Nature Needs to be Nurtured
by Sonam Velani
The relationship between New Yorkers and red-tailed hawks is the ideal of human-wildlife coexistence. They provide free pest control for the city, with a majority of their diet consisting of rats and mice. In turn, city buildings and bridges provide ideal nesting sites for urban hawks. Learn more at wildlifeNYC!
Nature vs nurture is an age-old debate. In planet earth’s case, we’ve come to a point where nature needs to be nurtured.
COP15 is underway in Montreal and all I can say is that this phrase has become more important than ever! Some stats that are highlighted across the pavillions:
There’s been a 69% decline in wildlife populations around the world since 1970.
Almost 60% of our Ecological Footprint is made up of our carbon footprint (the demand humans put on Earth’s “biocapacity” or ability to generate itself).
In 2020, we overused our planet's resources by at least 75%, or the equivalent to living off of 1.75 Earths. Mind you, the vast majority of human activity was at a standstill in 2020, and we still ended up at this number.
Understanding changes in biodiversity is vital to its future protection. Source: WWF
So, how can we bend the curve on biodiversity loss? Among more than 20 targets currently being negotiated at the summit, the major goal for COP15 is to achieve 30x30 → protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. A detailed study in Nature shows that specific ecosystems across the earth must be protected from humanity’s destructive powers, including the boreal forests of Russia, China, and the US and the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, Congo, and Indonesia. Together, these areas hold 139 billion tons of “irrevocable” carbon → this is where the world leaders need to focus their efforts.
Luckily, the wheels are finally rolling. At COP27 last month, Brazil, Congo, and Indonesia signed the Rainforest Protection Pact to preserve the hotspots for biodiversity within their borders – creating a funding mechanism and a vehicle to support local indigenous communities in doing what they do best - being stewards of our most essential habitats. As we wrote in a NY Climate Tech newsletter a few weeks ago, the incoming Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is putting into place plans to eliminate deforestation in the Amazon. All of these initiatives are heralded as great examples of “south-to-south cooperation” – as opposed to the little effort “the global north” has taken on conservation efforts.
Representatives of Indigenous peoples from Latin American countries describe their successful age-old conservation efforts at COP15 in Montreal.
Closer to home, in New York we’re doing our part to integrate nature into the built environment, reducing emissions, promoting equity, and protecting biodiversity even amidst our concrete jungle. A new report by the Rocky Mountain Institute highlights the value of urban nature in local communities - investing in urban nature generates 9x as much value as the costs, especially when it comes to public health.
Nature is to be nurtured! And it will pay for itself, 9x over! Source: RMI
The city’s 5 Borough Presidents are joining forces to petition Mayor Adams to plant a million trees by 2030, reviving an ambitious and successful “MillionTreesNYC” initiative that was started by Mayor Bloomberg and completed two years ahead of schedule by Mayor de Blasio. The city’s urban forest expanded 20% through this initiative, and the city now has 77,580 acres of green space including wetlands, cemeteries, parks, and forests. A wide variety of animal species are found within the city, including 80 species of fish, scores of birds from the peregrine falcon to the pigeon, and such mammals as the raccoon and the occasional urban coyote.
And the city’s greenest borough? From the marshes along Orchard Beach to the regal trees of Soundview, the Bronx has it all!
By Sonam Velani