Does your environmental project need an aerial perspective? The Bateleurs provides an aviation service to environmentalists throughout Southern Africa.
Home Request a Flight The Advantages of Flight
Benefits of Aerial View PDF Print E-mail

Why is an aerial perspective so important for environmental matters?

Visibility
Issues that are almost invisible from the ground are immediately apparent from the air  -  e.g. illegal cottages, roads, and mines on the Wild Coast

Location
Accurate GPS mapping of problem areas for later ground verification

Time
Three hours in the air, with one observer and perhaps one photographer, will frequently accomplish the work of a team of ground-based field workers, in a bakkie and on foot, over a significantly longer period

Cost
The cost savings to the beneficiary organisation of a three-hour flight for two staff members, compared with the expense of a ground-based crew, road transport and many more hours
 
Flying PDF Print E-mail
flyingFrom their preferred flight altitude Bateleur Eagles see every little detail on the ground and are quick to pick out anything new. From the air one sees things that are completely hidden at ground level. Airborne pilots, like eagles, are all-seeing and have the opportunity to readily report anything amiss within their ranges. Many of the malpractices of land use in Africa leave scars that are visible from the air: patches cleared from forests; silting of beaches and lakes; erosion of the soil layer; and elephant carcasses left by poachers. 'The Bateleurs' is a service offered by dedicated flying people to help halt these malpractices - by reporting them, by showing them to the right people who can do something about them, or simply by offering to fly missions for other NGOs and individuals deeply concerned with wildlife and wilderness.

The Bateleurs were inspired by LightHawk in America who have been flying environmental mission for the past 20 years and who have encouraged us to start our own organisation in Africa. We whole-heartedly endorse LightHawk's statement:

"We are surrounded by evidence of man's impact on the earth. Yet burdened as we are by our daily routines, limited as we are by our earth-bound perspective, we cannot see the real impact we have on the planet that gives us life. We need to take a step back. Or, perhaps, we need to fly. From the air, we can see the earth in it's true fragility. We can assess the enormous power humans have to build, to alter, to destroy. And, no matter what our political beliefs or cultural mores, we can confront the irrefutable fact that something must be done."