Evrard Wendenbaum is a Frenchman with many hats, and he has given himself the delicate mission of going to the most inaccessible places on the planet in order to take pictures of them and contribute to their preservation, sometimes obtaining recognition for them. official.
This photographer, climber and director of numerous expedition films seems less famous than his multiple missions. Evrard Wendenbaum travels the world in search of the most isolated places in order to participate in their conservation, mainly in terms of safeguarding and protecting the biodiversity present.
“At 30, I had done almost everything in the field of extreme, the most daring, difficult and dangerous expeditions on all continents and in the most inhospitable corners – from the Alps to Karakoram (Pakistan), from Alaska to Patagonia, from the Tien Shan (heavenly mountains in the Himalayas) to the heart of the Amazon rainforest » he declared for Sciences et Avenir.
Very aware of the environmental cause, Evrard Wendenbaum, a graduate in Earth sciences and influenced by the ideas of Nicolas Hulot, associated his passion for the extreme. The 37-year-old Frenchman now has no less than 25 « committed expeditions » to his credit under the Naturevolution association, which he created in 2009 in order to preserve these places which he himself describes as « treasures of the living world, heritage of humanity ».
In 2007, the first major expedition was organized in Madagascar, intended to explore the Makay massif, a natural labyrinth with an area of 150 km by 50, considered to be one of the rare places still unexplored on Earth.
The area has pockets of primary vegetation and very little-known fauna. Two other expeditions will follow, during which nearly a hundred animal and plant species will be discovered. In addition, the Malagasy authorities will obtain a classification of the site as a « protected area », which is Evrard Wendenbaum’s first victory.
“With global warming, deforestation, overfishing, three species disappear per hour and 100,000 per year. It is the 6th crisis of mass extinction of species, the fastest that the Earth has known. considers the adventurer, who naturally continued his expeditions, such as in the south-east of the island of Borneo (Indonesia), in the Tsaranoro Valley (Madagascar), or even in Karakoram (Pakistan).
Here is a TEDx conference during which the explorer communicates his vision concerning the protection of biodiversity:
Sources and photo credits: Sciences et Avenir – Official website of Evrard Wendenbaum – Naturevolution