LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT
“ THE TRAGEDY OF OUR TIME HAS BEEN HAPPENING ALL AROUND US , BARELY NOTICEABLE FROM DAY TO DAY – THE LOSS OF OUR PLANET ’ S WILD PLACES , ITS BIODIVERSITY ”
dedication to research , documentation , and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration , presented to Attenborough by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2022 .
Alongside , through his broadcasting work , Attenborough ’ s legacy is formed by the species and genera – of which there are at least 20 , both living and extinct – that have been named after him .
Wider sustainability work Attenborough ’ s work outside of broadcasting is both extensive and wide in range . He served as President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation 1991 – 1995 , and currently sits as President of Butterfly Conservation and President Emeritus of both the Royal Society for Nature Conservation and Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust . He is the Vice- President of The Conservation Volunteers and Fauna and Flora International , and Ember of Earthshot prize Council . The World Land Trust , Friends of Richmond Park and Population Matters see Attenborugh as a Patron , alongside his role as Honorary Patron of the North American Native Plant Society .
He also currently serves on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine and is a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science .
In 2003 he helped to launch ARKive , a global project to gather together natural history media into a digital library , with a view to prioritise profiles for the 17,000 or so species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . The collection was archived in 2019 at over 100,000 images .
Climate change Attenborough is a staunch advocate for actions against climate change , using his documentaries to highlight the effects that global warming is having on the planet around us .
“ If we have not taken dramatic action within the next decade ,” he says in the 2021 series Climate Change – The Facts , “ We could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies .”
In 2021 , he was the People ’ s Advocate at COP26 where he urged world leaders to reduce emissions for the benefit of the planet . “ Ultimately the emergency climate comes down to a single number – the concentration of carbon in our atmosphere ,” he said in his address . “ The changes in that one number is the clearest way to chart our own story , for it defines our relationship with our world .
“ We are already in trouble . Today , those who ’ ve done the least to cause this problem , are being the hardest hit .”
His message is clear , but it is also hopeful : “ We must recapture billions of tons of carbon from the air , and fix our sights on keeping one and a half degrees within reach . A new industrial revolution , powered by millions of sustainable innovations , is essential , and is indeed already beginning .”
26 November 2023