Introduction
Over countless millennia, natural resources and other biotic and abiotic factors that make up our immediate environment have been directly linked to our survival. Human abilities naturally pale in comparison to other animals yet we have managed to remain on top of the food chain, and continue to control other species. This is highly attributed to our mental ability to manoeuvre nature to do our bidding, but many fail to realise how much of a role nature plays in our survival. This has led mankind to be careless in its use of the natural gifts that this earth is endowed with. We take resources from the earth and use the products to damage it. We chop down trees faster than we will ever be able to replace, and actually, do nothing to replace them. We kill animals for many purposes and pay no attention to their dwindling numbers. We pollute our renewable resources and drain up vast amounts of non-renewable ones. It is obvious that a change is needed to save nature if we have even the slightest hope of continuing to exist as a species. The value of nature and its importance for human survival cannot be overemphasized and we have to fix our approach to its management.
Why do we need to save nature to save our future?
Left alone, nature is capable of healing itself, and eventually repairing the damage hundreds of years of our existence has done to it. But there’s a problem. We continue to damage the earth at a rate that the earth cannot naturally keep up with. Let us consider the extinction rate of species today. Extinction is a natural process, but one which occurs at a very minuscule rate; at about 5 species every year. Today, however, extinction is occurring at a rate between 1000 and 10000 times the normal rate. This means that every day, literally dozens of species go extinct every day. This is just one of the many examples that demonstrate the need for us to save nature.
Why has this been so difficult to achieve?
As mentioned before mankind is highly dependent on nature for its survival. We need clean water and air for our bodies to continue to function as they should. We grow plants and rear animals to serve as food for us. We need wood and many other materials to fuel our various industrial activities either as literal fuel or as raw materials. All these things we actively depend on and will continue to depend on come from nature. As we cannot completely cut off our use of these resources it has become extremely difficult to strike a balance in our use of them.
What will be the result of a move to save nature?
Upon deciding to change our approach to the exploitation of nature and its resources, the earth’s ecosystems will begin to return to normal as plant species that support animal life by serving as food and for other purposes will become abundant. Species that are on the brink of extinction will begin to make a comeback as we limit our encroachment on their natural habitats. Over the years, the earth’s atmosphere begins to recover, eventually reducing global warming. Air and water pollution will reduce drastically. And all this will result in a better standard of living for us humans.
How can we save nature?
One of the major ways to influence the way people treat nature is to enlighten them on the effects their activities are having on the earth and consequently, how this will begin to affect them personally. People will be more intent to make changes when they see what they lose personally by their activities and what they will gain by making changes. Drastic action must also be taken to curb the activities of poachers and illegal loggers who cause untold harm to our ecosystems for the sake of monetary gain.
Conclusion
It may take a lot of time before we see the effects of the changes that will result from these actions, but making these choices is a step in the right direction. We need nature far more than we realise, and we must, first of all, save nature to save our future.
By Caleb
EdgeArticles 