LET US BROADEN OUR VALUES, RECONSIDER CLEAR-CUT LOGGING

Photo: File

ASSIGNMENT:

The regard to the recent Presidential declaration on lifting the 2018 ban on forest logging. The President of Kenya said we can no longer keep old mature trees rotting in the forest while locals suffer due to lack of timber. His move is meant to increase timber production and create jobs for the youths.


Only when money is exchanged for products and services, is the transaction recognized as having economic worth in the value system inherent in the sort of economics our society has chosen.

The tree only acquires value when it enters our economy by generating revenue. As an Environmentalist, I am not in support of this statement.

My perspective: That one tree was a tiny element of a community of species that had evolved over thousands of years. That community is made up of trees, a minuscule percentage of the forest’s life forms.

Tens of thousands of kinds of microorganisms-viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa-as well as bigger nematodes, worms, insects, and mites-make up the soil

Plants and animals cover the forest floor, lichens and mosses cover rocks and decaying wood, and snags and fallen logs provide food and shelter to numerous species.

Photo: File


This is the community we recognize as a forest, complicated and interconnected beyond explanation, held together by the air, water, and sunlight that pervades it.

Before Humans decide the worth of a tree, consider what it does.

That tree, hundreds of years old, has absorbed carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) from the air, thereby contributing to life’s climate engine, and releases oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis (not a bad by-product for all animals, including us, who rely entirely on oxygen for survival).

The energy of photons collected by the tree’s leaves is converted into sugar molecules, which, like fossil fuels, store that energy to be released in controlled metabolic reactions.

Even in the heaviest rains, the tree’s roots cling to the soil, preventing erosion while siphoning massive amounts of water up into the canopy, where it is released through transpiration, so improving weather.

The tree provides a home for various forms of life, from lichens and fungus to insects, birds, and animals, from its roots to the summits of its branches.

All of these “natural services” performed by that standing tree affect human health and survival but are ignored by our economy.

It is long past time for us to broaden our horizons and values beyond the extremely narrow perspective of conventional economics.



The article was published in The Standard newspaper:

e-Paper: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health-opinion/article/2001476926/let-us-broaden-our-values-reconsider-clear-cut-logging?fbclid=IwAR2RmYCsF1T-ZVkkIWbUFZGNA4Ff5JY0dY_65xivl89zY04_FzccUc9um5I


ΓΌ  Newspaper [Climate Conversations]: 2023, July 11. Let us broaden our values, reconsider clear-cut logging. The Standard pg. 16. Nairobi. The Standard Group.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Image
I had just delivered my presentation at a local event, then one youthful comrade caught up with me at the exit. We exchanged some pleasantries before he looked straight into my eyelid and asked: “Sir, what is the most pressing environmental issue we face?” The most urgent environmental hassle confronting us! I thought to myself reframing the question. Not all of us know the major environmental issues confronting us, except for environmentalists and those who care to know and do follow discussions on environmental topics. But all of us know we are in the 21 st  Century. Correct! For those who need to be reminded, I will; those with no idea but are willing to know, let me share that climate change, toxic pollution, species extinction, and desertification are the major issues that are confronting us. Replying to the above question, I gave an honest answer that the above are serious ecological issues that are confronting humankind and no one has any idea on one that can trigger a
Read more

INNOVATION OF NEW MODELS IS NECESSARY IN CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

Image
  Zebras grazing on grass in a National Park. PHOTO: David P. Kioko Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) as the key sector stakeholders in conservation, were challenged to rethink conservation approaches. Preservation of Kenya’s flora and fauna resources needs innovation of new models. This was a challenge by the President Uhuru Kenyatta on December 16, 2021 during celebrations to mark the 75 th Anniversary of Nairobi National Park. The sector stakeholders must ensure factors including climate change and increase in human population which consequently leads to change of socioeconomic desires are balanced with the new approaches as matters of conservation are concerned.   “We need to really think imaginatively how we will do it and how we will ensure that future generations are able to live side by side with nature and with our wildlife as we have done,” said the Head of State. The President also emphasized the need for a robust sustainability
Read more

ENERGY OF THE FUTURE: RENEWABLE ENERGY

Image
Investing in renewables is something that should be given an extra weight across the globe for development that safeguards Mother Nature. Fossil fuels, which has been the primary source of energy, should be brought to a halt. It has affected the global economy and proved detrimental to the wellbeing of the environment – heating up the planet earth. Africa, my home continent, is associated with low development and under investment. I believe the continent can rapidly accelerate its infrastructure development and advancement by going green. Most African countries have been unable to deliver regularly occurring power access. The economic model inherited from the colonizers has failed many years after independence. My one trusted friend from Nigeria confirms to me that despite his country extracting oil reserves in enormous volumes, they still grapple with energy challenges. Another one from South Africa, informs me that his country relies on coal-fired power plants, they still
Read more