Tag: biodiversity

Dry Chanterelles

Why Raping Forests Leads to Climate Change and Losses in Biodiversity

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

This is what chanterelles look like when the forest is dry and it hasn’t been raining for a while. In 2018, there were no chanterelles at all before August due to drought in Finland. Normally you can find chanterelles in June already. Last year’s mushroom crop was quite poor all in all. And when forests are being cut down, biodiversity suffers. No mushrooms grow in a cut down forest. Climate change and raping our local and global forests leads to huge losses in biodiversity and forest animals have less and less space to live.

 

We can also not start irrigating all forests of the world when and where there is lack of rain or freshwater (and groundwater). Too many unnecessary fresh water resources are already being wasted by irrigating cultivated land, including rice fields and vineyards.

 

Nor can we afford to experiment with activities such as importing whole icebergs due to lack of fresh water. Read more about importing icebergs by googling UAE and a lack of fresh water resources.

 

Life on planet Earth should not have to be an attempted imitation or reconstruction of the Frankenstein story.

 

#biodiversity #climatechange #foodsecurity #forestfood

 

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No Food Without Tackling Climate Change, Reports FAO

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, climate action, climate leadership, Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change (79)

“FAO Strategy on Climate Change. Rome, July 2017. There will be no food without tackling climate change.”

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Sounds pretty nasty, right? Read FAO´s updated strategy here:

FAO Strategy on Climate Change/Rome, July 2017

Excerpts from the report:

  • Agriculture and food systems partly responsible for increase in global temperatures due to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted through agricultural/farming practices around the world.
  • A global transformation to sustainable agriculture must commence at once since the effects of climate change worldwide increase and intensify.
  • The agricultural and food sectors are at high risk, facing serious challenges in adapting to climate change.
  • The negative impacts of climate change will affect ALL countries, although most severely in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in addition to areas with especially vulnerable ecosystems.
  • Climate change endangers food security through: food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability.
  • The number of crop varieties around the world has decreased dramatically during the 20th century.
  • According to predictions, climate change may become the main driver of biodiversity loss, including loss of genetic diversity.
  • For each one degree rise in global surface temperatures, around 7% of worldwide population is projected an exposure of at least 20% less renewable water resources.
  • Agriculture currently accounts for around 70% of worldwide water withdrawals.

 

Watch FAO´s Climate change mitigation in the livestock sector: overall potential, options and case studies:

Connect with me on Twitter @annemariayritys. For climate/environment-related posts only @GCCThinkActTank. Subscribe to Leading With Passion to receive my latest posts.

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Plant a tree for the environment

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, Global Climate Change

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.

~ Chinese Proverb

#GCC @GCCThinkActTank

staygroundedamy2016

Arctic National Wildlife

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, Global Climate Change

The Arctic National Wildlife refuge is a unique and biologically special place that should be preserved. ~ Dan Lipinski

#GCC @GCCThinkActTank

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UN Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Authentic Leadership, Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Life Coaching, Responsible Investing, UN Millenium Development Goals

“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”

(Ancient Indian Proverb)

The UN target of ensuring environmental sustainability includes:  

– Integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes, as well as reversement of the loss of environmental resources: 

=> Forests continue disappearing at an alarming rate

=> CO2 emissions have increased worldwide by more than 46 % since 1990

=> There has been a reduction of over 98 % in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances in the past three decades

– Reduction of biodiversity loss

=> An increase of 58 % in earth´s protected areas since 1990

=> In 2010, 12,7 % of the world´s land areas were protected, but only 1,6 % of ocean areas

– Halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation 

=> Target has been met five years ahead of schedule

=> More than 40 % of people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa

=> Still, 2.5 billion people in developing countries have no access to improved sanitation facilities

– Achieving a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

=> The target has been met, although the number of slum dwellers has grown

(UN MDG´s. Quoted 16.5.2014). 

Despite of continuous improvements in environmental sustainability, we are facing huge challenges that we are all responsible for, and that we need to respond to NOW: 

– According to forecasts, 2/3 of world population will live with water scarcity in 2025, 11 years from now. In 2025 world population will have grown to more than eight billion, meaning that more than five billion people will live with water scarcity. 

– Today, developed countries (20 % of all countries) use 80 % or more of all natural resources.

In Finland alone: if the total world population would consume as much as people in Finland, we would need three Earth´s instead of the ONE AND ONLY that we live in today. Despite of the excess usage of natural resources in Finland, there are other industrialized countries that are even worse in over-consumption. You can check the current situation in your country´s statistics for consumption, or visit WWF´s website for more information upon the topic.

YOU DON´T HAVE TO DECLARE YOURSELF GREEN TO ACT GREEN! PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT, FLORA AND FAUNA, IS SOMETHING WE ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. 

NOT KNOWING OR NOT UNDERSTANDING ARE BAD EXCUSES. IF ONE DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE OR UNDERSTANDING, IT IS IN ONE´S RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE ONESELF IN THESE MATTERS, AND TAKING ACTION!