Title: The Future of Life
Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: Abacus 2003 (First published 2002)
ISBN: 978-0-349-11579-5
Pages: 189
A very fine work on conservation of environment and biological diversity from a leading influential scientist of the western hemisphere. Lot of salient points are discussed and solutions proposed. Wilson’s lifelong commitment to environment is made out in vivid detail by numerous anecdotes and by the prologue, which is a letter to Thoreau, the pioneer of conservation efforts in the U.S. His immense knowledge of the threatened habitats around the globe and in-depth knowledge of the conservation measures are outstanding. Several instances detailed in the book about how a pristine, natural habitat like the Hawaii was threatened by the introduction of modern civilisation there.
The book begins with an overview of the immense diversity of animal and plant species in the world, particularly in the tropical forests of the Amazon valley. Continuous new discoveries of species are being made daily, adding to the repertoire of the biological sciences. The tropics are particularly well adapted to the multiplicity of life forms. In fact, one single tree in Brazil was observed to host more ant species than the entire British Isles. The bottleneck the world experiences now is the population explosion which drives people to claim those areas where the flora and fauna used to live unmolested since time began. World population may peak to about 9 billion by 2050 by which time the pressure on farm land will be very great, but nature may just support so much of ourselves. On the other hand, if the entire people on the globe start to use the material comforts of the U.S. people, four globes are required to furnish such a huge call on nature’s resources.
The threat to natural habitats are really great, like in the Hawaii and Amazonian rain forests. The threats can be formulated to the key word ‘HIPPO’, where the letters stand for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Population and Overharvesting. The prime mover of the incursive forces around the world is Population, too many people consuming too much of the land and sea space and the resources they contain. Even though humanity owes its existence, civilization and standard of living to the nature, they are the planetary killers, the sole life form which makes other life forms go extinct. The author’s personal experience with such a threatened species, named Sumatran rhino is laid out among several illuminating examples.
The author stands apart from so called ‘conservation extremists’ in that he doesn’t blindly accuse the economy, large corporations and economists for the mess the world has turned out to be, in environmental matters. The economic aspects of conservation of the biological diversity and environment can prove to be economical too. Many pharma companies extract natural products from endangered species of trees, the loss of which can have lasting adversary impacts on these corporations. An intensive encouragement to ecotourism and natural extracts can be sufficient financial rewards for the people and governments. To protect nature, we have to love it first. Biophilia takes many forms. From analysing the preferences of people worldwide, it is conceived that they like to live in savannah-like terrain, which may be proving the theory that humanity originated in the African savannahs and spread out from there to every nook and cranny of the globe.
The cost of saving the environment is not huge, as Wilson asserts. Estimating the total Gross National Product (GNP) of the world’s nations as 30 trillions US$, the price to be paid for nature conservation is only 30 billion US$, or 1% of the GNP, which is manageable. In fact, several conservation organisations like the ‘The Nature Conservancy’ and the ‘Conservation International’ now collects so much money from benefactors that they are able to outbid logging companies in the third-world and protect nature in those countries in its undisturbed continuum.
The author identifies the need to produce from dwindling farmlands that the need for genetically modified food is clear cut. As he says, “As I write (in 2001), public opinion and official policy have come to vary greatly from one country to the next. France and Britain are vehemently opposed. China is strongly favourable and Brazil, India, Japan and the United States cautiously so. In the U.S. particularly, the public awoke to the issue only after the transgenie (so to speak) was out of the bottle. From 1996 to 1999, the amount of U.S. farmland devoted to genetically modified crops had rocketed from 3.8 million to 70.9 million acres. As the century ended, more than half of soybean and cotton grown was engineered, as well as nearly a third (28%) of corn.” (p.115-116).
Wilson’s proposals for the nature problem should be thoroughly studied by the scientists, policy makers, environmentalists, industrialists and all interested parties. These can be a manifesto of conservation effort. The salient features of the suggested remedies are,
- Salvage immediately the world’s hot spots, those habitats that are both at the greatest risk and shelter the largest concentrations of species found nowhere else.
- Keep intact the five remaining frontier forests, which are the last true wildernesses on the land and home to an additional large section of Earth’s biological diversity
- Cease all logging of old-growth forests everywhere. For every bit of habitat lost or degraded, Earth pays a price in biodiversity.
- Everywhere, not just in the hotspots and wildernesses, concentrate on lakes and river systems, which are the most threatened ecosystems of all.
- Define precisely the marine hotspots of the world, and assing them the same action priority as for those on the land.
- In order to render the conservation effort exact and cost-effective, complete the mapping of the world’s biological diversity.
- Make conservation profitable. Find ways to raise the income of those who live in and near the reserves.
- Use biodiversity more effectively to benefit the world economy as a whole.
- Initiate restoration projects to increase the share of Earth allotted to nature.
- Increase the capacity of zoos and botanical gardens to breed endangered species.
- Support population planning.
A very good work which must be in the book shelves of all environmentally concerned individuals. The only drawback which can be cited is the total absence of photographs to graphically illustrate the arguments made. A picture of the Sumatran rhino which is declared to be a nice creature would have been greatly appreciated.
Rating: 4 Star
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