Response

by Sir David Attenborough
Winner of the 2004 José Vasconcelos World Award of Education

November 8th 2004
I am greatly honoured to receive this distinguished award. "Education", according to my dictionary, is the process of acquiring knowledge. In my case, that knowledge has been concerned with the natural world for I have spent most of my professional life making television programmes about the animals and plants with which we share our planet.

Today, human beings are in danger of losing touch with that world. There are now over twice as many people on earth than when I was born. Our planet is becoming increasingly crowded. More and more people are living in towns; more and more do not see a single wild creature for days on end- apart from pigeons which hardly count as wild creatures any more.

Does that matter? I believe it does, profoundly. We are, of course, dependant upon the natural world for our very existence- for the life-giving properties in the air we breathe, and for the food we eat. The vast powers that modern technology has put in our hands have enabled us to transform that world. And we are using those powers in a wholesale and only too often unthinking-uneducated-way.

We destroy forests rich in a multitude of species and replace them with sterile mono-cultures. We turn mountains into empty barren quarries. We strip the oceans of whole species of fish which were once so productive they gave us abundant food. We have even developed skills to transform species, turning small fruits packed with fertile seeds into bloated sterile bladders filled with nothing but pith and juice. We produce meat by creating animals that are misshapen travesties of their ancestors. And at the same time we are exterminating species at a rate that is unprecedented in the whole of geological history.

If we are to deal with these problems then we must understand the ways in which the natural world works. We must be aware of the complexity of natural systems and have some idea of the consequences of any actions that we might take-before taking them. And we must, now, start to heal the damage we have caused. Knowing about such things is certainly one of the most important elements in education.

But we must treasure the natural world for reasons that are something other than narrowly practical. It is the source of much of our joy and happiness. It brings us solace in times of trouble and understanding it and the way it works can bring the most profound pleasure and the greatest of all intellectual rewards. In damaging it, we are damaging ourselves. Understanding it is, I believe, one of the most important elements in all education. If the World Cultural Council considers that I have contributed to that process, then I could ask for no greater compliment and I am deeply grateful.

Thank you.