Paradise Preserved

Something exceptional is happening in the north of the Republic of the Congo: here loggers are not destroying the environment but are helping through their work to preserve the tropical foresters.

The cloud forests in the Andes of Ecuador are among the most species-diverse landscapes on Earth. These beautiful forests are under threat. They have to give way to fields and cow pastures. But there are conservationists who want to stop the clearing of the cloud forests.

The picturesque Lake Constance region is characterized by intensive agriculture - with dramatic results for the birdlife. Since 2003, the ornithologist Professor Peter Berthold has been creating new habitats for birds - alongside cultivated landscapes.

In the Vega Archipelago, in the north of Norway at the Arctic Circle, people have formed a unique partnership with wild eider ducks. The provide the birds with shelter in hatcheries, and in return, after the breeding season, collect the precious eiderdown, with which the ducks line their nests.

For many, the Swiss Alps are a natural paradise. But in fact, this paradise is man-made. Alpine meadows exist only because farmers have been driving their livestock up into the mountains for centuries. Now the ancient traditions are disappearing and the forest is spreading more and more.