In 1992, 1600 scientists including 102 Nobel Laureates put their signature to a document titled “Warning to Humanity” which stated: “No more than one or two decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the new prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished. A new ethic is required – a new attitude towards discharging our responsibility for caring for ourselves and for the Earth. This ethic must motivate a great movement convincing reluctant leaders and reluctant governments and reluctant peoples themselves to affect the needed changes”.

Two decades later not much has changed in the way of attitude or a new ethic from a global viewpoint. But much is changing from an ecological perspective with scientists fearing that many tipping points have already been reached. I wonder what it will take for reluctant leaders, governments and people to finally understand the big picture … and then to make the monumental changes required to reverse this darkening picture? Never before has there been this degree of responsibility for humankind. I can only hope that we are up to the challenge!

World Ranger Day on Wednesday 31st July is recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Patron of the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) and world renowned conservationist Dr. Ian Player has recognised the crucial role that rangers play in the world today:
“The late Nick Steele who was a game ranger in the iMfolozi and Hluhluwe Game Reserves and ultimately became the director of the Department of Nature Conservation KwaZulu, once made a public statement. He said, ‘Wildlife conservation is the most noble cause in the world today’. I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. All over the world game rangers, both men and women of all nationalities are the thin green line protecting wild areas on our planet. Many have been killed and others wounded this year doing their duty. The national parks, game reserves and natural areas are a lifeline for the sanity of our species. Let us all honour these wonderful men and women who daily put their lives at risk.”

“May the Roar of the African Lion be heard by the Children of our Children’s Children and Forever” – Game Rangers Association of Africa

< Vet, Dr William Fowlds and rhino activist, Julia Murray

Thandi, the rhino that was poached at Kariega Game Reserve in March 2012, received a skin graft procedure earlier this week, attended by 12 year old Julia Murray. Julia is a rhino activist who has been raising awareness about rhino poaching in Hong Kong and beyond in the Asian region. She has also raised R90 000 for rhino conservation – a great example of a young person building on the example set by a previous generation of committed eco-warriors. Kudos to Dr Fowlds, Julia, and the other members of the team and here’s hoping that Thandi the rhino can hereafter lead a peaceful and undisturbed life!

< Is this the forerunner of an ecumenopolis?[/caption]With the recent earthquakes in New Zealand and China I am reminded of the belief of Dr Ian Player (the renowned conservationist and thought-leader who wrote the Foreword for my book) that the planet would retaliate in response to humankind's disruption of natural systems and decimation of species. I must confess that at the time we had this conversation I thought that it was somewhat of an anthropomorphic worldview as it attributed human characteristics of retribution and revenge to the planet. A decade-and-a-half later I concede that Dr Player could have a point! With the anthroposising of the planet and our relentless march towards an ecumenopolis (a gargantuan city that stretches from north to south, east to west covering the Earth's surface) will we, in our lifetime, witness the end of the metaphorical "Long Summer", a period of planetary equilibrium that has enabled our species, homo sapiens sapiens, to prosper to the point of overproliferation? Certainly it seems that things are speeding up which, although it confirms what I felt and wrote about in “Miracles of Hope” over two decades ago, is nevertheless disquieting to say the least. We are certainly living in interesting times!!

“If we give our very best to all the children of today, and if we pass on our planet in the fullness of her beauty and natural richness, we will be serving the children of the future”.

Senegalese conservationist, Baba Dioum, has also said, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught”.

This picture very poignantly epitomises for me the dichotomy of our world – on the one hand there is the group who feel nothing about destroying the natural environment and everything in it such as the poachers who hacked off Thandi’s horn and left her for dead and on the other there is the group like this team of veterinarian surgeons who are trying desperately to save it. This is a very visual depiction of Paul Watson’s Third World War. Which side will win is anyone’s guess at this stage but the stakes have never been higher …

Recently < I had the opportunity to see the documentary "Planet Ocean" - an excellent documentary and really worthwhile viewing. Watching it I was struck by the degree to which some heavily industrialised cities in China, the world's manufacturing centre, have compromised basic human essentials such as air quality for economic growth and development. It brought home to me yet again the maxim by which I live and work: “If we do not create the future we want, we will have to endure the future we get” as I have to ask myself whether this toxic, polluted and dehumanised environment is one which the Chinese and other industrialised nations are intentionally creating for themselves?

< Sparing a thought for the global ocean on World Oceans Day 2013[/caption]Ocean warrior, Paul Watson, believes: "We are now in the midst of a third world war but this time the mission is to save the planet from ourselves". As bleak as this outlook is I have to agree with it as I see our oceanic weapons of mass destruction being factory ships that drag 40km nets that siphon everything from the sea floor; ships that carry whole forests from one part of the globe to another in a glut of one-time consumption; fishing vessels that engage in shark finning that contributes in no way whatsoever to food security, but which feeds human arrogance and greed; and fishing technology that enables fishing fleets to find fish in deeper and deeper waters in our worldwide "race to the bottom". If future generations are to live on a planet remotely like the one we are living on today, finding food in an ocean that has nourished the human race since the beginning of our time, we have no option but to win this war. It is going to be an epochal battle, the greatest in the history of our species as the stakes are literally the survival of Homo sapiens sapiens.

An estimated 7 million tonnes of bycatch is being caught and discarded each year.

This is not only a shocking waste of a valuable resource; it is causing dramatic declines in many marine species. And as many bycatch species are top marine predators like sharks, anthropogenic changes to marine ecosystems through overfishing and destructive fishing practices could have severe knock-on effects – because marine ecosystems and food webs are interconnected and extremely complex, the loss of sharks as apex predators may cause dramatic shifts in the ecology of marine ecosystems with unexpected results and far-reaching implications.

Between 73 and 100 million sharks are being caught every year for the growing shark fin trade, with sharks now representing the greatest percentage of threatened marine species on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. As what happens in the ocean influences what happens on land this could be a catastrophic situation in the making – makes you think doesn’t it?

Quote from Trevor Manuel – Co–chair of the Global Ocean Commission, and Minister in the South African Presidency responsible for planning:

‘If society is to develop sustainably, it’s vital that we manage the ocean wisely, on two different timescales. In the short term, we need put the extractive industries using the ocean on a sustainable footing, whether that’s mining, fishing or anything else. If we get that right, we’ll feed and resource people better and help societies develop sustainably. In the longer term, the ocean is an integral part of the biosphere, which is our life support system. You can’t risk that. So what we’re doing in the Global Ocean Commission is to look at these issues, talk to experts and practitioners in all the relevant fields, and then distil their expertise into a number of key reforms that we have to implement as a global society of seven billion people if we are to continue benefiting from everything the ocean provides.’