"Global Warming Witness — A Mitsuaki Iwago Special" is a website started by Olympus in 2006 to provide people with the opportunity to think about environmental issues such as global warming. At the website you can view photos taken by Iwago at various locations worldwide, as well as videos of some of the shoots. We interviewed Iwago after he had completed his work for the website, and asked him to tell us of his experiences and any thoughts he had while shooting. He was generous in his response, which we are pleased to offer PURSUIT readers in this 2-part special feature.   Wearing a T-shirt at the Arctic In Canada, the country we visited first, we photographed polar bears — an animal that has come to symbolize global warming. As arctic sea ice continues to decrease year by year, there is concern that the bears won’t be able to hunt for seals, their staple food. It’s a matter of life and death for them. It took us quite a while to actually find any polar bears on this trip. Eventually, though, we came across a mother and cub swimming.Moving the boat in close to get a good look at them, we were surprised that there was only one cub. Our guide told us that mother bears had previously been seen with up to three cubs. Since the 70s I have repeatedly visited the Arctic. The thing that struck me most this time was that it has definitely become warmer. I found I was comfortable wearing only a T-shirt. Even in the middle of summer, I had never been warm enough to do that before! The ice on Mount Kilimanjaro is definitely decreasing Our next location was in Africa. The porters who climbed up Kilimanjaro with us had decades of experience on the mountain, and they were convinced that the glacial ice is retreating. One of them said, "Ten years ago, the rock we are walking on now was covered in ice." That sounded like pretty persuasive proof to me. We also talked to some women of the local Chaga tribe. They lamented that the flow of the river they go to for water had decreased, and that the water had become dirty. One cause is thought to be a reduction in runoff from snowmelt on Mt. Kilimanjaro. This may be related to changes in the groundwater system brought on by deforestation in the surrounding area. People and wild Life in Africa are tough but… The people living in Africa are tough. If worst comes to worst and all the ice disappears from the mountain, I’m quite sure they'll be able to seek out new ways to live and thrive. It’s the same for wild animals — they can adapt to environmental changes and survive for several decades. However, this scenario really only exists in my imagination. If things continue as they are for more than a century, the lives of both the people and the animals will be in jeopardy. Their numbers will probably fall dramatically. And even this prediction might be too optimistic. Tears at the summit Before going up Kilimanjaro I was relieved to hear from an expert mountaineer that it was just an ordinary mountain. To be honest, I haven’t even been to the top of Mount Fuji! Actually climbing the mountain, however, I found the last part to be pretty hard. It was slippery because of the ice, and the air became thinner the higher we went. At the summit the wind was very strong, making it difficult for me to face the video camera and speak up during the shoot.　This time I’d climbed the mountain with the sole aim of taking photographs of nature, wildlife, and glaciers, so I wasn’t really interested in the climb itself. Nevertheless, when the video cameraman and I finally reached the sign that marks the summit, we wept with emotion. Wildlife in the Kilimanjaro foothills Even in the 70s there were signs of desertification at Amboseli National Park. If global warming continues to bring climate change, water will cease flowing into the watering holes where the animals live. This is the most frightening possibility. Before, African elephants used to travel great distances during the rainy and dry seasons. With inhabited towns now blocking their way, they can no longer move freely. So if a drought occurs in one national park, the elephants there will die. Today we can still see large numbers of elephants. But how about tomorrow? Having said "large numbers", the elephant population has fallen to a mere 10% of the size it was 100 years ago. When well-known animals like bears and elephants start disappearing, people sit up and take notice. But I suspect that global warming is already causing the extinction of many insects and plants that our eyes don't see. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Watch for Part 2 of our interview of Mitsuaki Iwago in the next edition of PURSUIT, where he shares his experiences while shooting in Shiretoko, Japan. Profile Mitsuaki Iwago Born 1950 in Tokyo. Mitsuaki Iwago started his career as a wildlife photographer at the age of 19 after visiting the Galapagos Island and being overwhelmed by the nature there. Since then, he has continued taking photographs around the world. This spring he will turn his talents to moviemaking, working as director and cinematographer on his first feature film. Visit the GWW website to see video footage of locations mentioned in this interview and much, much more.