WILDspeak: Octavio Aburto

Photo by Octavio Aburto. A group of juveniles American crocodiles waiting to be release at Isla Concepcion, Chiapas. Local people are focusing their efforts on bringing back the populations of this species that was over-exploited some decades ago.

Octavio Aburto is one of many highly anticipated presenters who will explore how photography and video are impacting conservation efforts around the globe at WILDspeak, November 16, 2015, in Washington D.C.

Octavio Aburto is currently assistant professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography where he earned his Ph.D. He’s coordinating a research program that includes Marine Biodiversity and Conservation for the Gulf of California, Mexico and Latin America, and combines his passions for photography and conservation to illustrate the need to protect coastal and marine ecosystems.

Octavio Aburto

“For the last 20 years I have been involve with underwater photography, said Aburto. “I’m an optimistic person that believes in the power of photography to change the behavior of people. I found that photography can transmit the passion that I have for scientific knowledge and explain natural history a thousand times better than a graph on a chalkboard. That’s the reason why I joined iLCP some years ago.”

Photo by Octavio Aburto. The calm waters of mangrove forests offer an incredible habitat and refuge for many species. Below the surface, fish and blue crabs hide between the mangrove roots. Above, birds and small mammals find what they need to survive. A mirror of life.

Aburto’s presentation at WILDspeak will be held from 1:45 p.m. – 2:05 p.m., and is entitled, “Mangroves: The Skin of our Coasts.” He will discuss the importance of mangrove ecosystems and how coastal ecosystems are invaluable to humans, as they provide a number of services essential for our survival. “We need to protect mangroves and stop the deforestation that’s occurring at an alarming rate,” said Aburto, “So fast, in fact, that in the last 50 years we have lost almost 50% of the earth’s mangrove forests.”

You can follow Octavio Aburto on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

WiLDspeak—A Symposium on Photography, Conservation & Communications

November 16, 2015—Washington D.C.

www.WiLDSPEAK.org

Originally Published October 19, 2015

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