A sea of golden-yellow copper pod blooms filled some roads while others, seemingly bare, had fig trees sprouting through concrete walls. I particularly made it a point to visit parts of Mumbai’s coastline, each of which was bustling with intertidal activity. As I peered eagerly among rocks laced with barnacles, oysters, and sea snails, I chanced upon a tidepool that was home to many tiny sea anemones.

A sea anemone (genus Anthopleura) in a tidal pool in one of Mumbai’s shores

Mumbaikars contribute to citizen science

Mumbai’s citizen scientists bore witness to all of this and much more during the global City Nature Challenge 2023, which spanned from April 28th to May 1st. A little over 600 species of wildlife were observed in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region during this duration. Citizen science or community science is a participatory form of science that engages members of the public in increasing scientific knowledge and is widely used in efforts to safeguard wild spaces in cities. The City Nature Challenge is a way to get people living in towns and cities across the globe to document their local wildlife on their mobile phones and upload this information on iNaturalist—an open-source citizen science app. The app’s validated observations become ‘research grade,’ enabling scientists to use the data in their research.

A Peepul tree (Ficus religiosa) stands tall in Bandra, Mumbai

Taking time out of her busy weekend, Nupur Sawant, a resident of Mulund West participated in the City Nature Challenge for the first time. She observed nature in her neighborhood in Mulund and at the Bhandup Pumping Station, which is not only a sewage treatment plant but also one of Mumbai’s many bird watching haunts. Amidst the biodiverse mangroves and mudflats, Nupur documented birds such as white-eared bulbuls, juvenile flamingoes and whiskered terns. Meanwhile, another first-timer Tabassum Musakunni looked for wildlife around Andheri East, Juhu, Sion and Byculla and observed 56 species—trees, squirrels and birds amongst these.

Gauri Joshi, a Vile Parle resident, played a crucial role in raising awareness about the City Nature Challenge in Mumbai. She is not only a lecturer at Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College but also a Nature Interpreter at the NaturalisT Foundation, a Chinchpokli-based environmental conservation organization. Over the weekend, Gauri coordinated a nature-watching activity at Deer Park in Powai, which was free to join.

A red dwarf-honey bee (Apis florea) visits mangrove flowers (Avicennia marina) at Bandstand, Mumbai

Pradip Patade, of Mumbai-based Coastal Conservation Foundation, spent the weekend doing what he often does: observing marine life along Mumbai’s coastline. For him, this is a routine activity, and one that he spends several hours on each time. However, he notes that this particular weekend was not ideal for observing intertidal life, due to the mid-tide which failed to fully expose the intertidal zone. An intertidal zone, one that falls between the high tide and low tide lines, becomes easy to access when not submerged in sea water and magnanimously reveals our ocean life like sea stars, sponges, hermit crabs and even corals. Undeterred, Pradip instead explored the mangrove patches of Bandstand and the mudflats of Sewri. His exploration led him to documenting a mangrove flatworm, belonging to the genus Meixneria, a rare sighting. Pradip has identified this species to be Meixneria furva, but he cautions that the record awaits verification by experts. This documentation not only enriches the current scientific knowledge of this particular flatworm but also helps spotlight the underappreciated invertebrates of Mumbai.

A mangrove flatworm in Sewri documented during the City Nature Challenge. | Photo by Pradip Patade

Human-nature relationships in the big city

This year’s edition of the City Nature Challenge helped me foster a deeper connection with my neighbourhood. I was able to document most of the trees lining a busy street near my home, as well as observe some marine life a couple of kilometers away. An observation that stood out the most for me was of an old woman crouched over Bandra’s rocky shore, carefully harvesting oysters. She too shares a deep connection with the ocean and its creatures, but for her, this bond is essential for her survival. Currently, the Mumbai Coastal Road Project threatens the way she and other artisanal fishers connect and care for the coast.

A report recently released by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences states that the Mumbai Coastal Road Project has caused a 50% decrease in the incomes and daily catch of fisherfolk. The study, which was commissioned by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, found that fishers who caught fish by hand, mostly women, were the worst affected by this large infrastructure project. Besides women, the project further impacts the livelihoods of other marginalized fishers including migrants and Muslims.

As residents of Mumbai, we may face the challenge of reconnecting with nature amidst unplanned development, which has led to shrinking of commons and the displacement of traditionally nature-dependent communities. However, citizen science may offer us a means to seek out nature, observe and hopefully activate our citizenry to raise our voices against mindless development projects that threaten both nature and culture.

A fisherwoman harvests oysters from rocks at Bandstand, Mumbai

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Two of India’s most beautiful regions, where thousands of people go to watch and feel the wonders of nature, are suffering because of the extremely heavy rains and subsequent floods. Well, the pain that the rains brought to Kerala and now to Uttarakhand, is warning to all of us. It’s nature’s warning to us to mend our ways.

Nobody would have doubted the fury of rains and floods if it were the monsoon season. We all know, India suffers from both heavy rains as well as a shortfall of rains. The monsoon in India this year was more than its forecast, and eventually by the middle of September we assumed that the Monsoon was over, giving happiness to farmers and others.

Unfortunately, whether Monsoon left or not, rains remained there. I was travelling in the high ranges of Uttarakhand with friends and the weather really disappointed us. First, we could not complete our track to Dayara Bugyal which was about 3000 meters above the sea level offering a splendid view of the Himalayas. When we were just short of about 4 kilometers from meeting our summit, heavy rains compelled us to look for a shelter in the dense forest. After two hours when the ferocity of the rains stopped, we decided against climbing up and returned which was more difficult as it was a height at nearly 50-60 degrees slopes. Once we reached our hotel, it rained extremely heavily the entire night. The rains in the Himalayas really frighten you. The rains only stopped in the morning around 7 A.M and suddenly we saw a bright sun and snow-covered peaks. 

One day later, when we wanted to trek Gomukh from Gangotri which was about 18 kilometers away, we were happy that finally we could see some sunshine but after 9 kilometer’s stressful walking, it started raining and we could cover our first night journey with great difficulty. It was cloudy and raining, bringing down the temperature significantly. My friends from Mumbai found it extremely difficult to sustain and had breathing difficulties. Next morning when we got up, the situation was not clear and we had made our mind to abandon the trip as reaching back safely was more important even when we knew well that it was difficult terrain to walk in the rains as landslides were common there.

When I had planned my trip after, it was ideal to enjoy the bright sun shine as Uttarakhand looks stunning in the winter when the entire North India suffers with gloomy fog all around, the mountains in the Himalayas glitter in the bright sun making it a fascinating region to enjoy your winters. A couple of days prior to our journey, there was heavy rainfall and a landslide. I thought the worst was over and decided but now the heavy rains, floods and disaster has proved how unpredictable the weather has become today.

It was a rarity when we heard rains and floods together everywhere and not even in the mountains. We know Monsoon starts in mid of May in Kerala when the gates of the holy shrines in Uttarakhand are opened to the public, as that is the best period to visit the hills. People who suffer in the dirty, rotten heat of North India or even in the West or South, visit to Uttarakhand in a very large number. Most of the time July-August is the rainy season and by mid-September, Monsoon is officially over but this year it is shocking beyond doubt.

Kerala has lost over 42 persons to these unpredictable rains with towns like Kottayam, Thiruvalla, Idukki, Pathnamthittha facing the biggest jolt of swelling waters in the rivers. Houses collapsed like the cards and car swept away. The dams in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are overflowing at the moment and water level is rising high in various districts due to opening up of the gates of these dams. Once we thought the rains were over in Kerala, the met department forecasted heavy rains for Uttarakhand. I was not sure, but the next day, when we got the information, it just reminded us of the terrible tragedy of 2013 which was termed as Himalayan Tsunami killing thousands of people and damaging the huge infrastructure in the state. The world saw unprecedented destruction at that time where houses, roads, bridges, vehicles floated and swept away in the furious water of Ganges and numerous other tributaries, some known and various unknown or seasonal. So far, more than 58 lives have been lost, hundreds wounded. Many of the trekkers who had come to enjoy the beauty of the regions are still untraceable. A majority of the roads have caved in and in many places will take time to come back to normalcy.

Tsunami occurred in 2004 while Uttarakhand’s tragedy happened in 2013 but it looks that our governments learnt very little from that. The magnitude of the devastation did not affect any change in the policies pursued by the government as well as the bureaucracy. It is clear that Climate crisis is an issue which has been ignored. In the name of ‘development’ our mountains, rivers, seas are under the assault of greedy companies and political leaders as well as governments who have become their ‘agents’.

Kerala is a beautiful state but ‘development’ has reached there with growing urbanisation and ‘cemented infrastructure’ to meet the demand for the growing population. Urban population which was merely about 15% in 1971 was now crossing nearly 50%.  Moreover, the heavy migration for jobs to the Middle East result in ‘idea’ of ‘development’ by the individuals in the form of houses which are never according to local environment and needs but as per fancies seen elsewhere. Rampant mining to satisfy the need of the urban population particularly for sands and stones has aggravated the crisis. Deforestation to pave the way for ‘industrialisation’ and annexation of the sea beaches to attract ‘tourists’ and their demands are ultimately paving the way towards bigger disaster. There are about 58 big or small dams in Kerala and one is certain that many of them are in important ecologically sensitive zones. For the first time we heard that many of these dams were running beyond their capacity this time. The fact is that the reason for floods in many areas in India are these overflowing dams which suddenly open up their gates for the waters resulting in massive flooding everywhere. Indian experts will have to think it over now as to how long this will be allowed. Whether Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, we have seen such things happening every year damaging property, crops and human lives. It is time to focus on these things in the beginning so that human lives are not lost because of human error.

Look at what is happening in Uttarakhand. It is destruction. The greedy business lobby wanted to destroy the sea coast, backwater system, small rivers for mining, in Uttarakhand they wanted to reach the ‘top’ to ‘promote’ tourism and for that they have no shame in destroying our basic identity, the mountains. The Chardham yatra project added with bringing railway network to high hills are invitation to disaster. Nobody denies that we should have good road infrastructure but it is important how and whether the destruction that we are causing to nature is bigger or not. It pained me to see how the mountains were being drilled by the big machines and concrete was replacing the natural forests. We cannot have four lane roads in the Himalayan region unless we destroy the entire ecological system. If we destroy that, how much damage it could create to the entire northern and Eastern India will be unheard of.

Dams need to be damned. Unlike Kerala, hills of Uttarakhand have shown a negative growth rate in population. The winters bring chills and many villagers move to other regions during the winter. It’s a kind of nomadism when people migrate to other towns or villages from Middle of October till February- March end when the entire Himalayan region is covered with deep and dense snow. Forest cover is much higher which is controlled by the government. Many villages don’t even have public utility places as they have to seek permission from the forest, yet big resorts have come in. You can see big resorts in Jim Corbet National Park which is actually in the Tarai region (Himalayan plains) but elsewhere too in the higher ranges above 3,500 meters. It is this lobby of ‘environmentalists’ who make the local people look like enemies and project themselves as ‘champions’ of environmentalism. Frankly, it is this lobby, which has damaged the cause of the nature.

Laws must ensure local cultures, communities and ecological issues are protected and respected. The problem that has created this huge crisis is the absolute disregard and inability of the Indian states to respect people and their knowledge which is often regarded as ‘localised’ hence ‘experts’ are brought in and they legitimise the political propaganda of the power elite in their effort to create a ‘homogeneity’ among us. The fact of the matter is that all ‘developmental’ projects have ‘ideas’ and ‘experts’ emerging from private companies sitting in big metropolitan cities whose major work is ‘lobbying’ with the politicians, ministers and political parties to get through their work. Most of them have least concern for local sentiments or environmental protection, or what is essentially known as Free Prior Informed Consent which is an international practice whenever there is a developmental project planned in an area of greater environmental concern as well as indigenous communities. World over, the rights of people are respected and it is assumed that local communities are the best bet to protect the environment but back home the contractors in big cities with political connections and ‘experts’ funded by the Industrial houses have used judiciary for their purposes where ‘local communities’ are perceived as ‘threat’ to environment.

Hailing from the hills, I consider them my identity. I have often said whenever a friend wishes to visit that you find huge palaces, big buildings, historical spaces like those in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Lucknow, Mysore, Chennai etc. in the hills. If you are coming to hills, you will only find glacial rivers, fountains, mountains and other natural thing and they are not ‘resources’ for us but our basic identity. If there is no ‘pahad’ then there cannot be any Pahadi/Pahari which is our identity. If the mountains are destroyed, we will have to pay a heavy price and we will ultimately eliminate our identity.

Even when I am a humanist, I live with different rivers in the hills. Listen to their songs, if you have the capacity to understand the soulful humming and observe their ferocity at places, the power, the serenity and intensity unparalleled. They are a treat to watch. Enjoy the sublime, pure water and how it is playing but what have we done to them? We have tried to control them. How many dam(n)s are being built on various rivers in Uttarakhand which ultimately gave us Ganga, the most fertile and revered river of the country. A journey from Rishikesh or Dehradun to both the Gangotri, Yamunotri as well as Badrinath-Kedarnath would give you visibility to how mercilessly we have betrayed the mountains as well as our beautiful and revered rivers. This is nothing but a brutal assault on the greatest gift of nature to India. We live in a strange society at the moment where in the name of ‘respect’ we pollute our rivers and mountains but remain quiet on the issue of their destruction.

The nature’s wrath at Kerala and Uttarakhand have sent a categorical warning. You call both the states ‘Gods own country’ and ‘Devbhumi’. For me, both of them are the finest creation of nature to enjoy. The beauty of Arabian sea and stunning greenery of mountains in Munnar, the loving backwaters at Kumarkom and many more places are nature’s creation now being destroyed by greedy humans. Just travel to Uttarakhand and you will get fascinated with the beauty of Ganges and the more upward you move, the beautiful snowy rivers with the pristine water and humming attract you. The snow-covered peaks of Himalayas which literally protect India from its mighty neighbour is our best defence. There are lakes, meadows, fountains and what not but what happens is that human greed and comfort create infrastructure that hurts nature.

We all know that global warming is a reality. Climate change is a reality. So far, our governments, political parties and politicians have no time fighting with their pitching one person against others. Our divisive agenda has already hurt India and its ideas. The developmental model that is being pursued is purely to provide contracts to those who are close to those in power. Unfortunately, the power center of the ruling party has not been able to come out of its Gujarat obsession. It is trying to create a Gujarati monopoly everywhere which is dangerous and detrimental. Look at the contractors, airports, big ports, telephone companies, internet services and find out who the people are. What is the diversity in them? For these ‘versatile’ geniuses, profit is everything even if it has devastated humanity.

 We shout that from the Himalayas to Arabian Sea, India is one but here I want to say, from the Himalayas to the Arabian sea, we must not underestimate the warning signals from nature. Whether it is the mountains, rivers or sea, nature is sending an emphatic message for all of us to mend our ways or face the devastation. It is time, political parties, activists, and the government to give serious thought. Local municipal bodies, state governments, must act and develop local models in terms of structures and development. We can’t see a beautiful city like Nainital suffering in flood or the devastating videos that emerged from Kottayam.

We need to protect our heritage which emerges from nature. Respect nature, learn to live with it, respect local communities that protect nature and live a natural life and stand up against those who come to you with their ‘profitable’ ‘developmental’ mantra. Nobody should be allowed to exploit nature for private profit. There must be an eco-audit of our schemes and programmes so that we know what is happening on the ground and what are the threats to our nature and biodiversity.  It is time for all of us to stand up and be counted. We cannot allow our lonely planet to be destroyed by the ‘developmental mafia’. Wake up call for all. We hope both people of Kerala and Uttarakhand will stand up for protecting their natural identity and make environmental-ecological issues a prominent political agenda. Time has come to question the ‘developmental’ model to save our fascinating and enchanting natural heritage.

Related:

Stop mindless concretisation ‘projects’ in Uttarakhand
Who is Responsible for the Current Climate Crisis in Delhi?
Around 170 still missing in the tragedy in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli
India Floods, again: What Happened and Why
Floods displacing millions partly due to reckless development, inefficient water management

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As people stayed inside for close to a month and a half since the announcement of lockdown in the wake of coronavirus threat, most observed people observe that the air is fresher, trees look greener and rivers are cleaner. This proves that human interference is responsible for environmental degradation.

The important message in this is that man is not the master of nature. Neither can he or should he ever try to conquer it. In fact, survival of human beings is dependent on nature. Nature provides sustenance to them and therefore controls their life as well as death. Human beings are merely one small part of complex web of life and non-living matter. Numerous interactions are taking place which maintain the balance required to support human life. Nature is a wonderful example of unity in diversity concept. That seems to be the ultimate truth emerging from the present crisis. Human beings should learn to respect unity in diversity in larger universe as well as within their species. Their lifestyle should be in harmony with nature and not which disturbs the delicate balance. This implies that any activity beyond fulfilling the needs of human beings which involves large scale, larger than what would be required for fulfilling the need of a community, would interfere with the natural systems and as an extension become a cause of problem for human beings too.

The great rush of life, mostly driven by motives for material gains and which seemed to be inevitable till the other day, has come to a screeching halt. People who travelled by air and would have thought train journeys to be time consuming are not even stepping out of their homes. Money matters but is of no use if you can’t buy things which you would like to buy from the market. Realisation has also dawned that we don’t really need all that much money or resources for survival.

Coronavirus threat has been a great equaliser. It has put all human being on par as it doesn’t discriminate. Rich and powerful are feeling as vulnerable as the poor. There is a message in this. All human created categories of identity and especially any associated hierarchies have no meaning. Conflicts and triumphs in those have no value. One human being may conquer another but both will have to surrender before the deadly virus. Hence equality of human beings and equal rights for everybody are nature ordained principles. Everybody has an equal right to survive is amply clear and accepted now as never before. Hence, democracy is the only way we can function in which everybody has equal right to participate.

Equality of human beings implies that this earth and its abundant natural resources are meant to be shared by everybody in an equitable manner. Anybody, especially private corporations, cannot be allowed to exploit natural resources to maximise their profits. This model of development which fuels growth has come to naught. It is not sustainable in the wake of challenges like coronavirus threat. Now nobody is bothered about Gross Domestic Growth rates. Everybody is worried about their survival. In the period of lockdown human beings have learned to live with fulfillment of bare basic needs. The lesson is, a consumerist model will have to pave the way for a need based fulfillment model. Profit maximisation will have to be replaced by enough for survival. Cooperation will be the guiding human spirit not competition. If people had not come forward to provide relief to their fellow human beings, the lockdown period would have witnessed more misery. Hence compassion should guide all policy making, not realpolitik or economics.

The politics of confrontation and hatred among different identities – cultural, ethnic, religious, nationalities – do not have any meaning and should be rejected in favour of camaraderie and solidarity. Militarily the most powerful nation on earth, United States, saw the most number of deaths due to coronavirus. A country which would have never dreamt of so many casualities in any war was helpless against the virus. Of what use is the huge defence expenditure if country cannot save their own citizens? The most powerful of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons are ineffective to save people from a virus.

Clearly, not preparedness for war, but willingness to work with each other is what will save humanity. Hence all animosities and rivalries must be given up, no-war pacts should be signed, if possible collectively through the United Nations, and stockpiles of arms and armies should be dismantled.

As identities of nations become less contested, the idea of nationalism will concede to that of internationalism. UN should become the important form for global governance for countries with democratic participation. Security Council and veto power will have no need in the new global order and every country and communities not necessarily identifying themselves with any country or which could be living in more than one countries should have equal vote in UN. Various bodies like the World Health Organisation, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund, UN International Children’s Fund will have to be fully equipped to handle natural and social challenges. In the present pandemic crisis when governments are expected to increase spending for social welfare why are Word Bank and IMF or various UN agencies behind?

In summary, just as a new economic model of development based not on profit maximisation but fulfillment of basic needs of all humans will have to be evolved similarly a new model of political governance based not on competition and one-upmanship but on co-existence and working together will have to emerge. Human survival critically depends on such a transformation.

*I.D. Khajuria is with Internationalist Democratic Platform and Sandeep Pandey with Socialist Party (India).  

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The rivers Brahmaputra and Jinjiram are overflowing while roads, bridges, houses have all been destroyed by the torrential rains. The wild life parks in Assam have also been badly affected and the animals have moved towards highlands.

The wildlife trust has rescued many animals from drowning. A tiger found it’s way to a house and nestled on the bed where it is seen resting after being tranquilized by the vet of the Wildlife trust. Their tweet has caught everyone’s attention and is doing rounds on the social media.

The administrations in these states have sent rescue boats and provided relief camps for the people where they are being provided medical help and other requirements.

However there is still much that needs to be done but according to many people on the social media the situation of Assam and Bihar especially has not been given its due attention.

Many people have tweeted and posted messages on the social media expressing sympathy and pain at the plight of the people but few have come forward to help; while many have been asking why is there no help to Assam? When Kerala was flooded Assam had provided relief fund.

Sprinter Hima Das, who hails from Dhing town in Assam state has appealed for help from corporates and also for funds from the CM relief fund.

Hindi film actor Akshay kumar has donated 2 crores for both the kaziranga park and the people of Assam, while other actors have shared their grief and urged their fans to support the refugees.

Popular front of India cadres have personally gone to the people to reach out and distribute food and water.

Here are a few places where you can donate for both Assam and Bihar:

1. Uday foundation in New Delhi
https://www.udayfoundation.org/donate-for-assam-and-bihar-flood-relief-2019/

2. Goonj Foundation, Delhi
https://goonj.org/assam-bihar-floods/

3. For those living out of India : Global giving foundation:
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/floods-in-assam-and-bihar-2019/donate/

4. Chief Minister’s relief fund for respective states.

You can make online donation from credit and debit card networks like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and RuPay or Net Banking (50+ Options), Payment Wallet, UPI or NEFT/RTGS/IMPS.

And those living in Delhi can even donate clothes, utensils, toiletaries, medicines and other things.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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The report is one of the most comprehensive global analyses of biodiversity, yet it does have its limitations. It only tracks vertebrates, sampling is not standardised across different biomes, and it ignores genetic diversity.

It’s also worth noting that other global studies have reported different figures for biomass decline. A study in Nature looking at plant and insect species, estimates declines in species abundance of around 11%, and a study from Germany found a 75% decline in flying insect biomass in the 27 years up to 2016.

These are large discrepancies and clearly this topic needs further exploration. However, all these studies support the conclusion that we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate.

While the figures may differ, most major studies reveal a deteriorating situation. Flickr
 

The big debate

There are two main strands of argument when it comes to the loss of wildlife. The first is that the loss of nature is a necessary and acceptable consequence of human progress. Historically, our wealth has increased through exploiting the natural environment, and it has allowed us to live richer lives with more freedom of opportunity.

Counter to this, the argument runs that we can only push biodiversity loss so far before we threaten the life support systems of our small planet – the capacity of the biosphere to regulate our climate, pollinate our crops, purify our water and decompose our waste. The biologist Paul Ehrlich once made the analogy that losing species in an ecosystem is like progressively removing rivets from an aeroplane: the plane may fly on for a while, but eventually it will fall out of the sky.

Such concerns have led to attempts to quantify “safe limits” of biodiversity loss, or so-called planetary boundaries that we must not cross else we risk a catastrophic tipping point. Although a compelling concept, there remains serious issues in implementing it. One is the uncertainty in the extent of biodiversity loss, the other is in the impact these losses will have on human livelihoods.

To make a comparison with climate change, many governments only committed to action after the likely economic impacts were quantified through meticulous analysis combining climate science and economics. Therefore, new approaches to more precisely quantify risk are urgently needed in order to galvanise action.

But even if we can ascertain the risks, will we actually be able to stop biodiversity loss?

We know with some confidence the risks of global warming, yet countries are struggling to stick to their Paris commitments, let alone the even greater emission reductions needed to avoid a warmer world.
 

Acting responsibly

I was recently involved in an interdisciplinary analysis of the global food system (one of the major culprits of biodiversity loss), which identified a range of mechanisms that keep our food system “locked” into an unsustainable trajectory.

People often feel powerless to change such global systems and point to factors at the level of government policy, such as the upcoming extension and renewal of the Convention for Biological Diversity.

Although wise governance is essential, many factors that contribute to a decline in biodiversity operate at the individual level, such as our dietary and consumer choices. Also, the structure of our institutions ultimately reflects our individual mindsets, so we have the opportunity to initiate positive change by acknowledging our dependency on nature. Rising levels of individualism, however, have encouraged an economy that provides for private interests at the expense of nature.

Through our purchases we can destroy the environment on the other side of the world, which is why the WWF report calls for better data to connect consumers to the consequences of their actions. On the positive side, our increasingly connected world could allow for social contagion of positive and responsible ways of acting. Small individual changes can cascade and cause a different kind of “tipping point” towards a more sustainable way of life.

If we really want to halt biodiversity loss and ensure a safe course for current and future generations on Spaceship Earth, we need to think beyond government, and forget the selfish “I” – the solutions start with “us”.

Tom Oliver, Professor of Applied Ecology , University of Reading

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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