Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is an award-winning ecologist, conservationist,
Chris Morgan has just returned from the Chiquibul Forest of Belize – a place, he says, that is ‘so layered and vivid, it can often be exhausting’. He has been exploring the dense tropical forest with the assistance of local conservation and Development, producing the third series of his podcast The WILD with Chris Morgan. Episode two sees him embark on a mosquito-ridden trek through the undergrowth to track jaguars. Q: Belize has a good reputation for environmental stewardship. Did you get a sense for why that might be? CM: I think it’s because Belizean people feel close to nature. And that’s not meant to sound vague. People are born into it; it’s in their DNA and their belief system. About half of the population live below the global poverty line and so have come to depend on nature for their livelihoods, and to respect it. For helps tourism-based businesses to thrive, so there is a deep-rooted respect for its value. Q: Some of your most popular documentaries have focused on large, charismatic species. Why do you think that is? CM: If you can’t convince someone to protect a forest, whether it’s in India or Washington State, maybe you can convince them to protect tigers or bears. Focusing on these charismatic species and their garnering support for conservation. Q: This year, many of us have been appreciating local wildlife more. Does that give you encouragement? CM: I think our whole psychology is changing through Covid-19. People have started to realise that it’s something that can happen all over again, and that if we don’t improve our relationship with nature, then this is a test for the next virus to come. I’d like to think that when we get through this period, the world will be a kinder and more empathetic place. Then again, human beings do have famously short memories! Q: Nature conservation can sometimes draw criticism for having a myopic approach. Do you think people are aware of the diversity of perspectives when it comes to critical conservation issues? CM: Some storytellers ignore that fact and just blaze through – there’s a place for that sometimes, and then there’s also a place for the more neutral storytelling approach. Grizzly Bears: Wanted? and we went microphone in hand to all stakeholder groups. What we found was that the majority of people support nature’s comeback and want grizzly bears and mountain lion numbers to grow. The minority of those who don’t are usually a lot louder than the ones who do. It’s a delicate balance between hearing a diversity of opinion and lending too much voice to ill-informed, vocal minorities rallying over non-science. Q: Is there a particular skill to seeing nature? CM: I think everyone has some sense for it. But for some, it’s been chipped away at by society. That’s what motivates me: helping others to have these edifying experiences in nature. It’s amazing to see the societal version of a person melt away to a more primal version. The third series of The WILD with Chris Morgan is now available to download