WiserEarth Area of Focus Stewards

Preserving Biodiversity

The Problem: Mass Extinction is Already Underway

Reflections by Mike Seymour

·      In the last 150 years, world population has soared from one billion to over six billion people.

·      The extent of human impact is causing what paleontologist Richard Leakey calls the “6th great extinction”--the greatest mass extinction of animal and plant species since the dinosaur age 65 million years ago.

·      Nearly half the 234 primates, including chimpanzees—the human’s closest evolutionary relative—are threatened with extinction. Another 20% are approaching that status.

·      Lion populations have fallen almost 90% in the past 20 years, leaving the lion close to extinction in Africa.

·      90% of all large fishes have disappeared.

·      The U.S. Department of the Interior proposes to list the polar bear as an endangered species due to loss of artic ice habitat.

·      80,000 square miles of forest are lost each year, at which rate forests will be reduced to 10% of their original cover by 2050.

·      By the year 2100, if present trends continue, 50% of Earth’s species that existed 50 years ago will be extinct.

I have many fond childhood memories of seeing amazing animals at the zoo or the circus—the lion, elephant and giraffe—and having my own stuffed versions of the same tucked comfortably around me each time I went to bed.  And our household was never without cats or dogs. In these respects, my life was characteristically human in regard to the presence of animals.

In fact, early human societies surrounded themselves with totems, art, dances and stories that celebrated the images and characteristics of animals, birds and fish.  Indigenous societies revered—and often feared—local animals, for their skills and abilities which often seemed magical to humans. And of course, early societies keenly felt their dependency on the sustenance animals provided. You didn’t buy your meat in the grocery store, but tracked, hunted and killed your next meal. Staying alive meant you got to know your prey extremely well, bringing with this awareness a deep respect and often veneration for your animal cousin. 

Our early ancestors knew something we today in the modern world have forgotten—that we humans are inextricably linked to the whole web of life, and that all life is in some way sacred.

Therefore, harm to any part of that web is also harm to us, as recalled in words said to have been spoken by Chief Seattle in 1854:

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected. You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know: The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

I honestly have trouble holding the weight of the statistics presented at the beginning of this chapter.  The thought of half the world’s plant and animal species being near or at extinction in another 100 years is mind-numbing beyond comprehension. Sometimes all I feel is a leaden sadness that seems to have no end. And I think that is a very appropriate and human response. 

But there is an antidote to feeling powerless or, worse, apathetic. And that’s to take positive action.  If enough of us take action, I firmly believe we’ll reach a “tipping point,” –to use a term popularized recently by writer Malcolm Gladwell when he wrote about the dynamics of huge shifts in cultural trends. It doesn’t take everybody in a social system to change—only enough of us for the collective voice of change to be heard by everyone over the din of business as usual. 

What Is Biodiversity?

If you were to measure off any piece of ground and analyze the plants, trees, insects, worms, birds and animals that live there, you would learn that there is an intricate system of interdependencies that makes life work. Biodiversity refers to the great variety and variability of living organisms and ecological complexes, or interactions, in which they occur. 

Evolutionary scientists are often heard commenting on the odds against human life evolving on this planet, when you take into consideration all the factors that had to be in place for the emergence of sentient, self-reflective life.  The key, of course, is biodiversity.  The more different kinds of life there are in the biosphere, the greater the opportunity for more life to form.  And the opposite is also true. As the biotic reserve is depleted, the opportunities for nature to innovate decline.  We are in such a period today, one which threatens human existence as we have known it up till now.

Consider the recent news about the steep and mysterious decline in the world’s bee populations that has huge implications for the supply of many vegetables, nuts and fruits which depend on pollination from bees. Bees, via pollination, are responsible for 15 to 30 percent of the food U.S. consumers eat, and are equally important to world food production. But in the last 50 years, the domesticated honeybee population—which most farmers depend on for pollination—has declined by about 50 percent. Unless actions are taken to slow the decline of domesticated honeybees and augment their populations with wild bees, many fruits and vegetables may disappear from the food supply, according to Claire Kremen, a conservation biologist at Princeton University in New Jersey.

This is just one tiny but significant example of what can happen when any part of the chain of life is disturbed by human activity.

How Did We Get Here?

Species extinction is not new, nor is exclusively due to humans’ impact on the environment. But what has changed is not only the global breadth of human impact, but the kind of destruction that human activity is causing, and the rate at which it’s occurring.  Virtually all our natural endowments—soils, forests, water, air—are at risk. Soil erosion, over-harvesting, industrial pollutants to air and water and loss of habitat are affecting all of life on Earth in ways that we have only begun to comprehend in the last 40 years.

The most significant factor is population growth itself. More than half of humanity lives in cities, quadruple what it was 50 years ago. The rapid industrialization and urbanization of human societies—combined with a rise in materialism and consumption—has magnified the threat caused by the rapid population explosion. With industrialization came pollution, toxic waste, pesticides and loss of wilderness.

By far, the biggest impact came from loss of pristine land to residential, industrial, agrarian or transportation uses, resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation. Another contributor is direct exploitation, such as the elephant, which is hunted for its ivory, and the Canadian Atlantic Cod fishery which collapsed due to over-fishing.  Another direct threat is the introduction of new invasive species to an ecosystem, like the biological convulsion that happened in the Hawaiian Islands through countless new bird and plant species being introduced by traveling Polynesians.

Underlying all of this is the long-standing human attitude of entitlement concerning the Earth. We humans came to believe that nature belonged to us and that it is a human right—some would claim destiny—to subject the earth to human conquest and exploitation. This is in sharp contrast to the views held among indigenous societies—which is how all humans lived at one point in time. Early peoples recognized their interdependence with the natural world, were more mindful about its uses, and regarded the natural world with reverence, as seen in Chief Seattle’s speech.

Today half the world’s population lives in cities, compared with 30% in 1950, and indoor recreation—like TV, movies and the computer—have replaced outdoor work or recreation, which was the norm 60 years ago.

As we’ve become less intimate with and knowledgeable about the natural world, the speed and gravity of environmental decline has grown in ways not fully registered in people’s minds. Citing a survey titled Biodiversity in the Next Millenium by the American Institute of Bioloigcal Sciences, Museum of Natural History spokesperson Elizabeth Chapman said that “…the general public is relatively unaware of the loss of species and the threat it poses.” Further, she states that “…50% of the science teachers do not believe we are in the midst of a mass extinction, and only 38 describe themselves as being familiar with the concept of biodiversity.”

This lack of education and understanding is, finally, a major bridge to be crossed if humanity is to effectively mobilize broad public support for changes in all areas of life that will stem the tide of species loss and the immanent decline in human population that would also result.

Why Preserve Biodiversity

Humans have many economic, aesthetic, and ethical reasons for conserving biodiversity. Bioresources include all of our food, many pharmaceutical drugs, clothing fibers (wool and cotton), rubber and timber for housing and construction, and so on. Look around you—everything we make and manufacture comes from nature.

Ecosystem services are essential biological functions that are provided free of charge by living organisms and which benefit humankind. They include oxygen production by plants, climate control by forests, nutrient cycling, natural pest control, pollination of plants, and so much more.  Importantly, we derive great pleasure from the beauty of nature. It is impossible to think that the spirit and imagination that makes us human could have ever evolved in a moon-type ecosystem. Nature is the cradle of mankind and responsible for why we humans can call ourselves doubly wise (our real species name is homo sapiens sapiens), the species that is aware of itself. Finally, there are powerful ethical justifications for conserving nature when you understand that it isn’t right for humans do anything with Earth they want. It is important to realize that we are not above nature, but a part of it.

In summary, the animal and plant world should be accorded both rights and respect.

Preserving Biodiversity: Some Solutions

As in all the areas of sustainability we’ll discuss in these articles, there are no simple solutions to effectively preserving biodiversity. Progress entails economic, legislative, legal, and educational reforms; furthermore it requires public relations, social action, the acquisition of land or air/water commons rights, research, and more.  We’ll explore here some of the more important measures and a few success stories.

Legislative/Legal Action

http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/\

The federal and local governments have played a major role in preserving species.  A landmark decision came in 1973 with the introduction of an amended Endangered Species Act (ESA), which was last reauthorized in 2006. This act is a vehicle to identify and list species which are at risk of extinction, and to mitigate the loss of habitat and other contributing factors. For over twenty years the Endangered Species Act has been a powerful animal protection/conservation law, providing the critical umbrella under which threatened animals and plants receive the protection necessary for their future stability. As of March 1, 1995, a total of 955 U.S. species (430 animals) have been successfully protected by the United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the ESA. Additionally, over 4,000 species are identified as "'candidates" are awaiting actual listing as threatened or endangered.

American alligators in the Southeast, gray whales off the West Coast, and bald eagles throughout the Southwest have all benefited from protection under the Act. Each state has one or more success stories attesting to the law's importance and efficacy. According to FWS estimates, "nearly 40% of listed species are stable or improving." This is especially significant since protection under the Act comes at a critical stage in the decline of species' population. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, Mollie Beattie, appropriately dubbed the ESA "the emergency room of conservation policy."

Species Preserves: Tigers in India

http://projecttiger.nic.in

When a first-ever 1972 census of tigers in India found only 1,872 tigers, compared to an estimated turn-of-the century population of 40,000, Project Tiger was sponsored by the World Conservation Union of the United Nations. A network of tiger reserves was established with “core buffer” areas freed from much human activity and disturbance of local flora and fauna. Tiger populations went from 268 in 9 reserves in 1972 to 1,572 animals in 27 reserves as of 2003. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, there is a conservative estimate of about 3,500 tigers in this country. This accounts for more than half the world’s tiger population.

Land Acquisition

http://www.whatkidscando.org/studentwork/logging.html

Purchasing critical land—or the rights to manage it—is a key strategy in biodiversity preservation. A great example of this is the Big River Watershed in Mendocino, CA. Big River is also a terrific story of how students from the local schools played a crucial role in motivating their community to save the redwood forests in this pristine watershed from being cut by the Hawthorne Timber Co. that owned the land. Mendocino students of all ages contributed to “The Purchase,” as locals call it. With help from parents, teachers, and local artists, two high school alumni on break from college organized an art sale: hundreds of students K-12 created artwork about Big River, displayed it for five days at the local art center, then donated all proceeds to the purchase. Other students wrote letters to elected officials, while middle school students made a banner displayed at many Big River events. And students in area high schools did their part, too. Eventually, the Mendocino Land Trust was established, which raised over $25 million to purchase the lands from the timber company with help from high school students who conducted a biodiversity survey of species in the ecosystem, produced a video and helped bring the point home to legislators, foundations and the timber company itself. 

Habitat and Ecosystem Management

http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/watersheds/watershed-skagit.htm

The last 40 years of environmental science have taught us much about the complexities involved in preserving various species.  It’s not just a matter of directly trying to protect a species. You’ve got to work with all the stakeholders who have an interest in the entire ecosystem and habitat for the species of a particular locale.  Nor can you simply buy a piece of land, or even what seems like a large tract, since most bird and animal species, for example, have a defined range, or habitat, in which they make their living. So, environmentalists and biologists think in terms of managing entire ecosystems and protecting the necessary habitat in which target species live, and addressing the needs of the people who also live in that ecosystem.  They are also aware that any successful strategy must address and balance the concerns and often competing needs of a variety of stakeholders.

The Shared Strategy for Puget Sound is a groundbreaking model for balancing people and environmental needs in an effort to protect and restore salmon runs throughout Puget Sound in Washington State. This recovery effort represents an unprecedented collaboration of NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the State Governor’s office, Puget Sound Tribes, state and natural resource agencies, local government bodies, and key non-governmental organizations. Working in fourteen designated watershed areas in Washington State, the salmon recovery effort has made some impressive gains in terms of restoring habitat for salmon, such as returning former cattle land to salt marsh in the Nisqually Delta, or restoring streamside vegetation and improving fish passage in the Skagit watershed project.

Reforestation: A Story from Kenya

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/

One of the most compelling stories of environmental and democratic action comes out of Kenya, where Wangari Maathai, recipient of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, served in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman from 1981-87. She introduced her tree-planting concept to ordinary citizens in 1976. Professor Maathai went on to develop it into the Green Belt Movement, a broad-based, grassroots organization whose main focus is helping women’s groups plant trees to conserve the environment and improve quality of life. Through the Green Belt Movement, she now has helped women plant more than 30 million trees on their farms, on schools, and on church compounds.

Market Activism

http://ran.org/

Organizations like the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) identify and work to change the practices of corporations which are harming the environment. RAN got its start with the campaign to convince Home Depot to stop selling old growth forest products. They mobilized over 100 U.S.-based environmental organizations and their supporters to picket Home Depot as part of World Rainforest Week in 1997, as well as launched a broader campaign to steer consumers away from old growth products.  RAN was successful in developing a corporate coalition of Fortune 500 companies, like IBM, Kinko’s and Hallmark, committed to go “old growth free.”  By 1999, Home Depot had announced its commitment to stop selling wood from endangered forests, and many of the nation’s other wood products retailers as well as homebuilders (Centex Homes, Kaufman & Broad) did likewise. 

High Profile Direct Action

http://www.greenpeace.org/

A zodiak boat bravely blocking the path of whaling vessels…individuals stopping the killing of baby seals in the Artic. These are some of many images that the activist organization Greenpeace has successfully imprinted in many minds through its in-your-face style of direct but peaceful activism. Their tactics of direct confrontation coupled with broad publicity is highly effective in bringing issues to public awareness about the forests, oceans, global warming, toxics, the nuclear threat and genetic engineering.  At the same time, it has become highly controversial and made Greenpeace itself a target, as when French agents bombed and sunk the Rainbow Warrior in Auckluand, New Zealand, in reaction to the Greenpeace campaign against the French government’s nuclear testing. Nonetheless, Greenpeace’s more combative form of activism has been needed at times when corporations and governments have refused to take full responsibility for the human and environmental costs of their actions.

Circle of Life Foundation

http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/

Another powerful icon of direct action was made when Julia Butterfly Hill lived for 738 days in the canopy of an ancient redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests. Julia, with the great help of steelworkers and environmentalists, successfully negotiated to permanently protect the 1,000 year-old tree and a nearly three-acre buffer zone. Her two-year vigil informed the public that only 3% of the ancient redwood forests remain and that the Headwaters Forest Agreement, brokered by state and federal agencies and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, will not adequately protect forests and surrounding species. In addition to saving Luna, the publicity from her unique and heroic story inspired a whole new generation of environmentalists.

Religion and Environment: Buddhist Ecology in Thailand

http://jbe.gold.ac.uk/7/darlington001.html

In Thailand, Phra Prajak Kuttajitto strides barefoot through the cool forest he calls home until he comes to a giant teak tree. Then the monk with laughing eyes cloaks the majestic teak in saffron monk's robes and whispers a Buddhist blessing. This gentle, pious act in the remote woods 250 miles northeast of Bangkok has accomplished what environmentalists, lawyers, and politicians could not--Prajak says it has stopped, at least temporarily, the destruction of these forests. Actions like these among a small but diverse group of Thai Buddhist monks are part of what is now being called the Buddhist Ecology movement in Thailand. Drawing from the Buddha’s own practice of caring for nature, the "ecology monks" are those actively engaged in environmental and conservation activities and who respond to the suffering which environmental degradation causes. A major aim of Buddhism is to relieve suffering, the root causes of which are greed, ignorance, and hatred. The monks see the destruction of the forests, pollution of the air and water, and other environmental problems as ultimately caused by people acting through these evils, motivated by economic gain and the material benefits of development, industrialization, and consumerism. As monks, they believe it is their duty to take action against these evils.

Species Reintroduction

http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/Change/reintroduction.htm

Successful reintroductions of many animal species have been made in many areas in the U.S. and the world. The Mexican Grey Wolf, which disappeared from the Colorado plateau, was listed as an endangered species in 1976. Using animals captured in Mexico, a captive breeding population was established. These animals are the foundation of the recovery effort headed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently underway in the Blue Range area of the White Mountains. In the fall of 1998, 11 Mexican wolves were transferred to remote sites in Apache National Forest, the first in the wild in almost three decades. After undergoing acclimation in large enclosures for several weeks, the wolves were released to disperse in a 7,000-square-mile recovery area, comprised of the Apache and Gila National Forests in eastern Arizona and west-central New Mexico. The recovery goal for Mexican wolves is to maintain the captive breeding program while establishing a self-sustaining wild population of at least 100 animals in the species' historic range.

What You Can do

Steps You Can Take

1. Have an experience when you feel closer to nature at least once a week—that could be sitting quietly and taking in a nature scene, watching a bird or animal for 5-10 minutes, taking a walk through nearby woods, contemplating beautiful views of mountains, hills or water.
2. Learn one new thing each month about the trees, native vegetation, birds and small animals where you live—their names, habitat range, seasonal characteristics etc.
3. Find out more about the work of local or national environmental organizations (see resources) and get involved as a donor or volunteer.
4. Learn about the environmental voting records of your local, state and federal legislators.
5. Become part of the Planetfesto by going to http://www.planetfesto.org/

Resources (National & International)

The Current Mass Extinction is the most significant presentation on the internet of facts concerning species extinction. http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html

World Wildlife Fund works internationally to protect endangered species. http://www.worldwildlife.org/

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. http://www.defenders.org

Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization.It works in 30 different countries around the world to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. http://www.nature.org/

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. http://www.tpl.org/

National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation's most effective environmental action organization. They use law, science and the support of 1.2 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.  http://www.nrdc.org

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action. RAN accomplishes its mission through dynamic, hard-hitting campaigns that work to bring corporate and governmental policies into alignment with popular support for rainforest conservation. http://ran.org

The Environmental Defense Fund is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations. Among these rights are clean air, clean water, healthy food and flourishing ecosystems. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/

Greenpeace is dedicated to saving the planet through direct activism, and works on such issues as destruction of the forests, global warming, deterioration of our oceans and the threat of nuclear disaster. http://www.greenpeace.org/

Earth First! is an international movement composed of small, bioregionally-based groups. Earth First!ers (EF!ers) take it upon themselves to become intimately familiar with the ecology of their area and the most immediate and serious threats to it. They apply "direct pressure" to stop the bleeding, with a combination of education, litigation, and creative civil disobedience. http://www.earthfirst.org/

The National Audubon Society’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. Their national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people. http://www.audubon.org/