Preserving the future!
Martin Clunes embraces the culture and traditions of Guam and Palau…
MARTIN CLUNES: ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC Monday, 9pm, ITV1 Factual
The final episode of Martin Clunes’ travelogue sees him travel to Guam, a US territory in Micronesia, a remote region of the Western Pacific.
There, he meets Suzanne Medina, a conservationist who’s trying to save a native flightless bird called the ko’ko from extinction after its population was almost wiped out when a World War Two ship accidentally brought a pregnant brown tree snake to the now infested island.
‘This snake wreaked havoc on the island’s bird population,’ says Martin. ‘You’d be hard-pressed to hear any birdsong on Guam.’
He also visits a school where teachers are aiming to reintroduce the indigenous Chamorro culture and language back into the Americanised territory.
‘Suzanne’s efforts to keep the ko’ko bird alive in the face of this invasive tree snake is a metaphor for what’s happened to Guam with various invasive humans trying to consume their culture and people,’ says Martin.
Next, Martin heads 800 miles southwest to the island state of Palau, which is leading the world in terms of pioneering conservation and sustainability.
There, he helps preserve endangered hawksbill turtle eggs, dives on a reef teeming with wildlife and kayaks alongside a herd of rare dugongs.
‘What a real privilege to get so close to these near-mythical, mystical, secretive animals,’ says Martin. ‘Despite what seems like the world’s intention to turn us into one gigantic homogenous community,
I’m very happy to report that the customs, traditions and ways of life on these islands are very much alive and well.’