Costa Rica. Puero Viejo de Talamanca series

some photos by the Flower Power Sustainable Trips gang

Revolution premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012, and has been received well. In fact, it had the highest opening weekend of any Canadian documentary. Rob and his team are heading to Cannes in a few weeks to try to get wider international distribution.

They want the movie to be seen by at least 1 Billion people.

As opposed to just another droning eco-lecture, Revolution is a great travelogue, and thus adventurous and relatable. It still contains a lot of unique wildlife and marine life footage, along with powerful messages throughout.

It covers a lot of important topics: coral reef destruction, species extinction, the loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification, air and ocean pollution, and tar sand refining – all incredibly important and urgent matters. But is that enough? Don’t we have all the information we can take?

Of course, that’s not all there is. Rob founded an organization called United Conservationists, working to mobilize the public, and especially inform, educate and engage children and young people to take action and participate in conservation efforts on a number of issues, including overfishing, habitat loss, extinction, deforestation – basically, any leading destructive activities that are contributing to the environmental crisis of our generation.

The documentaries and the campaigns have had other positive effects, such as creating a positive and caring global community of people who are dedicated and focused on education, networking and activism. A community of the future.

Previously, Rob wrote, directed and starred in his first documentary, Sharkwater, which, like Revolution, is a powerful film on the dangers of marine life around the globe. As an award-winning wildlife photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s magazine, he traversed our planet’s oceans and coasts and highlighted the threats that are engendering the world’s shark population. He then campaigned for the ban of shark fin soup, a delicacy in China, which has lead to the decline of sharks (shark fins are the only part of the shark used for the soup; the rest of the body is thrown back into the sea, wasted). The decline in shark numbers affect the entire marine life network because all the species and the habitat are intricately linked.

Over the years, since Sharkwater’s release in 2006, Rob and his team have lead a crusade and witnessed some major policy changes and laws in conservation, such as entire countries banning the slaughter of sharks, and, in some cases, entirely banning fin soup.

When you travel to exotic countries, you can try local delicacies, and it’s fine within limits, he says, as they are a part of the travel experience. But know that travel can still be immensely rewarding, even better, without harming something in return for your own personal indulgence, such as exotic species or the nature.

Having been almost continuously on the road for the past 4 years, doing research for the film, filming and campaigning on pressing issues, Rob said that he is looking to take some time off after he finishes the Revolution tour. Because this is a prevalent subject (and do activists ever stop ‘working’?) I asked him if he still ever travels just for fun, to relax, to explore, or is it always for a purpose? No, he still likes to get away from it all. But he does it consciously because he is aware of his environmental impact, as we should all be.

If we all, collectively, decide to make it our priority to act responsibly, we will influence and inspire each other. We will fly less, drive less, shop less, eat less animal products, we will reuse and redistribute our stuff, we will stop using plastic bags, we will turn off air-conditioning, and so on. Small steps, individual steps do matter.

Consumption is still a BIG problem. And if we can’t bring a positive change in our lifetime, with our generation, it’s all done for. Oops, I shouldn’t have said this, he told me to approach the issue from a more positive perspective.

So, what does he suggest?

• Spread a positive message
• Exercise a constructive and balanced perspective
• Take the respectful approach
• Build awareness by working with, not against
• Motivate, do not scold
• Encourage, do not reprimand

What’s done is done, but current solutions and proactive changes can, and will make a difference. Revolution Movie is playing in a theatre near you.

Written for, and published on Travel Culture Mag.

I clear my mind, and it’s almost a meditation. It’s almost a hypnosis

I’ve surrendered to the present. And it’s so intimate, it’s almost.. an illusion

I watch those who wait and who depart
and this dream of seeing you makes me lonelier still…
I am that traveler who left with no goodbye,
who knows when he returns, he won’t hear your voice.

(-Soy aquel viajero)

Costa Rica. Puero Viejo de Talamanca series

some photos by the Flower Power Sustainable Trips gang

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.”

Today is a good day, it’s Earth Day. Here’s my article on TravelCultureMag.

All the predictions have materialized and there’s no escaping the realization that the face of the world is changing. The Earth is evolving and going through natural cycles, but it is more so apparent that the growth of population and our living habits are influencing this change.

You fly to your friend’s stag do, a quick weekend trip to the beach, you chuck your heavy laptop for a lighter ‘travel’ version, throw in an iPad too because it’s so hip, and that new digital SLR, you gear up for your camping trip with all the brand new items, while the old ones are hoarding the garage, or have met its fate in the garbage bin, you text and you talk on the phone all your waking hours, your Facebook is on 24/7, driving to the grocery store is just too convenient to reconsider, and that shark fin soup is too delicious to pass.

But before you start to cheer for noticeably less precipitation, warmer winters and scorching summers, think about adapting to extreme weather conditions: desertification and rising sea levels, droughts and floods, and the loss of biodiversity (because animal species are not as adaptable to these new patterns).

Ok, maybe you don’t care about the animals. But what about us? We are blaming past generations for not considering the implications of their actions and burdening us with saving the planet, but we are exerting even more pressure on the environment, and the future generation, which doesn’t really have a future, the way things stand now. I envision my children’s children wearing gas masks and living in domed cities.

In fact, two years ago Newsweek came out with its 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, an endangered list of locations that could be obliterated due to climate change and other environmental problems. A lot of iconic cities are on, as well as some truly amazing places, including Maldives, Venice, California’s Big Sur, the Aegean Sea, Lake Baikal, the Great Barrier Reef, Tokyo, etc. The world will see many environmental refugees and possibly even entire regions disappear and soon talked about as if they were merely myths.

It makes you want to pack up and try to save those places with your own hands.

The more I write about these issues and the more I discuss them with online and offline communities, the more I find myself running into a lot of resistance and pessimism. Apart from a very small, indeed trivial number of people who really do care, do believe, and are doing whatever they can to minimize their footprint and use the power of communication and interconnectedness that we possess nowadays to raise more awareness, there is a 1000 times more powerful wave coming from the rest of the public and the mainstream industry that just can’t wait for the trend to die. And they do see sustainability, environmental issues and all this funny green business as a passing trend.

It is so easy to pretend that it’s not about you, dear reader, or me, or anyone individually, and that these are not our personal choices that have resulted in this state of the world. But they are. We’re all guilty.

But, as long as we feel no guilt or indignity for our choices, we can continue to turn our back on it, and on all the judgement. Which is what we’re largely doing now.

There are incredible places that we need to protect and preserve. Instead, we live day-to-day, so indulgently, playing a key part in aggravating the nature and its normal cycles, and are now witnessing it rebelling, proving that it can no longer sustain our activities.

The shift is inevitable, and we cannot stop it, but we can work together to contain the damage and mitigate additional threats. Yes, we are able to do this but we are, on the whole, just not willing to. That’s all there is to it: we are too comfortable, too indulgent to even bother.

It is too easy, and quite unchallenging, to travel around the world these days: you catch the first ride to wherever, scout some hostel or private accommodation, rent a cheap bed for the night, borrow from someone on the upper bunk a Lonely Planet guide for the place you are at, run around, snap pictures, soak up the vibe, meet people, maybe give the local language a tongue twirl, try to learn a few things, try to have as much fun as you can while still keeping it affordable, and pack memories back with you.

Hopefully, there’s more to it.

Please travel responsibly.

Get informed.

Get involved.

Consider your impact on the local populations.

Try to contribute positively to the local development.

Be glad and thankful that you’re a part of a global community.

Be conscious of your actions.

Don’t be selfish.

Smile.

Repeat.

~

I wrote the following article in tune with the Swiss Malaria Group Photo Contest, and it has been published on Photodox. Photos, entered in the contest, are by Goran Jovic from his trip to Tanzania.

© Goran Jovic

Western travellers who go to malaria-infected countries are equipped with vaccines, tablets and all the information they could google prior to their journey. However, they may not be prepared for what they have to face once they get there, and I don’t mean the mosquitos.

Although very common and widely dispersed across all African nations, the disease is still somewhat a mystery to the common people. Its prevention, transmission and cure are virtually unknown to all but the medics.

© Goran Jovic

People in less developed countries are often susceptible to vector borne diseases because they have low immunity, their organism unable to resist the infection. This requires a more in-depth approach to the cure, including adequate and healthy nourishment, clean water, and basic shelter. But the tribes that are located near water sources are also at high risks. There is a town in Tanzania called Mto Wa Mbu, which in direct translation means The river of mosquitos. The town was gradually populated after it was discovered that it is a favourable location for growing rice. However, favourable conditions for growing rice attracted the mosquitos as well, which breed in very humid and high temperatures, also suitable for festering parasites.

© Goran Jovic

Some traditional tribes still believe that their ritualistic practices are better than modern medicine, and are reluctant to subject themselves to vaccination or drugs. In Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, the Hamar tribes use a mixture of butter and soil as both a protection and body decoration. Other known traditional tribal remedies in the Maasai tribes in Tanzania include ritualistic healing practices and herbal mixtures, which are possibly toxic, if not entirely inefficient.

Another issue is infrequent and unreliable transportation to the vaccine clinics. Even then, most people live in remote villages and have no way to get to the public transportation pick-up areas. The only other possibility to go get vaccinated is to hitch a ride with a missionary, down a long and rough dirt road. Return trips can last a few days.

© Goran Jovic

In case they are diagnosed once they get there, there is an issue of the cost. To the outsiders, the $1 – the cost of the treatment (especially since travellers pay around $100 a jab) – seems a trifle, but to the tribal people this is often an amount of money they cannot afford. Fortunately, there are numerous volunteer and relief organizations that work to cover all the costs and the necessary supplies.

Still, it can be as simple and cost-effective as distributing mosquito nets to the areas in high risk.

If the person is bitten by a parasite-carrying mosquito, a full course of life-saving drugs that can cure a child in 3 days costs $1.

© Goran Jovic

Although there are no high rates of malaria and outbreaks of pandemic proportions any longer in Africa, due to globalization and advances in transportation and communication, the infections are not fully under control. According to Swiss Malaria Group, malaria kills between 600,000 – 900,000 people each year.

A child dies of malaria every minute.

~

photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/

Many labels come to mind when I think of Venice: magical, mysterious, one-of-a-kind, legendary – it’s not an easy place to define.

On my first visit there I wondered: could I ever live in a city where I wouldn’t be able to ride a bike? On the other hand, I loved that it is car-free: no fumes, no traffic, no road rage. Instead, all the essential city services were carried out by boats: ambulances, garbage men, firefighters, police men – all sailors!

One late-September day  few years ago I found myself knocking on heavy gates of Palazzo Zorzi, hoping to call the palace my new office. And a few days later, I also began calling Venice my home.

Palazzo Zorzi houses UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and I joined the environmental science team to contribute to, among other things, the Venice lagoon conservation and tourism management projects.

photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/

Soon after I moved there, my colleague Giorgio – one of those mysterious prototypes that wears a cape and a fedora and looks like a phantom stealthily cutting corners of narrow street corridors in thick misty winter fogs – taught me how to circumnavigate the maze of timeworn streets like a pro. Then, a very important sense of belonging to the community, he taught me how to give directions: ‘just keep going straight (‘sempre dritto’) and inquire again at the next bridge!’ The phrase ‘sempre dritto’ is the most common and commonly-acceptable instruction to navigate Venice.

That said, it is next to impossible to keep going straight almost anywhere in Venice for more than a few meters, given the city’s amusing labyrinth-like composition. But those dark, winding back alleys are like a game of treasure hunt.

I have always encouraged my visitors to leave all the maps at home and disregard the signposts, sending them off to stroll leisurely, with an accompanying message that Venice is quite small and you can’t get lost, but you can get tired!

photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/

As I worked on projects that see Venice struggling to brave centuries of existence, cyclical changes, and pressures of increased economic and tourist activity, I was also trying to find myself in it as a new Venetian, no longer a traveler or a passer-by.

Being employed by a UN organization has been as helpful as ineffectual in sorting out important errands. The Italian administration was confused about what status to grant me: which visa, which residential permit, what bank account? As it is all tied together, it took me months to ‘settle in’.

Urban growth is not an option in here, as the city has been at its maximum capacity for centuries – physical space is a factor already deficient in this equation. But there is room for restoration.

The sole fact that this is a very busy and demanding tourism destination affects its other functions, especially as a residential city, offering a range of tourism services but limited facilities for living or for cultivating a business here. They are not entirely unavailable, but they are sparse due to the lack of demand.

Also, the costs of residing, doing business and visiting Venice are justifiably higher due to the constant need to maintain and support its delicate system, as those who reside in it and profit from it are directly involved in its promotion against neglect and deterioration.

Water erosion due to seasonal flooding also jeopardizes the state of its settlements, and although it runs no risk of becoming the lost city of Atlantis, the repercussions are already apparent in the perpetual need to clean and repair the foundations that are susceptible to decay and damage.

It is looking to strike a balance between the coinciding tourism forces and environmental tolls.

photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/

I could often, later, imagine Venice becoming an open-air museum.

Years down the road, to preserve the cultural and natural splendors of this exquisite setting, residents would almost entirely move out, hotels and businesses would close, daily visits would be limited to a low volume, and an entrance fee charged. Only museums and exhibits would serve as entertainment, with a selective few souvenir shops and restaurants uniformly arranged across the 7 neighborhoods. All the tacky, touristy ploys and clutter would be eliminated, just pure and simple la Serenissima remaining.

La Serenissima is its locally used designation, meaning the most serene.

That is just an idealistic vision of mine, born in the times of frustration with the tourist invasions.

Although, I must admit it was rather enjoyable living in such a place, almost like living in Disneyland – everyone was always on a vacation, the lazy smiles and loud songs of the Gondolieri resonated down the canals, and the streets were full of exuberant and enthusiastic crowds on a daily basis.

photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/