From ODT
A film location scout criticised for damaging a high country wetland in the Nevis Valley area while filming a 4WD advertisement admits he made a mistake, but says he had no idea the bog was a "fragile" ecosystem.
The ecosystem had a diverse native plant community and was also home to distinctive wetland invertebrates.
Graham Thompson (the film scout) said many 4WD vehicles and several motorcyclists went through that piece of land while he was there.
"I consider myself a conservator and I would never in a million years have gone in there had I known it was a valuable conservation area."
"It's not like it was a pristine, amazing area. There were sets of tyre tracks all through it."What is pristine? Our ideas of natures beauty are framed by all of the media images we get and we need to adjust that view and look at all areas - for their inherent beauty. This is not a blame issue - we just have to open our eyes.
5 comments:
Kia ora Marty,
What I also find scary is that within a day of Pike River going into recievership Brownlee is on the radio saying that Pike River will be looked at for open cast mining, and saying it was possible to do so, in spite of all that has been said to the contrary. In other words using a tragedy, and now job losses to justify the gnats agenda of ripping the wilderness apart and leaving the mess for future generations.
Robb
For reference, it's worth noting that the Care Code of the New Zealand Four Wheel Drive Association more or less seems to contradict what these people have been doing in at least 4 of its top 5 points. Notably avoiding sensitive areas, abiding by laws and regulations and staying on roads without widening them, respecting wildlife and keeping distance, and finding out if a permit is required for access then obtaining permission as appropriate.
Hi again. I don't mean to seem unsympathetic, but I should add that I'm quite happy to blame that guy as well as the other drivers who have driven through the wet-land.
Deciding what's pristine is an issue all of it's own and I suppose this is what you're getting at, but they're in the business of driving 4 wheel drive vehicles off-road and marketing good practices to their customers, and they should know the laws and how to do it responsibly. People make mistakes, but I don't think they should be absolved of responsibility because of this, especially if the mistakes are a consequence of unreasonable carelessness.
Opening our eyes has the potential to be very inconvenient...we might actually have to start taking some responsibility for a change, for the damage we are doing to our environment. It's good to see you mentioning wetlands in relation to conservation. It is an area that seems to go largely unmentioned and so it is much easier to ignore the ecological implications of riding rough-shod all over it, using ignorance as an excuse to absolve ourselves of any responsibility when it is brought to light.
We might even be in danger of having to show some respect for the beauty around us! And that wouldn't do would it? How inconvenient...GRRRRRRrrrrrrr
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