Wildscreen USA Inc

As Sir David Attenborough states, we believe that, ‘‘films are key in the battle to protect our imperiled natural world.” Films and photographs are an emotive, powerful and effective means of building environmental awareness – they can bring a scientific name to life, show what a species looks like and why it is special. As such, they are a valuable educational resource and conservation communications tool.

 

Continued habitat destruction and the rise in extinction rates also mean that for many species, films, photographs and audio recordings may soon be all that remains. They are, therefore, important historical and scientific records of the species they depict.

 

This material is, however, scattered around the world, held in a variety of commercial, specialist and private collections, much of it inaccessible to the general public and unavailable for scientific and educational use. Like the wildlife they depict, the images of these rare species are themselves endangered, with no guarantee that they will survive for future generations. Many records have already been lost forever, with companies basing storage decisions on commercial, rather than scientific, cultural or historical values. Privately owned materials, sometimes of considerable significance, may also be lost or discarded following the death of their owner. ARKive is bringing these important records together in one place for safe-keeping.

 

How can the public care about or protect a species they do not know exists? This is where ARKive comes in. To date, ARKive has profiled over 5,000 threatened species with more than 40,000 images, film, and audio clips.

 

ARKive is leading the 'virtual' conservation effort - gathering together films, photographs and audio recordings of the world's species, prioritising those most at risk of extinction, and building them into comprehensive multimedia digital profiles.

 

Preserved and maintained for future generations, ARKive is freely accessible to all, from scientists and conservationists to the general public and school children. We engage our visitors not only through our website, but also via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and via our own ARKive layer on Google Earth.