March 2011 - Wangari Maathai

I've decided that once a month I'm going to dedicate a post to somebody that has inspired me through their work with conservation or through some other eco-friendly means. It's important that we recognise these people for their work and hardship - they set an example that we would all do well to follow.

This month I've picked Wangari Maathai - an environmental and political activist.



Wangari Maathai

Maathai is a Kenyan conservationist and feminist born in 1940. Her work is concerned with promoting sustainability, democracy and peace. She became the first east African woman to hold a doctorate. In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement - a non-governmental organisation focusing its attention on planting trees, fighting deforestation, women's rights and economic development. She won a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in 2004. Since 1977, over 40,000,000 trees have been planted thanks to this movement. Maathai is also responsible for the Billion Tree Campaign, which pledged to plant one billion trees in 2007. By the end of 2009, more than 7.4 billion trees had been planted under the campaign. Current statistics (accurate as of 24/03/11) are as follows:

Target: 13,000,000,000

Pledged: 12,501,444,503

Planted: 11,124,737,776

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have planted 6,172,109 trees.

Kenya have planted 430,401,331 trees - Maathai's own recorded contribution stands at 11,000,000 trees.

In her personal life, Maathai's ex-husband divorced her on the grounds that she was too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn and too hard to control. She was jailed for voicing her views against President Daniel Arap Moi's government but was successful in preventing the construction of a 60-storey government building in Uhuru Park, Nairobi. She went on to become an MP and won a seat with an amazing 98% of the vote.

Sources

The Green Belt Movement: http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/

United Nations Environment Programme: http://www.unep.org/

The Billion Tree Campaign: http://www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/index.asp

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/08/wangari-maathai-100-women

Other Sites

http://www.plantabillion.org/

Two's company; seven billion's a crowd.

Human beings are arguably the most successful organisms on the planet. Some may disagree; afterall, our existence on this planet is minute compared to the length of time other species have been around. But it can't be argued that our species has dominated the world in a unique way. We have, quite literally, changed the face of the planet. Agriculture and industrialisation certainly had an impact for a start, but our presence here has other implications.

There are too many of us to continue living in a sustainable, comfortable way. Our numbers mean that wildlife can no longer live alongside us safely. Humans have adapted to all of the world's habitats, from deserts and tundras to grasslands and oceans. Because of this, there are very few true wildernesses left where wildlife can exist undisturbed. There exists a conflict between humans and tigers in Asia - people are moving into established tiger territory at an alarming rate. Tigers are thought to occupy just 7% of their historic range.

As a species, we are overpopulated.
It is a very real problem. Wikipedia even has a page devoted to human overpopulation (see below).

What's the solution?

The only way to stop the growth of a population is to slow the fertility rate. To do this, family planning must be encouraged. The effects of this have already been demonstrated. The People's Republic of China has a one-child policy, which means that for a minority of families there is a limit of one child per family. As a result of this policy, the fertility rate in China decreased significantly:
1970s: +5 births per woman
1980s: +3 births per woman
2008: 1.8 births per woman


An extreme view on the effect humans have had on the planet is held by VHEMT - the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement - which argues that the world would be a better place without humans. Their motto: "May we live long and die out". The organisation does not condone suicide, nor does it promote abortion. It simply encourages people to stop reproducing so that the human race eventually dies out. What do you think? Have we caused so much damage that it is best to leave the world altogether? Is this even possible with such a diverse range of opinions and religions?

Sources
Wikipedia's page on Overpopulation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation#Effects_of_human_overpopulation
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html#People
VHEMT: http://vhemt.org/
WWF: http://wwf.panda.org/

The road to ruin.

The Serengeti

The Serengeti National Park is an area of Tanzania and Kenya which is home to one of the most incredible wildlife spectacles in the world: the mass migration of wildebeest, gazelles and zebras as they track the rainfall and grass growth from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bell (1971) observed that zebras were the first to migrate, followed by the wildebeest and then the Thomson's gazelle. The migration of any species is a facinating phenomenon to behold; the drive behind this behaviour is so strong that animals have been known to ignore opportunities to feed due to this 'larger purpose'.

The Road

In 2005 the Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete, made a promise to voters that a highway would be built to connect the town of Arusha with the port of Musoma at Lake Victoria. The road will shorten the route between the two locations and will improve trading. It will start at Mto Wa Mbu and pass through Engaruka, Lake Natron, Loliondo and the Serengeti before reaching Musoma. In late July 2010, Kikwete confirmed that the goverment had plans to go ahead with the highway plans. A full feasibility study has been conducted to assess the impacts of the highway and construction will begin when there are sufficient funds. It has been reported that TANAPA (Tanzanian National Parks) have been prompted by the government to keep their concerns about the project quiet.

The Problem

The effects that this road will have on wildebeest populations is nothing short of devastating. As if the stress levels it would cause for the migrants were not enough concern, vehicle collisions are also inevitable. It is estimated that the wildebeest population may decrease from 1.3 million animals to about 200,000. It is not only wildebeest that will suffer, but all species migrating to the Masai Mara in Kenya. It has been suggested that predators will also be affected during the construction process - lions may scare construction workers and are at threat from attack.


Make a stand - the construction of the Arusha-Musoma road is scheduled to begin in 2012.

Find out more and join the Serengeti Watch at: http://www.savetheserengeti.org/

Sources
BBC Wildlife Magazine, November 2010, pages 40-41
http://www.savetheserengeti.org/
Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt (Frankfurt Zoological Society) - http://www.zgf.de/
National Geographic Magazine, November 2010
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/100817-science-environment-wildebeest-migration-tanzania-road/
A Grazing Ecosystem in the Serengeti - Richard H. V. Bell - 1971

Every little helps.

The planet's rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Deforestation of these habitats is a major cause of global climate change. Ecosia is a search engine which donates money to a rainforest protection program run by the WWF with every search you make. Make it your homepage!

Ecosia - http://ecosia.org/

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - http://www.wwf.org.uk/

The journey begins.

Welcome to my blog, Dreaming in Green :)
This is a blog devoted to informing and inspiring people about the planet we inhabit and, more importantly, motivating people to do their bit to preserve it. With a particular focus on conservation issues, this blog is a means through which I want to discuss pressing matters concerning the planet's welfare. Hundreds of species are going extinct, the planet's climate is changing, and our species is partially to blame for this.
I feel that we are responsible for fixing this planet. It is not ours alone; we do not own this planet and for this reason some might argue that we have no duty to protect it. But I believe that we do have a duty. We share the planet with billions of other species that, although having as much right to be here as we do, we have driven to endangerment and extinction. The human population has reached seven billion individuals, making our species the most abundant to have ever walked the earth. It's causing problems.

I believe that there is still time to remedy these problems. Our species has already demonstrated outstanding intelligence and innovation, so surely we can put our heads together to fix what is wrong with the world. It's a momumental task but, with seven billion of us, we are not without manpower.

If you want to do your bit and join the cause, then please follow this blog.
We can make a difference.