Tag: Biodiversity

Forest Whispers: Respecting Nature’s Kinship and the Hidden Dialogue of Trees

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Hawai’ian Kahuna Insights: Ancient Wisdom of the Islands

With the damage caused by the Lahaina inferno fresh in our minds, we went searching for Hawai’ian wisdom. We came across a very wise Hawai’i Kūpuna Elder, Kimokeo Kapahulehua. In this TikTok post, he shares sage advice that can benefit humanity, and protect our biodiversity.

@wisdom.keepers

Kimokeo Kapahulehua – Kūpuna Elder, Hawai’i Like / Follow / Share✨ @wisdom.keepers Uncle Kimokeo is a kūpuna elder born on the island of Kaua’i. He is dedicated to preserving and sharing his culture and traditions through his foundation @kimokeofoundation. He is a member of many canoe teams both in Hawai’i and around the world. 🌀For full interviews, community page and more join our WK Community on Patreon 🌀 ✨LINK IN BIO✨ #aloha #kupuna #elder #hawaii #wisdomkeeper #canoe #laka #mahalo #wisdomkeepers #native #indigenous #areyoulistening Film: @Jeremy Whelehan Music: Ynglingtal feat. Jhon Montoya WKTeam: @motherwaters @grandchildofthemoon Project: @wisdom.keepers Respect, Love & Gratitude. Hoomaikai me ka mahalo 💚🌿

♬ 【No drums】 Emotional space-like epic … – MoppySound

You cannot go to the forest and just take a tree.
You have to ask Laka.
She’s the goddess of the forest. That’s her child.
Why do you want to take her child without permission?
And as the canoe maker, and as…
He has to go up and tell Laka
“I’m going to take one of your child[ren], and I’m going to make it into a canoe.”
Laka will be very happy when you take her child and make it into many lives and serve many, many people.
We cannot just take.
We need to give.
So if you take one of her child[ren], maybe you should go plant?
And give back Laka 40 children.
Take the seed of the plant and take it right back to the same location because her children would like to be born with the parents, and the great grandparents, and the great great grandparents.
Don’t take her child from the forest to another forest because they will all grow better with their family.
Like us.

—Kimokeo Kapahulehua, Kūpuna Elder

Elder’s Wisdom is Backed by Science

Science suggests that trees can “communicate” with each other through a complex network of mycorrhizal fungi. This underground network allows trees to exchange nutrients, send warning signals about environmental changes, and share resources with one another.

Dr. Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, is one of the primary researchers in this area. In her studies, she found that trees can transfer carbon, water, and nutrients to other trees in times of need. She discovered that mother trees recognize their kin and send them more carbon below ground. They reduce their own root competition to make elbow room for their kids.

“When mother trees are injured or dying, they also send messages of wisdom on to the next generation of seedlings.”

—Dr. Suzanne Simard, Professor, RPF, Leader of The Mother Tree Project, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia

These findings validate the guidance shared by Kūpuna Elder, Kimokeo Kapahulehua.

Further, planting trees in non-native environments can have diverse ecological consequences. Research has shown that non-native trees can impact local ecosystems by:

  • Changing soil properties
  • Loss of humidity
  • Introduction of invasive alien species and disease
  • Negative impacts on biodiversity
  • Higher risks of adverse effects of fires and stores

When non-native tree species become invasive, they can outcompete, displace native species, alter habitat structures, and even change the soil properties and nutrient cycling.

It’s Time to Listen to the Wisdom

Whether we choose to listen to the wisdom of our elders or to science, climate disasters that are increasingly common underscore the urgency of listening and acting upon this wisdom.

Sources:

  • Simard, S.W., Beiler, K.J., Bingham, M.A., Deslippe, J.R., Philip, L.J., & Teste, F.P. (2012). Mycorrhizal networks: mechanisms, ecology and modelling. Fungal Biology Reviews, 26(1), 39-60.
  • Source: Brockerhoff, E.G., Jactel, H., Parrotta, J.A., Quine, C.P., & Sayer, J. (2008). Plantation forests and biodiversity: oxymoron or opportunity? Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(5), 925-951.
Maui, Hawaii 023 Lahaina, Banyan Tree, Allie_Caulfield from Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maui, Hawaii 023 Lahaina, Banyan Tree, Allie_Caulfield from Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons


How seed diversity can help protect our food as the world warms

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A new documentary explores the dangers that climate change poses to agriculture — and the seed savers who are working to make food systems more resilient.

By Charly Frisk, Yale Climate Connections

Planting seeds is a radically hopeful act. Sowing a seed is predicated on the idea that there will be a future — one that will support and nurture the seed.

Join young documentary filmmaker and climate storyteller Charly Frisk as she travels across Nordic regions to meet with people who are working to preserve the diversity of the world’s seeds. She encounters seed savers recovering ancient varieties from older generations, visits farmer’s markets that are revitalizing old traditions, and tours gene banks that are working at the intersection of science and culture.

A key take-away from the film is that the seeds used to grow food have become radically less diverse since the 1900s. In place of a profusion of varieties that vary across geographic regions — or within a single field — many farmers now use agricultural systems in which plants of a single food crop are genetically similar to each other. The world has lost 75% of seed diversity among food crops since the 1900s, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

That lack of diversity presents a severe risk to the security of global food systems. Without seed diversity, it’s difficult for plants to adapt to pests, diseases, and changing climate conditions — a particular concern as the world warms. But the film offers hope that seed biodiversity will be preserved, ensuring our food systems are resilient to climate change — safeguarding the ancient, diverse, heirloom varieties that enrich our lives here on planet Earth.

Charly Frisk is a master’s student at the Yale School of the Environment.

‘The biggest conservation victory ever!’ Global treaty to protect oceans reached

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Photo of coral reef by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash.
Photo of a coral reef by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash.

“This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics,” said Greenpeace in response to an agreement to protect world’s marine biodiversity.

By Jon Queally, Common Dreams

Ocean conservationists expressed elation late Saturday after it was announced—following nearly two decades of consideration and effort—that delegates from around the world had agreed to language for a far-reaching global treaty aimed at protecting the biodiversity on the high seas and in the deep oceans of the world.

“This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics,” declared Dr. Laura Meller, the oceans campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic.

“We praise countries for seeking compromises, putting aside differences, and delivering a Treaty that will let us protect the oceans, build our resilience to climate change and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of billions of people,” Meller added.

The final text of the Global Ocean Treaty, formally referred to as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty (BBNJ), was reached after a two-week round of talks that concluded with a 48-hour marathon push between delegations at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

“This is huge,” said Greenpeace in a social media post, calling the agreement “the biggest conservation victory ever!”

Rena Lee of Singapore, the U.N Ambassador for Oceans and president of the conference hosting the talks, received a standing ovation after announcing a final deal had been reached. “The shipped has reached the shore,” Lee told the conference.

“Following a two-week-long rollercoaster ride of negotiations and super-hero efforts in the last 48 hours, governments reached agreement on key issues that will advance protection and better management of marine biodiversity in the High Seas,” said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of over 40 ocean-focused NGOs that also includes the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Minna Epps, director of the Global Marine and Polar Programme at the IUCN, said the agreement represents a new opportunity.

“The High Seas Treaty opens the path for humankind to finally provide protection to marine life across our one ocean,” Epps said in a statement. “Its adoption closes essential gaps in international law and offers a framework for governments to work together to protect global ocean health, climate resilience, and the socioeconomic wellbeing and food security of billions of people.”

Protecting the world’s high seas, which refers to areas of the oceans outside the jurisdiction of any country, is part of the larger push to protect planetary biodiversity and seen as key if nations want to keep their commitment to the UN-brokered Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—also known as the known as the 30×30 pledge—that aims protect 30 percent of the world’s natural habitat by 2030.

“With currently just over 1% of the High Seas protected,” said the High Seas Alliance in a statement, “the new Treaty will provide a pathway to establish marine protected areas in these waters.” The group said the treaty will make acheiving the goals of the Kunming-Montreal agreement possible, but that “time is of the essence” for the world’s biodiversity.

“The new Treaty will bring ocean governance into the 21st century,” said the group, “including establishing modern requirements to assess and manage planned human activities that would affect marine life in the High Seas as well as ensuring greater transparency. This will greatly strengthen the effective area-based management of fishing, shipping, and other activities that have contributed to the overall decline in ocean health.”

According to Greenpeace’s assessment of the talks:

The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the EU, US and UK, and China were key players in brokering the deal. Both showed willingness to compromise in the final days of talks, and built coalitions instead of sowing division. Small Island States have shown leadership throughout the process, and the G77 group led the way in ensuring the Treaty can be put into practice in a fair and equitable way.

The fair sharing of monetary benefits from Marine Genetic Resources was a key sticking point. This was only resolved on the final day of talks. The section of the Treaty on Marine Protected Areas does away with broken consensus-based decision making which has failed to protect the oceans through existing regional bodies like the Antarctic Ocean Commission. While there are still major issues in the text, it is a workable Treaty that is a starting point for protecting 30% of the world’s oceans.

The group said it is now urgent for governments around the world to take the final step of ratifying the treaty.

“We can now finally move from talk to real change at sea. Countries must formally adopt the Treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force, and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs,” Meller said. “The clock is still ticking to deliver 30×30. We have half a decade left, and we can’t be complacent.”