Mankind’s tryst with missing and messing nature

‘Men build structures to secure their stature, But are we doing justice to our own future,
Comforts we long for won’t help us to live,
It’s the clean food, water & air that nature provide…’  From my poem We want to Breathe 
In a general interaction with anyone, many might opine that the most alarming human assault on nature is the contamination of its natural resources and how much of a mess we are in preserving ourselves. Till date, whatever we have discovered for our convenience is adversely affecting our sustenance on the earth along with other species. They may say the Earth will continue to remain. It is we, the Homo Sapiens that have paved the path towards complete annihilation.  Definitely the sign of the sixth mass extinction of other species is just a warning, now this disease has really taken it into another level. So if we still believe that everything will be normal once again, at this point it is difficult for many to believe so.
Right now no one in the world is left without being affected by the effects of the Covid pandemic. Lockdowns have created a void in the economy that Governments and people are trying hard to fill up.
All are in the belief that once everything is back to normal, progress will accelerate. Focus is still on the money; yes it is required to run a business, Government or even a household. To kick start this process, authorities around the world are trying to promote businesses by changing laws that have protected the environment for years in paper. Various land forms, water bodies and the other species are feeling this pressure. For now it looks like people are in the rush to boost the economy at the cost of the environment and forgetting the truth that it is difficult to remake an ecosystem once it is lost. These forests and areas rich in biodiversity have existed for million years adapting themselves to the pressures from nature. They helped mankind to sustain and thrive. Let’s not take the ecosystem services for granted. 
India’s Environmental Impact Assessment process is a guard against abuse of nature. A project or activity related to infrastructure development needs to be studied for its impact on the environment before it starts. Any change in this important legislation can have a far reaching impact on sustenance of life forms if it is not taken with a foresight. EIA Draft 2020 has put forth suggestions to streamline the process of decision making regarding projects in eco sensitive zones. Nurturing and managing nature is serious business. ‘Take it easy, let’s make some money’ approach can boomerang right on our face.
Monsoon brings out some examples on how development without considering the environmental impact causes perennial damage to life and economy of the public. Recently some cities were under severe water logging as it rained continuously for a few days and this mishap was attributed to the destruction of wetlands and natural drain system prevailed for years in those areas for unplanned construction activities. Climate crisis is affecting us right now in various forms, for example Chennai city witnessed floods one year and drought another year, so  we must understand how the climate works in an unpredictable fashion. Our ‘development’ models are crumbling down like a castle of cards.
Another example was of a state court order on a company in Tamil Nadu not to resume their operations as the people protested on the environmental regulation violations the company was executing. Now the effect of the damage caused earlier will be suffered for many generations. In Andhra Pradesh there was a gas leak in a company which caused a lot of harm to the residents. Issues like these are cropping up everywhere. Fly ash slurry from another company contaminated a river in North India. Who will take the responsibility to prevent such environmental disasters? We all know that prevention is better than cure.
All the calamities which are part of the climate crisis first affect the vulnerable population. Even the migration of workers that we saw during the lockdown, all the Governments whether it is state or centre tried very hard to mitigate this situation. If it is flood or drought, we know who is affected first. The villages still depend on climate for their sustenance. So the climate crisis causes harm to them in the social and economic fabric of coexistence. Cases of illegal poaching have unfortunately alleged a sharp spike by conservation organisations during this Covid period, there are lots of parameters that we have to take into consideration before blaming anyone. One thing is sure and that it everything is connected by an invisible web of actions. One miscalculated action by decision makers can lead to a chain reaction which might harm a number of species which are not even mentioned in discussions before the decision was made but their destruction might have an irreversible impact on the life of the local population in that location.
That’s why we need to know that a proper process of EIA is important. Let us take one example of permission given to an oil company to drill and test hydrocarbons in an area near a wildlife sanctuary. Despite a major accident happening in the oil well operated by this company—causing harm to both the villagers as well as to the environment around it, the authorities are yet in ‘To be or Not to be’ mode. A few months ago, we got to know through the news that the Environment Ministry, during these testing Covid times, approved some infrastructure projects near eco sensitive areas through virtual meetings. Yes, the economy is in crisis, but this is also an opportunity for the governments to bring out of the box solutions, something that will leave a legacy in the long run.
.  
 We are now facing the problems of population explosion and the inequality in distribution of resources. The metro cities are using most of the power generated for not only work but also for pleasure while the states that held those forests from where all these resources were coming haven’t been given a fair share. The villages near the periphery of jungles are always facing human animal conflicts.  When we talk about human animal conflicts the urban mind lingers on Tigers, leopards, elephants etc. But actually we forget smaller wild animals and birds. There was a time when spotting peafowl in our area in Kerala was a rare event.  But now they are there in our village, so are the instances of wild boars which are alleged to destroy the crops in the farms. Birds took the seeds and animals like boars went for the roots, we also forget snakes, monkeys all coming into human settlements.  It increases the conflict. But if one animal gets killed, social media wakes up and shouts on the ‘cruelty’ of the villagers.  But they forget hundreds were left unharmed by farmers.  All hard work is destroyed at night.  For a farmer who toils all day it is too much to ask him to guard the field at night. Situation should be mitigated in an amicable manner to every stakeholder in the crisis, otherwise the conflict of interests between survival and splurge among mankind might never cease and other species will be on the receiving end. If there is a healthy interaction between the economic resources of the cities and the natural resources of the villages with a mutual respect to each other’s domain it can lead to a new path of development. We can learn a lot from the symbiotic relationships in nature for this.
Similar is the case with the planting one species of tree or plants for maximum gain in short duration which is also known as monoculture plantation drive is now considered by experts as failing to slow down climate crisis in the manner it was attributed earlier. . Shortcuts to amend the damage to the environment will chip out and the adverse effects are seen later. The public generally has a perception that cutting down trees in a particular area for a development project can be compensated by planting an equal or more number of ‘any’ species of tree. On paper it looks fine but in reality more thought has to be given to such quick measures. For example, years ago, the Britishers brought various exotic plants like Prosopis Juliflora to green the arid Indian landscapes. However, these have now become one of the most invasive tree species in India. Finding native species that used to survive there and giving enough care to promote their growth in a sustainable manner is one of the solutions that now ecologists advise.
The issue of plastic waste has till now only been dealt as a waste management problem but actually it is a manufacturing problem too; however, this is something that companies are unwilling to accept.  When plastic was first introduced, everyone thought it was a great invention. It was cost effective and easy to manufacture. But now, after so many years, we know how much harm plastic usage has caused us. It has now been proven that plastic enters our body as micro plastics through air, water and food sources. Only time will tell how much it will affect our body functions. And yet, companies continue to produce it and lesser emphasis is given on other replacement strategies as they are not ‘cheap’ enough. Though efforts are being made to refuse, re-use and replace plastic products, the effort is not much in comparison to the magnitude of plastic product production and consumption. We seem to be caught in a vicious cycle and getting out of it seems near impossible!
It took a pandemic for many of us to sit down for a moment and realise how much we have been damaging nature. The Covid situation has proved that the system we follow has many faults. So right now, it is time to get accustomed to what I would call the ‘Admit, Adapt, and Atone’ strategy.  Governments and companies must admit that they have to work towards greener, sustainable ways of doing business.  75% of our population lives under the constant threat of natural calamities, most of which are caused by our desire for ‘development’. So governments need to work hard to undo the damage done over centuries.
Every year there are natural calamities in some states in India. Only in the face of crisis does everyone wake up into action. We have become so complacent in our ways. It’s time to be proactive. The environment too must be treated as an important ministry of the country… similar to Defence. It is important to preserve our natural resources for our national security. Saving the environment will give positive and long-term results.
What we need right now is a mechanism where Environment, Disaster management, Education and Information work in unison. We need to restructure our attitude towards nature both on a personal and public level. Even if it is a dry land, before making anything, study about the place and see how sustainable it is.  Maybe the land you consider as waste land is working as a place that recharges water for the groundwater table.  That’s why we must not give away such places just like that to unwise development efforts with short term benefits.
Everyone has their own point of view regarding this but there is no doubt that saving nature is the prime priority for the survival of our species. Till now procrastinating in crucial decision making, refusing to take accountability for most of the natural calamities even when science attributes it to our actions have been a bad habit for humans in general. Time has come to make the change.  With danger already knocking at your doorstep in one way or another; authorities, companies and individuals could not turn a blind eye to the catastrophe in making. Protect the natural resources; emergency restoration of the lost resources in a sustainable manner with cooperation from all stakeholders which include the benefits of flora and fauna of the location and funding projects that are working towards a sustainable development is need of the hour.
Nations must give recognition, incentives and protection to those who are working to preserve nature like the forest staff for their dedication and sacrifice towards protection of the environment. This will inspire more people towards conservation. Community partnership in conservation projects will help the locals to involve and give them a sense of responsibility towards the biodiversity around them.
 People’s positive judgement on how to prevail along with nature might give a ray of hope during this crisis. Nature prefers species which adapt to the crisis and evolve. One small being as a virus right now has kept the Homo Sapiens who claimed as the Lord of this world under duress.  I hope we have learnt our lesson from the The Covid Conundrum and it is time for us to accept we are part of this planet and give nature its well-deserved importance in our decision making efforts.  
© 2020 Nishand Venugopal.  All rights reserved