Transcriber: Jenny Lam-Chowdhury Reviewer: Claire Yves
Tigers are incredible animals.
They are totally awesome!
They've existed for millennia,
long, long time before humans were on Earth.
They've evolved, they're evolutionary distinct,
to become this incredible animal that you see in front of you today.
They're probably the most adaptable animal in the world,
so in the Russian far East, in minus 20 degrees temperatures,
you see the Amur tiger that is adapted to this environment,
to the tiger in the Bangladesh Sundarbans,
where there's a mangrove swampy ecosystem,
a completely different environment
and it survives there --
right down to Indonesia,
in Sumatra, the Sumatran tiger,
which survives in the tropical rainforest.
These are completely different environments,
with different prey, different habitat, different weather systems.
You love tigers!
We know that because Animal Planet gave a survey
and asked 70,000 people about their favorite animal,
[and] tigers are far more loved than any other animal,
and it is because of their aesthetic and intrinsic beauty.
They're also so culturally important --
They're used to sell products in business like Kellog's or Tiger Airways --
Tony the Tiger --
In Bangladesh, obviously they're the name of the cricket team,
they're the national animal --
I mean these animals are just beautiful,
and they're amazing and incredibly important.
Imagine a future without tigers --
As I stand here today, in 2012,
a very real reality is that in 10 years time
the tiger could be extinct.
So, my children, and my children's children
will come to a world where there are no wild tigers.
It's a very, very serious real reality.
What's going on here --
If you were to look at a map of Asia in the 1900s,
it would be completely green representing forest
so, there's forest everywhere and they're over 100,000 tigers
roaming throughout all of Asia.
In the last 100 years,
3 out of 8 sub-species have been wiped out.
So, in the 1930s, the Bali tiger, extinct.
In the 1950s, the Caspian tiger, extinct.
In the 1980s, the Javan tiger is now extinct.
So, these countries, these places, they no longer have their tigers,
you can't even see them in the zoo.
In the 1990s, the Royal Bengal tiger in India,
where there were literally sort of tens of thousands,
just as recently as the 1990s, got wiped out pretty much overnight.
There are now 1,400 tigers in India fragmented through the country.
Today, there are just 3,200 wild tigers left on the Earth.
And that's a shocking figure and completely unacceptable.
What's going on here is, basically, in the last 100 years
we wiped out 97% of these amazing creatures.
And it's because tigers need a large, healthy ecosystem to survive.
Healthy being the operative word.
So, if you look at the Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans,
which has the densest population of tigers in the world,
each tiger needs about 15 square km of healthy forest,
lots of prey, lots of vegetation --
If you look in the Russian far East, the Amur tiger,
one tiger needs about 400 km2.
And with human society as it is, I won't go into too much detail, you know it all already,
but in terms of consumption, development, overpopulation --
it just doesn't compute.
These habitats are getting deforested, they are going --
healthy ecosystems are really not something that happens in 2012.
That puts an incredibly important responsibility on Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is home to the largest population of tigers
in the world in one place.
So, there are in between 300-500 tigers that roam in the Bangladesh Surdarbans.
That's important, because all of the other tiger range countries,
so if you look at India, or Nepal, or Cambodia, or the other tiger range countries,
they have -- like India, for example, has 1,400 tigers,
they are fragmented -- so, they're in tiny little pocket throughout the country,
and those are pockets of 20 tigers, 50 tigers, a 100 tigers.
And that means they're very prone to stochastic collapse,
so if a disease breaks out, overnight they can just break down.
If the government changes and law enforcement fails,
then poaching can happen overnight, like in the 1990s.
And Bangladesh has the largest population --
the Sundarbans has the carrying capacity of about 500 tigers,
that's probably as many as it can hold,
and it holds the future of the wild tiger in its hands.
And the world must pay attention to this!
Which is the beginning of my personal story --
I came to Bangladesh a couple of years ago for two reasons --
One, because of the conservation value, I'm a conservationist,
I realized how important this population of tigers is,
and that there's not really anything happening,
not a huge amount is happening and my help was needed --
And the second reason is that, it's the world's best kept secret.
I mean, they're the world's biggest population of tigers,
it's the world's greatest ecosystem,
along the lines of what Mike was saying earlier,
in terms of the Royal Bengal tiger and Bangladesh,
it's just so hidden, and the world needs to pay attention.
And I wanted to be part of raising the profile of the tiger,
so I started thinking how I can do that,
and one way I to do that is by holding a challenge event.
A challenge event is fairly standard,
it's traditionally you climb Mount Kilimanjaro,
or you run a marathon, or you bike across India
-- it's nothing particularly remarkable.
And it's all for fundraising to support.
But I wanted to create something that was remarkable,
that would make people turn their heads,
to see Bangladesh as a tiger nation.
So, me and my colleagues started brainstorming,
what kind of a challenge event could we do in Bangladesh
to raise money, to raise profile,
to show to the world Bangladesh as a tiger nation.
So I started combining some of my passions --
I love to cycle,
obviously, I love tigers,
and I wanted the challenge event to involve the tiger project,
so people can get involved with the tiger project,
and I love Bangladesh.
So again, Mike said this so well earlier --
My perception, before I came to Bangladesh
was disease, corruption, poverty -- all the things
that are in the international media.
In fact, my father when I told him I was coming to Bangladesh
-- he's an unemotional man --
he broke down into tears, and genuinely thought
I wouldn't come back alive. (Laughter)
But the reality is completely different,
and I really wanted the event to celebrate this amazing country,
and everyone here knows that that's just a tiny,
narrow view of Bangladesh.
So, we came to thinking how amazing would it be
to develop an event in Bangladesh with rickshaws -- it's the perfect machine,
it uses pedal power,
it's totally iconic to the country,
there's rickshaw art, which is a whole genre into itself,
it's eco-friendly,
two people can ride on a rickshaw,
so, how better to do something challenging
when you've got a teammate behind
and you can swap every 5, or 10, or 1 km
-- it's the perfect machine to do this challenge event.
So, we got to thinking about, "Ok, let's set up a rickshaw challenge".
So, step one, we started looking at the route.
We spent months pouring over maps, we got cycling experts in,
we looked at north to south, east to west,
what are the best roads,
how can we incorporate the tiger project --
Then, we looked at the rickshaw --
originally, I thought about the electric rickshaw
and for two months of planning I was looking at the auto rickshaw,
thinking about, you know, maybe people could cycle for 50 km
and then can use electricity for the rest,
and we can go to greater distances --
The electric rickshaw, I found out about two months later,
was outlawed in Bangladesh, even though it's all over the country,
it's actually illegal. (Laughter)
So, back to the drawing board, we started re-planning the route,
looking at customizing a traditional rickshaw
-- I wasn't letting go of the idea of a rickshaw,
and I started building a prototype.
So, the first time in the world looking at a geared rickshaw.
And then I decided to test a rickshaw, the prototype wasn't ready,
so I went out on just a normal, traditional rickshaw into Dhaka,
and it was the most insane experience,
and it spurred me on to carry on with this event,
because if you have any ounce of adventure in you,
this country is just such a lot of fun!
When I went out, it's like being and Olympic athlete,
and people are just cheering (Laughter)
and coming up to me and shaking my hand
-- this chap here, I thought was going to punch me in the face (Laughter)
and then, he put his hands around me, shook my hand, and said,
"What an honor it is that you are in my country"
Turned the corner around and came face to face with an elephant. (Laughter)
Just an amazing experience!
(Applause)
I, then, cycled 1,000 km in May in a 41 degrees heat
to scope out the route.
So, we found a route of about 400 km, or there about --
and just went out on bikes to find what the roads were like,
and make sure that they were quiet.
And again, it just inspired me as to what an incredible event this could be.
This brick road here is not even on the map --
I had to find loads and loads of these roads
from people who were pointing me in the directions --
it's so off the beaten track!
And everybody that I came into contact with,
just had never seen a pedestrian, a tourist,
was so warm and so welcoming,
and it just epitomizes this glorious country.
And I genuinely looked like that at the end of the day (Laughter)
and mainly this, as well --
So, after all of that work, and planning, and brainstorming,
I'm really proud to announce that, for the first time in the world,
coming in February 2013 we have an amazing product
called the Wild Rickshaw Challenge.
(Applause)
And the event is this --
We're asking people, we're asking heroes,
people who love tigers, or people who just want
an adventure in a place like Bangladesh,
or athletes, anyone who wants to come over,
within Bangladesh or internationally,
to come and cycle on a rickshaw 400 km through the country.
We're going to customize rickshaws.
I wish I had a photo of a customized rickshaw, but I don't.
The first prototype, let's be honest, was a disaster (Laughter)
the 18 gears didn't work, we're back to the drawing board again.
We'll nail it eventually -- they will look something like this.
You'll be able to customize your rickshaw with rickshaw art
and make it into an amazing machine.
And here is the route --
It's starting at Teknaf in the far East of Bangladesh,
on the Burmese border, where elephants roam,
going right up to Cox's Bazaar, which is the longest beach in the world,
so on your left, you'll have the waves lapping in,
and on your right, you'll have the Burmese mountains.
Going up to Chittagong, we then get a boat --
we're chartering a boat going right across the Bay of Bengal,
where, potentially, you can see whales and dolphins,
then into Piroujpur and Barisal,
and then into these beautiful brick roads that I was showing,
there are 3 days going through these amazing brick roads.
And then, it's finishing up at the heart of the tiger project,
so into the Sundarbans, with the project,
that's something really unique about the event, as well.
These other challenge events, they're all organized by different companies,
you don't get an interaction with the organization,
with this we go straight into the heart of the tiger project.
These are just some of the photos I took on my journey,
just to kind of epitomize what the journey will look like,
there are no cars, there are no lorries,
just three-wheeled motorized machines.
People staring, and laughing, and wanting to talk --
The most beautiful countryside, as well, is really is, in the heart of Asia
-- I have been in so many places in Asia,
and Bangladesh is truly stunning, one of the most stunning countries
on this continent.
So, my call to action is: Tigers might go extinct in 10 years.
That's a very, very real reality.
Bangladesh holdsthe future of the wild tiger in its hands,
of the largest population.
Unless we don't do something now, that will happen.
And I ask you, people in Bangladesh, people internationally,
to sign up to the Wild Rickshaw Challenge,
to put tigers on the map in Bangladesh,
to save the Royal Bengal tiger in Bangladesh.
Thank you. (Applause)