-- By Ken Sumanik
Ominous, alarming and almost fearful enough a cause to seek shelter, but what fears other than the present two year Covid 19 pandemic, melting polar ice-caps and rising sea levels are imminent? Visit the UN Red List website site to be visually assaulted and over-whelmed by its tally of 41,415 species of animals and plants world wide selected as candidates for extinction. It also presumes a comprehensive, ??critical indicator of the health of the world??s biodiversity?.
A UN Climate Change website is equally intimidating, as are the IPCC??s repeated reports of atmospheric CO2 accumulation over the past 30 years being the primary causative factor for the presumed warming.
The UN warns that Climate change is also difficult for animals and plants to adapt to, and says that species extinction would be lower if global warming was limited to 1.5°C. It has become the dependable default for most of Earth??s woes, including threatened and endangered species.
Earth??s present Goldilock??s temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, is the desired option yet even under this ideal, species are threatened and endangered. Climate Change musings, like the weather, will pass. In the olde days drastic events were accepted as "God's will". People prayed they wouldn't happen again, meaning not again within their lifetimes.
Listing is decided by national committees of resource management professionals and academics; but also significantly influenced by input from the IUCN and NGOs like the WWF. They are non-nationals and non-stake holders, yet given standing on list selection committees. Once listed, Convention members are bound to meet the obligations of protecting species as directed by the UN??s NEP.
Maintaining obligations by designating large areas as National Parks is a common practice of governments. It deprives indigenous inhabitants of lands and resources they have used forever by assigning them to others. The Masi in Tanzania and Kenya are being displaced in the interests of Biodiversity, Sustainability and Ecosystem restoration; their interest being superseded by eco-tourism interests and economic benefits to
governments. Have the Masi been designated threatened and endangered like any wildlife species in the Parks?
Politicians always experience the wrath of innocent people impacted by destructive public policy, not the NGO activists and knowledge deficient bureaucrats who developed them; for being unelected, they are unaccountable. Bureaucrats who have created the policies are inherently defensive. Having convinced their respective ministers into accepting them, the responsible ministers and their bureaucrats must be confronted by the affected parties. This is essential to re-establishing credibility and respect that all governments require in order to function effectively.