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Our Planet Earth

Meet the people, projects and innovations helping to heal the lungs of our planet.

Forests

Health

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Forests aren’t just the lungs of the world – they’re also its immune system.

Could deforestation trigger the next pandemic? 

How can a small insect help in the fight against famine?

Creepy-crawlies are playing a renewed role in the lives of communities in Madagascar, as its unique landscapes come under increasing pressure.
This is #OurPlanetEarth. A BBC Studios Natural History Unit co-production with Wellcome.

Fighting for forests and protecting apex predators like bears, wolves and lynx can benefit both humans and nature. This is #OurPlanetEarth. A BBC Studios Natural History Unit co-production with Wellcome.

The surprising benefits of protecting predators

Protecting the lungs of our planet is no mean feat, but for Indigenous communities, it is a fight for survival.

This is #OurPlanetEarth 

A BBC Studios Natural History Unit co-production with Wellcome.

The Amazon defenders on the frontlines against deforestation

In the mountain forests of Peru, the conservation of native stingless bees has forged a connection between the bees and the people protecting them. This is #OurPlanetEarth. A BBC Studios Natural History Unit co-production with Wellcome. 

Why we need to protect the pollinators

Djuena Tikuna, a singer and activist from Brazil’s Indigenous Tikuna Community, sings her song ‘The Forest Heals’. This is #OurPlanetEarth. A BBC Studios Natural History Unit co-production with Wellcome.

If we look after nature, it looks after us

Take inspiration from positive changemakers working to revive our fragile freshwater ecosystems.

Waterways

Conservation

Rivers

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In Colombia, India and the UK, waterways are being transformed with a multitude of positive ripple effects 

Could restoring riverbanks hold the key to healthier communities?

One of the world’s most dangerous animals is on the rise. Flooding has left behind the perfect breeding ground for disease-carrying creatures, which are now hosting a bigger threat than ever before.

The Hidden Danger Being Fuelled by Floods

Ice Bears get their name from the frosty icicles on their coats. When most of the Yukon River freezes over, they flock to the last flowing section of water to catch salmon that spawn there. 

Ice Bears get their name from the frosty icicles on their coats. When most of the Yukon River freezes over, they flock to the last flowing section of water to catch salmon that spawn there. But what happens to Ice Bears, and to the Indigenous Gwichʼin community who live along the river, when the salmon start to disappear?

A Fragile Future for the Yukon’s Ice Bears

Rivers are the backbone of many ecosystems and offer a really important escape for people to get out and engage with nature. Keeping them healthy is a challenging but rewarding mission.

'There’s Nothing Better than Sitting Next to a Gurgling Stream.'

Wetlands, like Xochimilco in Mexico, are crucial to 40% of the world’s wildlife and have a cooling effect on nearby cities. As they begin to disappear, it’s not only a danger to weird and wonderful creatures like the axolotl, but to people too.

How can an animal that can regenerate itself be under threat?

Wetlands, like Xochimilco in Mexico, are crucial to 40% of the world’s wildlife and have a cooling effect on nearby cities. As they begin to disappear, it’s not only a danger to weird and wonderful creatures like the axolotl, but to people too.

The Ancient Aztec Practice Protecting Axolotls 

Nikita Kahpeaysewat, an environmental scientist from Moosomin First Nation, performs a Powwow healing dance for the water and encourages everyone to form a connection with nature.


'If Our Water’s Sick, Then We Are Sick.’ 

Deep dive into the extraordinary stories of those fighting to turn the tide on global changes threatening our incredible oceans.

  Oceans & Coasts

Oceans

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In a world grappling with the urgent challenges of climate change, a new frontier beckons – the bottom of the sea. The ocean depths contain the metals needed for the widespread adoption of battery-dependent technologies like electric vehicles, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Interested parties see this as a solution to our technological demands and the pressing need for a “green transition”, but it raises a crucial question: should we mine the deepest stretches of the world’s oceans?

Deep-Sea Mining: A Solution or More Trouble for our Oceans?

Deep-Sea Mining: A solution or more trouble for our oceans?

Whales make vast migrations around our planet. As they do so, they make significant contributions to the wellbeing of ocean ecosystems.


Whales make vast migrations around our planet. As they do so, they make significant contributions to the wellbeing of ocean ecosystems. But with many species of whale endangered due to human impacts on the ocean, the work of these great ocean gardeners may be lost without our protection.

The Surprising Benefits of Whale Poo

Increasingly severe cyclones and sea level rise are pushing seawater inland in Bangladesh, ruining farmland and contaminating freshwater supplies. 

Increasingly severe cyclones and sea level rise are pushing seawater inland in Bangladesh, ruining farmland and contaminating freshwater supplies. The community is seeking solutions on the ground, to protect them from these impacts of climate change.

‘There is plenty of water around us - but we can’t drink any of it’.

In Kuruwitu, Kenya, locals have taken innovative measures to protect depleted fish populations and damaged corals. 

In Kuruwitu, Kenya, locals have taken innovative measures to protect depleted fish populations and damaged corals. In doing so, they have futureproofed livelihoods and food resources in their community.

Have you ever heard of a fish bank? 

In Aboriginal culture, stories are shared through art, song, and dance.

In Aboriginal culture, stories are shared through art, song, and dance. Bobbi Lockyer is using her ocean-inspired artwork to tell her own story, while raising awareness of the changes that she’s seen along her stretch of coastline since she was a child. This 

‘The ocean is important for me because it is a place I go for healing.’

A buffer between land and sea, mangroves play a vital role in conserving biodiversity and protecting the surrounding ecosystems.

Conserving the Magic of the Mangroves 

Meet the pioneering people embracing nature to help protect and restore the vast plains of #OurPlanetEarth.

Deserts & Grasslands

Climate change

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A growing body of research suggests links between extreme heat and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Expecting in Extreme Heat: The Climate Risk to Pregnancy 

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Expecting in Extreme Heat: The climate risk to pregnancy 

Did you know the adorable mountain pygmy possum was first discovered as a fossil and believed extinct for over 70 years?

Did you know the adorable mountain pygmy possum was first discovered as a fossil and believed extinct for over 70 years? Although it may have come back from the dead once before, there are still very few of these small marsupials left, and to ensure their survival an unlikely animal is also in need of protection.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island viewers are warned that the following film may contain images and voices of people who have passed away.


Moths, Mountains and Marsupials

‘There are really no other species in the world that are like them.’

‘There are really no other species in the world that are like them.’

Muskoxen are an ancient species of herbivores. Their thick coat allows them to survive in bitterly cold conditions like the Canadian tundra. However, musk oxen numbers are now in decline, so scientists and the local community are working together to better understand the threats facing this unique animal.

The Last Hope of the Musk Oxen

‘The culture, the land and traditions are all tied together’.
Naiomi Glasses skates on sandstone in The Navajo Nation, protecting her mental health and inspiring her designs as a 7th-generation Navajo rug weaver.

Finding Beauty in Natural Landscapes to Help your Mind and your Craft

Working in extreme heat has health implications, particularly for pregnant women. Nurturing greenery can help to provide balance in hotspots like Tanzania.

Using Trees to Combat Extreme Heat 

‘Cities are heating up twice as fast as the rest of our globe’. 
Amid rising temperatures, some communities are using nature to cool and future-proof our cities, turning grey infrastructure green.


Cooling Our Urban Deserts

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Amazon River

Want to find out more? Join us on Instagram and be a part of the conversation to protect and restore #OurPlanetEarth.

Explore compelling stories of our changing climate and its direct impacts on both wildlife and human health through #OurPlanetEarth, co-produced with Wellcome.

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Forests

Waterways

Oceans & Coasts

Deserts & Grasslands

Our Planet Earth