...20 days left

EC+10: Biodiversity Workshop

After the week started so nicely with piano music from Costa Rica, we are thinking about something dark, gloomy and even a bit scary for today…..

Let us take you on a little journey, a journey in the FUTURE.

It is the year 2150. The human population all over the world exploded over the past century, consequently the run for resources also did. In their urging need for energy, higher profits and never ending growth, people exploited all the fossil fuels that existed on our planet, polluted the rivers with industrial waste and cutted down all forests. Until not a single tree was left. Today, little children grow up without even knowing how a tree looks like, how it changes through the seasons. Its rich greenness in summer, the colourfulness in autumn, leaving all the leaves in winter, and the recurring wonder of the first new leave in spring. They don't know how it feels to go for a walk through the woods early in the morning, listening to the sounds of the forest, whisteling birds and whispering branches moving slightly in the breeze. Only a few, old people remember the beauty of nature, but nobody believes them when they get carried away in reminiscence.

Because their living space continuously diminished, one animal species after the other disappeared, until human beings were the only species left on earth.

Finally, the whole world is in the hands of humanity. No one disturbs the people in their daily business. No annoying flies, getting in the way of their after-lunch-nap in the afternoon. No mosquitos and rats, which convey diseases. No poisonous snakes, no lizards, no bears and tigers you have to be scared of.

Hang on a second….

…what do the people eat? Meat ran out years ago, vegetable plants and fruit trees died decades back. What else do we have? Chocolate? Made out of cocoa - a plant. Milk? Given by cows - an animal. Bread? Made of wheat - a plant. Hmm what is left? All the essential eatables ran out and became extinct.

That is the moment, at which our dystopia starts to crack down. But do you get the point? Just question yourself for a second:

Would you like to live in a world like that? Would you prefer to live alone on the planet?
We should start thinking about our actions, about environment, animals and the proceeding loss of flora and fauna.

One of the workshops at the Earth Charter+10 Conference will be about “Biodiversity”.

The term Biodiversity combines the huge variety in both, flora and fauna. To preserve this variety, we need stricter laws and enforcement, especially on an international level. Furthermore, education about biodiversity is a good basis to create awareness amongst the society.