David Attenborough explores the isolated islands which are a haven for ancient species as well as the cradle of new ones.

Stepping into the past he sees the world's largest lizard, the komodo dragon, and in the Indian Ocean he visits an island where 150,000 giant tortoises find survival a pressing problem. In Hawaiian forests live a unique group of birds, the honeycreepers, and living among them, a caterpillar that catches flies.

David Attenborough looks at the damage we are causing far away from our centres of population - to the oceans, the atmosphere and the tropical rainforests. And he suggests what should be done to safeguard the future of our living planet.