Saving Planet Earth is a season of nature
documentaries with a conservation theme, screened
on BBC Television in 2007 to mark the 50th
anniversary of its specialist factual department,
the BBC Natural History Unit.
The series featured films contributed by a
number of celebrities on the plight of various
endangered species, and coincided with the
launch of the BBC Wildlife Fund, a charitable
organisation which distributes money to conservation
projects around the world.
The television series culminated in a live
fundraising telethon on BBC Two, hosted by
Alan Titchmarsh, which raised over £1 million
for the charity.
The BBC broadcast a second live telethon in
2010.
Wild Night In was presented by Kate Humble,
Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games and
featured conservation projects which had benefited
from the support of the BBC Wildlife Fund.
This helped to raise a further £1 million.
Background
The format of Saving Planet Earth was something
of a departure for the Unit, using celebrities
not normally associated with natural history
programmes rather than selecting a familiar
face from its pool of specialists.
The season began with a special hour-long
programme on BBC One entitled "Sharing Planet
Earth", a clarion call for action to conserve
nature, presented by David Attenborough.
It was followed by nine documentaries broadcast
nightly over the course of a fortnight, in
which celebrities investigated the plight
of endangered species.
Each programme was introduced by Alan Titchmarsh
and featured a short narration by Attenborough
to provide some background information on
the featured species.
Along with the BBC One programmes, a five-part
series entitled Saving Planet Earth - UK was
broadcast in parallel on BBC Two.
Presented by Michaela Strachan, it aimed to
show audiences the threats facing British
wildlife, and how they could help by becoming
directly involved in conservation.
A second five-part series on the CBBC Channel
followed seven young competition winners on
their own personal journeys to destinations
including Brazil and Borneo to report on threatened
species.
The season culminated with a live fundraising
evening to raise money for a newly established
conservation charity, the BBC Wildlife Fund.
Episodes
1.
Saving Planet Earth
The opening programme, presented by David
Attenborough and featuring footage from many
of his earlier series and some of the BBC's
most successful natural history productions,
takes a global view of the threats facing
wildlife.
Attenborough ponders the question of whether
there is enough space and resources to accommodate
the rapidly growing human population and all
of the other species on our planet, and poses
that we will need to change our wasteful ways
if we are not to lose a significant number
of species to extinction.
"All the animals we’ll see over the course
of the series are disappearing because of
one species: humans.
We know that we are using more than our fair
share of the planet and its resources and
we must now redress this imbalance.
Any effort to do so – no matter how big
or small – is valuable, if we wish to ensure
a future that is healthy for all life on planet
Earth."
— David Attenborough’s closing words
2.
Saving Gorillas
In the first of nine 30-minute films focussing
on particular threatened species, pop star
Will Young travels to Cameroon to report on
the plight of the lowland gorilla.
Although more numerous than its mountain-dwelling
cousins, its numbers are declining fast due
to habitat loss and poaching.
3.
Saving Tigers
Tigers have been a protected species for many
years, but despite this they are increasingly
threatened by extinction due to poaching and
increasing conflict with humans.
But can the spiritual and deeply felt respect
for tigers held by ordinary Indians offer
a lifeline for the species?
Newsreader Fiona Bruce reports from Bandhavgarh
National Park, where acclaimed wildlife cameraman
and tiger expert Alphonse Roy has been watching
and filming them for 20 years.
4.
Saving Crocodiles
DJ Edith Bowman travels 6,000 miles to Cambodia
on the trail of the very rare Siamese crocodile,
which was hunted to brink of extinction.
Now, conservation charities such as The Wildlife
Conservation Society and Fauna and Flora International
are working in partnership with the Cambodian
government and have established a crocodile
farm to increase the population size.
5.
Saving Albatross
Carol Thatcher flies to the Falkland Islands
to find out why the black-browed albatross
and its relatives are under threat.
Albatross numbers have plummeted in recent
years due to long-line fishing practices.
6.
Saving Rhinos
Former England cricketer Phil Tufnell reports
from Assam in India, one of the last remaining
homes of the Indian rhinoceros.
Fewer than 2,000 are left in the wild due
to poaching for their horns.
7.
Saving Wolves
In the southern part of the Ethiopian Highlands,
a remote mountain region and the last home
of the Ethiopian wolf, Graham Norton discovers
that encroachments by the ever-expanding human
population is threatening the wolf's survival.
8.
Saving Elephants
Adrenaline junkie Jack Osbourne journeys to
northern Namibia to investigate the plight
of the desert elephant.
Although saved from extinction by the banning
of the ivory trade, the desert elephants now
face a new threat.
Local people once roamed the land as migrants,
but their recent conversion to farming has
brought them into conflict with elephants
over precious resources.
9.
Saving Turtles
Of the seven remaining species of sea turtle,
six are seriously threatened with extinction.
Saira Khan travels to Sri Lanka, one of the
best places in the world to see turtles, but
even here commercial fishing practices and
pressure on the turtles' nesting beaches are
driving numbers down.
10.
Saving Orangutans
TV presenter Nick Knowles reports from Borneo,
where orangutan numbers are being decimated
due to the deforestation of the island and
the growth of palm plantations.
He visits a sanctuary where more than 600
orphaned young apes are cared for.
Their mothers are usually killed by plantation
workers, because the orangutans are attracted
to the palms for food and can damage the crops.
Their young are taken for the pet trade or
are simply left to die, but those lucky enough
to be rescued are brought to the sanctuary.
Now, it simply can't cope with the number
of apes being brought in and desperately needs
extra funds.
This programme was incorporated into the live
fundraising broadcast.
11.
Saving Planet Earth - Live
The series culminated in a live fundraising
event broadcast from Kew Gardens, hosted by
Titchmarsh and featuring interviews with many
of the BBC’s natural history presenters,
including Attenborough, Strachan, Bill Oddie,
Kate Humble, Simon King, Steve Leonard, Jonathan
Scott, Chris Packham and Charlotte Uhlenbroek.
A registered charity, the BBC Wildlife Fund,
was established to direct funds raised by
the programmes to conservation charities in
the field to help save the featured animals,
and other species, from extinction.
Saving Planet Earth enabled the Fund to raise
£1 million on the night, a total which had
almost doubled by the end of 2010.
References
External links
BBC Wildlife Fund - official website
Earth Saving Tips at Bd Environment
