AFON
Let’s be the change – by Abi Leach
Welcome to our series of blog posts in the run up to the general election (7th May 2015). Over this month AFON members will share their own Visions for Nature: what they want the natural world to look like by 2050 and how they want to get there. We have created a hashtag on Twitter so why not join the conversation? What’s your #VisionforNature?
I have a dream, I dream that by 2050 we will still have a natural world. I want to be able to take my children outside and show them red kites soaring against the sky and seas of bluebells in the spring. I want them to see an elephant for themselves, not just listen to fantastical stories of these animals that used to live on Earth.
It’s a simple dream. But the truth of the matter is that biodiversity has declined by 28% since 1970, as calculated by the Living Planet Index, and this negative trend shows no signs of stabilising any time soon. With increasing global temperature, continued habitat destruction, poaching and poor controls on invasive species biodiversity is likely to show an accelerated decline into 2050.
So what do we intend to do about any of this?
The work of dedicated conservation groups goes some way to safeguard the natural world for the future but this is, to a large extent, like going to sea in a sieve. Conservation initiatives allow us to plug some of the holes but really all poorly funded conservation groups can do is slow the pace of the impending biodiversity crisis. What is required is a public awakening of how inextricably people and biodiversity are linked. Biodiversity underpins many of the ecosystem services providing vital benefits to humanity, yet this is poorly recognised.
And this is why young people are so important to conservation of the natural world. By integrating biodiversity awareness into school curriculums from day one and ensuring that all children have the opportunity to get outside and get in touch with nature we could raise the status of nature in the public psyche. This in turn would influence policy decisions, putting biodiversity conservation in line with major political issues.
To complement this we need better scientific communication on biodiversity issues. Effective biodiversity conservation will require strong national and international legislation but for this to happen science must be made relevant to policy-makers through clear and relatable publications. Better scientific communication will also be essential in empowering local communities to self-organise which will aid bothnature conservation and human development, whereas generic policy is likely to be detrimental both. Lastly, nature conservation must also be related to the highest concerns of policy-makers. This may mean that conservation biologists must promote recognition of the economic value of biodiversity and its role underpinning human development and well-being. Putting an economic value on nature may not sit well with many of us in the conservation field, but if it can be used as an effective tool for nature conservation, is it such a terrible thing?
We are all environmental stewards, we all have a duty towards our natural environment, to keep it clean and healthy, to make sensible decisions on its well-being that will protect biodiversity and not compromise our social needs.
I envision a future where nature conservation is integrated into everyday decision making, where the natural world holds as much political sway as an oilfield. I envision a future where instead of tokenistic, piecemeal efforts to conserve nature we have integrated local, national and international policy and much more funding for those NGOs working to save biodiversity. I believe young people are fundamental to achieving this but we need to make our voices heard. We are the conservation biologists and policy makers of the future. We know there must be a shift in public perception of biodiversity, things have to change if nature is to be flourishing into 2050. Let’s be that change.