For filmmaker Mike Hari Pandey, there is only one obsession — environment. And when he gets talking about it, there is no stopping him.

The NRI from Kenya who eats, sleeps and breathes nature and has been declared ‘Hero of the Environment’ by the Time Magazine in its latest issue, was in the city on a personal visit when Newsline caught up with him. That he has given over two decades of his life to his passion clearly reflects as he speaks about ecology and human greed.

“Human beings are a greed-driven species. This arrogance will very shortly drive us towards extinction,” he said.

The first Asian to be awarded the Green Oscar for his film, The Last Migration, blamed humankind and its ulterior motives for the extinction of many other species.

While he has produced many thought-provoking documentaries on elephants, sharks and horseshoe crabs that are trudging towards extinction, vultures are another species that are very close to his heart.

“The drug diclofenac has done so much damage to the bird that it is on the verge of extinction. The ignorant lot that we are, most of us dismiss it as a useless creature. Its significance as a scavenger cannot be overlooked,” he averred.

To sensitise people about vultures, Pandey has started a crusade in the form of a documentary, Vanishing Vultures, which is part of Earth Matters, a show telecast on Doordarshan.

“Urbanisation has gone to our heads, so much so that we have stooped to the level of plundering nature. We have forgotten that mothers too have a limit to produce and endure. We have already raped and looted the environment as if earth is our personal fiefdom,” lamented the coveted environmentalist, who has also headed the jury of the 2005 Brazil Film Festival.

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