Somewhere on Earth

At the borders of Europe, swept by storms, Scotland, a territory of islands, mountains and lakes, awakens the imagination. In the centre, the Highlands are a paradise for enthusiasts in search of wild and majestic nature. Laura, a mountaineer, lives in these legendary mountains, a universe set out of time. Mingulay is an isolated piece of land, an island that was deserted by its inhabitants in 1912. Its cliffs are now the kingdom of seabirds of the North Atlantic. A young English ornithologist put her suitcases there. West of the Scottish coast, the Hebrides archipelago is shaped by the rigour of the ocean. A millennial culture makes these Gaelic lands vibrate where Billy lives, a postman and peasant on the island of Tiree.

The least populated region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh extends on the heights of the Himalayan chain. Its inhabitants lead a crude life, in a hostile and arid nature. The villages are isolated and suffer the rigour of the mountain climate. Attached to their Tibetan culture, the Ladakhi highlight their humble relationship with the world. Along the rivers or at the foot of the glaciers, they live somehow in the heart of sucised valleys. Political tensions in close Kashmir have made the region unsafe.

After twenty years of conflicts that have deeply influenced the population, the Kingdom of Cambodia is looking to the future. The country is mobilising its living forces and is undertaking to rebuild itself. Can today's development be carried out while respecting the country's natural treasures? The extraction of minerals and the exploitation of forest resources contribute to the degradation of the environment. The Cambodian territory revolves around the Mekong River and its delta. Extensive rice cultivation is not without impact on ecosystems. However, more and more Cambodians are campaigning for the safeguarding of natural environments.

Australia's East Coast is renowned for its 10,000 kilometres of breathtaking landscapes and for the endless swell of the Pacific Ocean. Meeting with Darren, Lossy and Claire, for whom Eastern Australia is a magnetic and wild Eldorado. Stopover on North Stradbroke Island, followed by the discovery of Lord Howe Island, to end at Cape Tribulation, the oldest forest in the world.

In Guatemala, a land of colour and history, half of the population is of Mayan origin. Based in Antigua, the country's former capital, Joanne Trimper Garrucho, aka Gigi, has been immortalising the spiritual riches of this mysterious world for twelve years. Edna Alvarez, an architect, is dedicated to the preservation of the quetzal, the country's emblematic bird, fearful and stealthy, that lives in the canopy. Rowland Griffin, an English herpetologist, settles several months a year in a biological station in northern Guatemala, territory of Morellet crocodiles and snakes.