about karl ammann; wildlife photographer and author

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About KarlAmmann.Com

Note that there is now a Karl Ammann website in German.

FLASH: Karl has just received two prestigious awards that we are very proud of. First, Time Magazine has named Karl a Hero of the Environment; people who have given the earth a voice. They credit Karl with almost single-handedly raising awareness of the issue of bush meat; read what else they say about Karl.

Karl has also been named as SAB Environmental Journalist of the year in the broadcast category for his documentary The Cairo Connection, which was broadcast on SABC2's 50/50. Also, for this work, Karl was named winner in the Brigitte Bardot International Genesis Award category; this award was presented at the 22nd annual Genesis Awards in 2008. You may read about the 2008 Genesis Award winners. The Cairo Connection looks at the illegal smuggling of primates from Africa. Read the details posted at Environment South Africa!

Karl is one of the world's top environmental journalists - he was awarded the prestigious Dolly Green Award for Artistic Achievement at the Genesis Awards in 1997, for his work on the illegal bush-meat trade in Cameroon. You may read about the 1997 Genesis Award winners.

Here is, in his own words, how Karl came to do this work

I came to Africa some 30 years ago. What attracted me were the standard stereotypes of wide open spaces, untouched wilderness, the variety of its people and the general mystique, contained in the word AFRICA.

I was fortunate and found most of the above and was able to document some of what I found in a range of books, photographs and documentaries.

However for the last decade I have been in the "comparative mode" - what I found when I arrived and how things have changed. The picture is not a pretty one and extends clearly beyond Africa into other of the less developed continents such as Asia and South America (where I have visited regularly).

I found key eco-systems and species being destroyed, degraded overcommercialized and exploited. I soon concluded that if what was happening to some of the key indicator species and well known protected areas was anything to go by then probably the eco-pessimists, predicting the collapse of some of the planets life support systems, might not be that far of the mark.

Like most wildlife photographers/film makers, I concentrated for two decades on illustrating the beauty and diversity I found out there. It is what sells and it is what supposedly gets people to want to conserve it. However for the last decade I have become increasingly disillusioned with this approach to 'conservation'. Although clearly only a minor component, it was and is not contributing to effecting any real changes. I actually might be doing the opposite, giving viewers/readers a false sense of environmental security.

I felt I needed to go beyond what I call the 'World in Order' imagery and present some of the other sides of the coin. I called it the "2x4 approach" of hitting readers/viewers over the head with some of the harsher realities. To say that it was and is a frustrating task is putting it mildly.

While the print media and its editors were generally more open minded, the worlds documentary outlets were mostly interested in success stories, happy endings and heros. Packaging the three was pretty much an outright sale. Destruction, finger pointing, eco criminals, conservation failure was and is not considered to be 'entertainment' plus it brings into the picture the real editors: the network lawyers which have no problem with the happy ending and success stories.

What was even more distressing was that the conservation establishment seems to be happy to tie in with this approach. Problems are welcome because lots of money can be raised offering 'solutions'. However the fact is that most of these solutions do not seem to be working and nobody seems to be interested in independent audits or establishing if a different approach might be necessary/possible. I call it 'Band Aid Conservation': The natural world is dying of a terminal cancer and all we get to hear is 'write a check we will deal with it.' However this generally is not by accepting the realities and underlying causes and suggesting that maybe time has come for 'radio or chemo therapy'. Rather, it is peddling another rather meaningless band aid in form of another protected area (paper parks), research, pilot, or community conservation project.

Then the internet came along giving people like myself more of an opportunity to voice view points outside this envelope of censorship I found with the mainstream media - albeit talking to a still limited and it would appear already largely converted audience.

So that is where we are and what this web site is all about. I have decided to try to get away from the 'radical extremist' image and offer a feature a wide range of 'World in Order Imagery' alongside some of the photographic material and writings illustrating how my views have evolved in the last decade.

On a somewhat brighter note, it seems that problems like global warming are starting to find 'owners' and are starting to end up on the front pages. A far sighted editor even interviewed me for National Geographic which also expands on the above. And more recently the YAHOO News video report on our smuggling ring investigation shows we are getting through on some level. More of our videos will be on line in the near future.

Karl Ammann
Nanyuki, Kenya August 2006