based and synthetic alternatives, demand for products containing bear bile is constant in several countries in Asia, as well as in Australia, Canada and the United States.

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commercial bear bile farming started in China as late as in the 1980s

SAVE

THE

MOON

BEAR

The Perfect World Foundation decided years ago to work to support the combat of the most dreadful of all the industries involving wild animals – bear bile farming. Bear bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine and the cruel treatment of the bears to produce this product is a frightful process. The Perfect World Foundation is working closely with organizations in Asia to save bears in captivity on bile farms, in order to rehabilitate and care for the bears, and give them the happy life these playful animals deserve. Campaigns to stop the bile farm industry are of utmost importance, and we need a great deal of support and donations from our sponsoring partners to get the Chinese government to ban this terrible industry and trade once and for all. Our work will be finished when the bile farms are gone and the bile trade ends.

YOUR HELP MAT TERS! Together we have the power to create a better world for our planet’s wildlife, oceans, environment – and people!

Scan the QR code with your camera phone, to support and help us keep fighting for the voiceless and save our MOON BEARS.

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A L O N G PA T H S O F T H E A N T H R O P O C E N E

FOOT PR I N TS My footpr i nt is much too la rge. I’m not ta l k i ng about t he 280 m m of f lesh a nd blood, wh ich leave a n i mpr i nt i n t he sof t ea r t h, t he track s of a n i nd iv idua l of ten erased as soon as t hey a re made. That footpr i nt on ly revea ls where I have been, not who I a m.

A CHAPTER FROM AUTHOR BO LANDIN’S BOOK – FOOTPRINTS

My ecological footprint tells a different story. Regrettably, that footprint often remains for a long time. It is incorporated into the Earth’s history and becomes part of a collective effect on all living things: on mountains, soil, air, and water. Just like my human footprint differs from others – some larger, most smaller – my ecological footprint differs from that of other people. My ecological footprint informs on a history; it tells of oppression, of financial conditions and of power. It divulges something about knowledge and desire, of inability and insufficiency. My ecological footprint is as vulnerable as my very nature and still so powerful that it can step on humanity and on the rights of individual people – now and in the future. Modern science breaks down all knowledge into tiny parts, so small that we sometimes forget to see the bigger picture. Today we are bombarded with statistics, diagrams, and power-point images. I learn that each of us walking the earth today is “entitled to” an ecological footprint of 1.8 hectares of Earth’s surface. That equals all the land we can divide between all of us living on Earth today. In the last 50 years, the ecological footprint – measured by use of natural resources – increased by 190 percent. Together we stomp around with footprints to the tune of 2.7 hectares per person, meaning we need one and a half planets to fulfil everyone’s needs – if we divide the use up evenly among all citizens of Earth. But this of course is not the reality. Those of us in the richer parts of the world have grabbed more of everything. Personally, I have fought for environmental issues my entire life. I try to live sustainably by principles, rules and guidelines of the last decades. I still 164

BO LANDIN, Swedish biologist, journalist, film producer, director and TV profile, and author of the newly launched book ‘Footprints’.

fail monumentally. If everyone lived as I do, we would perhaps need four or five planets Earth. My ecological footprint has a history I cannot erase. I have deposited insurmountable amounts of carbon dioxide in the global climate bank. And I keep doing it. In this bank, physical and ecological feedback loops are the interest accumulation, which plays out as dividends that breaks down the climate – and ecosystems – exponentially.

ANTHROPOCENE FOOTPRINTS

At the same time, a lot of people also know and sense that this is wrong, and our direction is beyond reason, but are still not interested in breaking the pattern.

The measures we take today as humans on a limited planet, will determine what lives and which world our descendants will experience. Or perhaps I should say, which world they will endure, because when I look to the future, it is not an all beautiful and harmonious one. The outcome is up to us. This is why our epoch is called the Anthropocene, a proposal among scientists to create a new geological time where humans decide how the world at large will look and perform. People are about to reshape this planet. At the same time, a lot of people also know and sense that this is wrong, and our direction is beyond reason, but are still not interested in breaking the pattern. In the human world, there are forces beyond those of nature. For all of humanity, people have tried to rein in the forces of nature – to control the forces that would otherwise control us. In this futile ambition, we have lost our foothold. Can we regain our firm footing on the path in our human history where we instead focus on controlling our own destructive forces, our inner demons, which threaten our world – and our mere existence? It is undeniable that we live in a changing time, where one species – Homo sapiens – has the ability to change an entire world. Humans have the power to move mountains, melt polar ices, leave traces in all soils and waters and perhaps irreversibly change the conditions for their own lives as well as the lives of all living creatures on Earth. This makes me think of the Greek expression ‘kairos’. The word belongs in classic rhetoric, meaning “the right moment”, the moment in a conversation or debate where a new fact, the right word at the right time, changes everything. Is that moment now? Is today the day when our arguments finally stick the landing and lead to decisions and change?

The baffling thing is that our present was my future. At the end of the 1960s, when I first got engaged in environmental issues, I was part of the ‘future generation’. We were rebels, demanding answers from our parents’ generation. As a field biologist, I saw impacts in nature which terrified me. As teenagers, we were able to see the world in a totally different light from our parents. But as our worldview expanded, this social activism soon got other overtones. In 1971, I was one of the Swedish representatives at the world’s first international youth conference on the human environment. The idea was that we would organize and prepare our input at the UN’s first environmental conference, scheduled for the following year in Stockholm, Sweden. I travelled to Canada with ideas of nature under threat, an awareness of toxic substances like DDT and a lot of information about polluted rivers. But in just a few days, my worldview was changed completely. Meeting young people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, I realized that my limited knowledge and insight did not include their daily reality. Their environmental questions revolved around daily survival, food production, apartheid, control of natural resources, war, and international justice. Today, reading the declaration we agreed on then, I realize it has taken 30-40-50 years for several of our stanzas to be included in international declarations and resolutions. Back then, we knew nothing of the “greenhouse effect” or climate change, but the result of our agreements was that a more just world, peace, and a more ecologically sound and democratic progress would, in fact, benefit all of humanity. As the threat of climate change grows, and ominous reports multiply, it is easy to become pessimistic. Some speak of ‘environmental angst’ when the future looks bleak. Perhaps we think that we won a few battles but are still losing the war. But I admit that I’m not as easily optimistic as I used to be. It is no longer simply a matter of technological solutions and political breakthroughs. It is about our lifestyle, our cultures’ survival, and it demands large social adjustments – nothing less than a complete system re-set. Already now we are getting a glimpse of what

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COLORS OF POISON #7 BY HANS STRAND Colors of Poison #7 from the series ‘Manmade Land’, by nature and landscape photographer Hans Strand, shows the pollution of the Rio Tinto River in southwestern Spain. An incredibly beautiful picture with a dark truth. In this series, Strand let’s us witness landscapes where nature has completely given way to the influence of mankind. Places that are more ‘man-made’ than natural.

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ANTHROPOCENE FOOTPRINTS

ANTHROPOCENE Anthropocene – the human epoch – is a proposed geological period usually pertaining to the time period after the industrial revolution (around 1800) to the present day, a time during which human impact and activities have been a significant factor in changes in the Earth’s geology, climate and ecosystems.

Constant wildfires decimate what little vegetation remains. It is as though the Sahara Desert extends its desiccated and deadly hand over the Mediterranean and creates a stranglehold over the land.

the future will hold. Refugees today seek protection from offenses and war. But they are also fleeing the effects of climate change. When the temperature rises a degree, maybe two or three, millions of people will begin a new era of migration. I can thumb through the pages of history and see how migration is part of the human soul’s constant striving toward new worlds, new opportunities while fleeing war, threats and hardships. This is often a search for arable land, water and a chance to survive. The images I see in scientific reports are clear. Behind dry facts telling us that the northern Mediterranean regions will be subject to severe drought, lays the knowledge that the life lived there today is not sustainable; depleted water sources forces people on the move. Already now the yearly winter rains in southern Europe that have guaranteed life here are no longer falling as they used to do. Constant wildfires decimate what little vegetation remains. It is as though the Sahara Desert extends its desiccated and deadly hand over the Mediterranean and creates a stranglehold over the land. “Head north!” the calls will echo among people. “There is land there, there is water, there we can grow what we and our ancestors always grew around the Mediterranean!” Seen from this angle, we must now ask the tough questions: can our democratic systems handle the immense changes we will face when climate change dictates the situation? Faced with serious enough threats, humans have shown they can make decisions,

which change entire societies. Sometimes, these changes came about through war. During the Second World War, the entire industrial production was altered – particularly in the USA. Production means and goals were successfully altered without delay. Society got a boost. With the climate crisis, mankind faces an existential threat, and I must once again believe we can make wise decisions to benefit humanity at large. This crisis creates opportunity. Even in the United States, which is responsible for a disproportionate amount of the world carbon emissions, something is changing. Today, more people are employed in solar, wind and alternative energy projects than are employed in the oil, coal, and gas industries combined! Sitting on the Arctic mountainside, the sun’s last rays setting the glacier’s edge aflame, my being moves into the perspective of eons, and I feel comforted by my own smallness and insignificance. That feeling creates respect for nature and reignites the forces of my youth, which made me fight for everything nature represents. Just like the delegates at the youth conference in Canada in 1971 made me realize that the dream of a sustainable and fair society was a matter of power, I now realize it is no longer enough to believe in hope and imagine we will simply arrive in a utopia. To avoid an even worse dystopian reality than the one already staring us in the face, we must channel our constructive rage into a force which hopefully can take power from those who do not wish to give our grandchildren and descendants any alternatives past the Anthropocene. Nature sets our limits and shows us the possibilities. As I hike in nature and dwell in my inner landscape, I let the elements of wood, air, water, fire, and earth flow through my senses and reveal the processes that ultimately rule the lives of you, me, and those who come after us. With great care, I leave my footprint. 167

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M IK A EL B DY NA M IC WOR LD

TOGETH ER W E M A K E A DIFFER ENCE The opportunity to help save our valuable environment and the oceans is something we focus on daily, and an important source of inspiration in Mikael’s work. His art piece ‘Dynamic World’ with its surreal world map is reflecting the fragile yet amazing world we live in, is one of Mikael’s personal favorites. In The Perfect World’s web shop you can buy your own ‘Dynamic World’ print. The numbered limited edition of fine art prints are signed by the artist, and come with associated authenticity and value certificate. Print size: 100 x 60 cm / 39 x 24’’. All proceeds go to The Perfect World Foundation to support their important work. 169

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SAVE THE POLLINATORS. PART OF THE PROFIT OF THIS PRODUCT GOES TO PROJECTS SELECTED BY TPWF THAT SUPPORTS POLLINATORS.

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Spring 2020 Opera

3D international

La Bohème

By Puccini Runs until 1 April

Così fan tutte

By Mozart Premiere 14 March

The Cunning Little Vixen By Janáček Premiere 4 April

Tosca

By Puccini Revival Premiere 8 May

Dance

International collaboration between three European dance companies. World premiere 2 April

Musical Oliver!

By Lionel Bart Runs until 26 April Production licensed by Cameron Mackintosh and the Southbrook Group.

Britten, Baroque and Choral Favourites 11 March

George Fentons Planet Trilogy

Produced by BBC EARTH. Blue Planet, Planet earth and Frozen Planet 15–17 May

1970 – the Final Concert Premiere 3 June

Concert La ville morte

Beyond

By Wang Ramirez and Yoann Bourgeois World premiere 6 March

By Nadia Boulanger and Raoul Pugno. Performed as a concert. 8 March

Learn more and buy tickets on opera.se The Göteborg Opera Main Sponsors Göteborgs Hamn, SKF, VOLVO Tickets www.opera.se goteborgsoperan GOdanskompani

@goteborgsoperan

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WE ARE PLANTING TREES Arctic ice is melting. For every Lip Cristal sold, we will plant a tree to offset CO2 emissions and the effects of climate change on our planet, in collaboration with The Perfect World Foundation. 172

NEW LIP CRISTAL Vibrant, creamy color with a dazzling glitter finish. Anna wears Lip Cristal in Citrine

E XKLUSIV T PÃ&#x2026; NK I STOCKHOLM

Wildlife & model photos - Philippe Chantecaille

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