Category: Editorial

Mother Earth, Her Ecosystems, Man and Woman!

Photo by Aasvi Kedia

By Wezi Emmanuel Chilubanama, Zambia

Sustainable Development Goal 15 is a very important goal because it is about me, the next person, and the other and the entire ecosystem of the world. Life on land is not just for the human race, but the whole ecosystem around us, and we are only but a part of it. This applies to both plant and animal life. If anything, most animals, including human beings, are interdependent. Let’s see how this happens in at least two ways.

First, ecosystem members depend on each other for food. Animals including man and woman are consumers of plants and decomposing animal carcasses provide nutrients for plants. This interdependency is required to sustain ecosystems and life on earth. Secondly, procreation is enabled through ecosystem interdependence. For example, most seeds are dispersed through animals. Seed dispersal and pollination are crucial steps in the reproductive cycle of plants, and are facilitated by animals, including humans. 

As humans make more space for businesses, agriculture or housing, trees are cut down. Now don’t just think of it as deforestation but as displacement of wildlife. Humans are not only disturbing forest wildlife, but are also cutting down trees that might not be replanted! If man and woman keep doing this, we might as well learn how to breathe in carbon dioxide! How about we share living places with plant life instead?

With this information in mind, we must not only appreciate life on land but also take care of Mother Earth and her endowments. Man and woman must make some areas completely off limits in order to keep as much fauna and flora safe. From the softness of the grass to the chilling shade of a large tree, animals find some comfort. Man and woman may get this similar feeling from the roofs over their heads or soft rugs; man and woman must also think of the creatures that can’t get this same luxury due to their actions.

In conclusion, the world houses beautiful sites to see, not man-made but naturally made. We can’t continue to take it for granted, so let man and woman fight to keep Mother Earth and her ecosystems safe, as well as grow and develop along with her.

The Silent Whispers of Mother Nature: From desolation to hope

Artwork by Kelvin Li

By: Varnessa Kayen Varlyngton, Nigeria

Growing up in the city once known as “The Garden City of Nigeria,” I developed a deep love for nature. However, my idyllic perception of my surroundings was shattered when I witnessed the harsh environmental reality faced by the people of Rivers State.


The city, once a vibrant oasis teeming with life and lush greenery, now stands as a desolate wasteland stripped of its trees. Human activities more rampant than ever have ravaged our once-beautiful landscape. The absence of trees resulted in heat waves that mercilessly tormented us before the rainy season, making it nearly impossible to focus in our classrooms. Children, including my younger sister, fell victim to severe heat rashes and global warming became more evident, a grim reminder of the consequences of environmental degradation. Deforestation was the first sign of environmental degradation in my city that I had ever studied and witnessed.

I began to wonder why humans would be so cruel. Nature has been so kind to us, from the beautiful trees that provide us with oxygen and the little animals that kept us company. Everyone had once praised this land for being so beautiful and great but what is it now? Desertification might be knocking at the door in a few years’ time. Realising that what could be the apocalypse of the earth was us humans, a fire within me had been ignited. I thought to myself: “Nature has been kind to us so let us reciprocate that love”. I began to find creative ways to make a change and say no to deforestation. SDG 15: Life On Land needed to be protected.

To achieve social justice we must achieve environmental justice and this is my message to the world. This was the reason why I decided to start Egalitarianism for Earth, recognizing the interconnectedness of all species, ecosystems, and the Earth, and seeking to ensure ecological equality, environmental justice, and sustainable coexistence. In this relentless pursuit of environmental justice, I launched the Children4Climate Initiative with a movement known as TreeTrek, a bold endeavour aimed at restoring the once-glorious Garden City of Nigeria. Starting the Children4Climate Initiative and the movement is my way of raising awareness and taking actions especially in a world where Gen Alpha aren’t involved in trivial matters that relate sustainability.

From hosting workshops at the local schools, using animations to amplify mother nature’s cry, writing and reporting these environment – related Indigenous stories, creating petitions and writing an open letter to the federal government of Nigeria demanding for climate education, I believe that I am changing that narrative as a young Gen Alpha leader and playing my role in the cycle of life.

We should all understand that life on land is desperately crying for our help….If you can’t hear it I urge you to go back to a quiet place and look at the world around you and see how she’s slowly fading away. However, if everyone eagerly works together to protect Life on Land and take climate actions,we secure a future for all. One where biodiversity thrives and sustainability is at its
peak. Together we can make a difference!

T is for Tiger

Artwork by Ayan Kamath Mehra

By: Anisa Daniel-Oniko, Nigeria/UAE

The other day, my family and I were playing a game called Name-Place-Animal-Thing, which works quite simply. You work through the alphabet, naming one of the aforementioned for each letter you land on. Somewhere around the T, we turned reflective.

“You know,” my mother said. “If we don’t work very hard, children will be born that will never connect the letter T to the tiger.” It is a sad reality.  So many species have already been spun into myths and memories, and if we don’t devote ourselves to eradicating the cycle, it will continue. But just how does that cycle begin?

Well, it is common knowledge that certain animals are poached for body parts and products (such as ivory, or shark fin soup). However, even if you don’t count illegal trade, hunting and harvesting have decimated the numbers of several species, blotting out some entirely (National Research Council (US), 1995). This, for example, was the fate of the passenger pigeon—a bird that abounded in American airspace during the 1800s. The ease of hunting the birds dwindled their numbers to nothing—the very last one, Martha, died in captivity in 1914 (National Museum of Natural History, 2019).

Then there is the matter of habitat. Climate change aside, anytime humans expand territory, the ecosystem suffers dire losses. Animals who previously inhabited the lands and seas—such as the dodo, or the Okinawa dugong (Koja, 2024)—are felled by civilization, new cohabitants, or disease. Humans and other species don’t live well together—we hunt or hinder each other often, stealing livelihoods. Like fitting a square peg into a round hole, urbanisation and urban sprawl cannot be done without destruction.

That is how extinction happens, and already the tigers have joined the ranks of the 45,300 IUCN-indexed species threatened by it (IUCN, 2024). Three tiger species are already extinct, and double that are currently endangered (McGonagle, 2024). But the conservation battle isn’t one without hope. In Bhutan this year, after a yearlong research expedition,131 Bengal tigers were discovered, 27% more than in 2015 (United Nations Environmental Programme, 2024). This spike was brought on by the tireless efforts of conservationists in the region and proves to us something vital. It is possible to turn back the tide on the damage done to the environment, and perhaps children will still grow up remembering that T is for the big cat with stripes. 

References

IUCN. (2023). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; IUCN. https://www.iucnredlist.org

Koja, K. (2024, June 3). No dugongs found near Marine base on Okinawa after 3-year search, officials say. Stars and Stripes. https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2024-06-03/dugong-marine-corps-runway-okinawa-14064158.html

McGonagle, J. (2023, November 28). Tiger Subspecies: Six Surviving- Three Extinct. The Tiniest Tiger. https://conservationcubclub.com/tiger-subspecies-six-surviving-three-extinct/

National Museum of Natural History. (2019). Extinction Over Time | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/paleontology/extinction-over-time

National Research Council (US). (2016). Species Extinctions. Nih.gov; National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232371/

United Nations Environment Programme. (2024, January 19). In Bhutan, the endangered Bengal tiger is making a comeback. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/bhutan-endangered-bengal-tiger-making-comeback

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