tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/nature-1907/articlesNature – The Conversation2024-03-26T12:50:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253732024-03-26T12:50:01Z2024-03-26T12:50:01ZVideo games like Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley can inspire players to look after nature<p><em>Warning: this article contains spoilers</em></p>
<p>“Progress! What progress? You’ve removed the river. Destroyed nature. Driven the animals out!” said Snufkin to the park-keeper in Melody of Moominvalley. </p>
<p>The recent release of the video game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9chKLZbHsc">Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley</a> marks a continued rise in video games engaging with the climate and ecological crises. However, unlike <a href="https://theconversation.com/civilization-vi-gathering-storm-shows-video-games-can-make-us-think-seriously-about-climate-change-111791#:%7E:text=As%20the%20game%20and%20the,such%20as%20droughts%20and%20storms.">other games</a>, the plot of Melody of Moominvalley, as mentioned in the trailer, is “about restoring harmony with nature”.</p>
<p>The story begins with Snufkin leaving Moomintroll during his winter hibernation. Snufkin returns in the spring to find an absence of animals (and ones that have remained are frightened or actively fleeing), a dried-up river and sporadic patches of deforested woodland. It becomes clear early on that something is not right with Moominvalley. </p>
<p>Restoring harmony with nature against exploitative forces is key to the game play and narrative. The Moomin’s hibernation patterns have been exploited, with construction and deforestation taking place while they are asleep for winter. </p>
<p>Indeed, as the game progresses, players discover that the river has been dammed to support the irrigation of newly constructed parks across the valley. This initiative has been commissioned and enforced by another Moomin, the park-keeper, who has grand visions of what progress should look like. </p>
<p>Throughout the game, players must help Snufkin navigate and raise his inspiration level – similar to “experience points” or XP in other games – to complete tasks. Inspiration is raised by engaging with nature, by running through bushes or playing music for animals, for example. This mechanism intentionally makes the players interact with nature to release Moominvalley from the exploitative park-keeper.</p>
<p>Two themes run throughout Melody of Moominvalley and represent the challenges associated with the dominant ways in which our nature connection is understood in the west. </p>
<p>First, the idea that nature will find its own harmony and ecological balance without major human interference runs throughout Moomin history. This is demonstrated by the long success that the Moomins and animals have had co-existing in Moominvalley before the park-keeper became involved. </p>
<p>Much like prominent environmental activist groups have often proclaimed, humans (or in this case, Anglo-centric capitalist Moomins) appear to be the main problem. Throughout the game, each park must be destroyed by Snufkin and then a cutscene (an extra video that pops up) shows the flourishing of diverse trees and flowers. This implies that removing human interference heals nature. </p>
<p>The plot also neatly demonstrates how competing visions of desirable futures are embedded in the making and shaping of our daily lives and relationships with nature. The park-keeper believed that what he was doing was right for Moominvalley. It is not until the end of the game that he realises the value of living in harmony and balance with nature. His perspective shifts significantly. </p>
<p>While playing as Snufkin, a human, we as players are encouraged to reflect on our own relationship with nature. Snufkin’s wandering characteristics and ecocentric tendencies lead him to restore nature for no reason other than the intrinsic beauty and balance of Moominvalley and its inhabitants. We believe this contrasts with the usual extraction, command and control of nature that other games, such as Sid Meier’s Civilization VI or the Fallout series, often portray. </p>
<p>Framing in video games can play a crucial role in helping us recognise the value of nature and question our existing relationships with the ecological world – rather than just simplifying the challenge we are facing. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, nature, music and the arts are sources of inspiration, cultivating perspectives that support a more attentive, compassionate and responsible relationship with nature as demonstrated through Snufkin’s intentions and then later on the park-keepers change of heart.</p>
<p>Another game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpvHqAsNVH0">Abzu</a> makes us engage with underwater life and its exploitation by technology – ironically, while playing as a robot. Unlike Melody of Moominvalley, it takes us beyond the simplistic statement that humans should not interfere with nature or that technology is bad for the environment. Instead, it tries to show us that the problem mostly lies in the characterisation of this relationship. </p>
<p>In 2019, Alenda Chang outlined in her book <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/playing-nature">Playing Nature: Ecology in Video Games</a> the many ways that video games – through future-making, attention to scale and non-human perspectives, for example – are supporting us to engage more fruitfully with ecological challenges and critique. Video games can and are connecting people to the potential of eco-recovery.</p>
<p>Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley does simplify the complex politics of nature recovery. You can destroy a park and nature is easily restored, but there is much merit in how this is a core focus of the game’s narrative. Our challenging relationships with nature are becoming more mainstream in social and cultural arenas through video games. There’s a lot of promise in using video games to illuminate and illustrate the complex challenges of our climate and ecological change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda is part of the Public Engagement Laboratory for Nature and Society, an ongoing collaboration between the Science, Society and Sustainability (3S) Research Group at the University of East Anglia and Natural England. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Friche does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, restoring harmony with nature against exploitative forces is key to the game’s narrative.Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda, Senior Research Associate, Environmental Sciences, University of East AngliaLucas Friche, PhD Candidate, Communication Studies, Université de LorraineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2253162024-03-25T18:23:57Z2024-03-25T18:23:57ZHow nature can alter our sense of time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581900/original/file-20240314-16-9cpzvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C38%2C4233%2C2801&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sunflowerclock-indicative-on-approach-noontime-57794410">Kisialiou Yury/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you ever get that feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed.</p>
<p>It’s not just you - recent research showed nature can regulate our sense of time. </p>
<p>For many of us, the combined demands of work, home and family mean that we are always feeling like we don’t <a href="https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apps.12357">have enough time</a>. Time poverty has also been exacerbated by <a href="https://doi.org/10.7312/rosa14834-018">digital technologies</a>. Permanent connectivity extends working hours and can make it difficult to switch off from the demands of friends and family.</p>
<p><a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10601">Recent research</a> suggests that the antidote to our lack of time may lie in the natural world. Psychologist Richardo Correia, at the University of Turku in Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and, perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance.</p>
<p>Correia examined research which compared people’s experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in urban and natural environments. These studies consistently showed that people report a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in an urban environment. </p>
<p>For example, people are more likely to perceive a walk in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10601#pan310601-bib-0025">countryside as longer</a> than a walk of the same length in the city. Similarly, people report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3664">perceiving time as passing</a> more slowly while performing tasks in natural green environments than in urban environments. Nature seems to slow and expand our sense of time. </p>
<p>It’s not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be altered by the natural world, it’s also our sense of the past and future. Previous research shows that spending time in nature helps to shift our focus from the immediate moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands on our time, nature helps us to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2295">see the bigger picture</a>.</p>
<p>This can help us to prioritise our actions so that we meet our long-term goals rather than living in a perpetual state of “just about keeping our head above water”. </p>
<p>This is in part because spending time in nature appears to make us <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097915">less impulsive</a>, enabling us to delay instant gratification in favour of long-term rewards.</p>
<h2>Why does nature affect our sense of time?</h2>
<p>Spending time in nature is known to have many benefits for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598%20019%2044097%203">health and wellbeing</a>. Having access to natural spaces such as beaches, parks and woodlands is <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP1663">associated with</a> reduced anxiety and depression, improved sleep, reduced levels of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and improved wellbeing. </p>
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<img alt="Man carrying large clock under his arm in park with trees" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581901/original/file-20240314-30-ytbq44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Nature can help expand our sense of time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/alarm-timing-clock-schedule-punctual-time-523875211">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Some of these benefits may explain why being in nature alters our experience of time. </p>
<p>The way we experience time <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35902608/">is shaped by</a> our internal biological state and the events going on in the world around us. As a result, emotions such as stress, anxiety and fear can distort our sense of the passage of time. </p>
<p>The relaxing effect of natural environments may counter stress and anxiety, resulting in a more stable experience of time. Indeed, the absence of access to nature during COVID-19 may help to explain why people’s sense of time became so distorted during the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x">pandemic lockdowns</a>.</p>
<p>In the short term, being away from the demands of modern day life may provide the respite needed to re-prioritise life, and reduce time pressure by focusing on what actually needs to be done. In the longer term, time in nature may help to enhance our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x">memory and attention capacity</a>, making us better able to deal with the demands on our time. </p>
<h2>Accessing nature</h2>
<p>Getting out into nature may sound like a simple fix, but for many people, particularly those living in urban areas, nature can be hard to access. Green infrastructure such as trees, woodlands, parks and allotments in and around towns and cities are essential to making sure the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204607000503">benefits of time</a> in nature are accessible to everyone. </p>
<p>If spending time in nature isn’t possible for you, there are other ways that you can <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/magazine/new-issue-get-more-time">regain control of your time</a>. Start by closely examining how you use time throughout your week. Auditing your time can help you see where time is being wasted and to identify action to help you to free up more time in your life. </p>
<p>Alternatively, try to set yourself some boundaries in how you use time. This could be limiting when you access emails and social media, or it could be booking in time in your calendar to take a break. Taking control of your time and how you use it can help to you overcome the sense that time is running away from you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Ogden receives funding from The British Academy, The Wellcome Trust, the Economic and Social Research Council, CHANSE and Horizon 2020.
This piece was written as part of the ESRC grant project “TIMED: TIMe experience in Europe’s Digital age" (ES/X005321/1) supported by CHANSE and the British Academy project "The Times of a Just Transition" (GCPS2\100005).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Thompson is the CEO for City of Trees, a Manchester (UK) based community forestry charity and is involed in academic research to better understand the impacts of civic environmental activity through an academic lens. </span></em></p>Time pressure is bad for your health- but the answer may be right outside your door.Ruth Ogden, Professor of the Psychology of Time, Liverpool John Moores UniversityJessica Thompson, PhD candidate in Environment and wellbeing, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259032024-03-22T10:49:08Z2024-03-22T10:49:08ZAustralia must lead the world on nature restoration through ambitious interpretation of international law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583313/original/file-20240321-16-pgufis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5396%2C3616&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/restoration-sign-wetlands-alviso-marsh-don-622076825">Sundry Photography, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss through ambitious law and policy reform.</p>
<p>The federal government is currently rewriting our <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/epbc/epbc-act-reform">national environmental laws</a> and updating the overarching <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/conservation/strategy">Strategy for Nature</a>. The updated strategy will include, among other things, goals for the restoration of degraded areas. </p>
<p>Part of the impetus for this reform is the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf">Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework</a>. This 2022 United Nations treaty was signed by almost 200 countries committing to address the biodiversity crisis. It includes a pledge to achieve 30% of degraded land, water, coastal and marine ecosystems “under effective restoration” by 2030. </p>
<p>But as we argue in our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02389-6">new correspondence</a> in Nature Ecology and Evolution, this restoration target is wide open to interpretation at the domestic level. Some responses could be very ambitious, while others would barely shift us from the status quo. Australia has an opportunity to lead here. We can show the world how to restore land and water for the benefit of all. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) ended in Montreal, Canada, on December 19, 2022 with a landmark agreement to guide global action on nature through to 2030.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-things-we-need-to-see-in-australias-new-nature-laws-217271">5 things we need to see in Australia's new nature laws</a>
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<h2>Interpreting the 30% restoration target</h2>
<p>The global framework contains 23 targets, to be “initiated immediately and completed by 2030”. </p>
<p>The restoration target obliges countries to: </p>
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<p>Ensure that by 2030 at least 30% of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity. </p>
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<p>At first glance, this 30% restoration target sounds like a huge and important step towards reversing biodiversity loss. But the devil is in the detail, and almost every word of this target is open to interpretation. </p>
<p>For example, the term “degraded” can be interpreted in various ways. A country may interpret it to include only areas that have seen a drastic decline in biodiversity, such as those that have been totally cleared. </p>
<p>But if a country interprets it more broadly as areas that have experienced any decline in biodiversity, this translates to a much larger area for restoration.</p>
<p>The wording also refers to 30% of areas of “degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems”. Crucially, it does not say effort must be spread evenly across these different ecosystems. This may lead countries to focus on areas where restoration is easier or cheaper. Given the <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.13050">complexities involved in marine and coastal restoration</a>, there is a risk countries may focus their efforts on land while continuing to neglect freshwater, marine or coastal ecosystems.</p>
<p>The phrase “under effective restoration” also has a range of possible meanings. Does “effective” simply mean in a better state than it was before restoration began? Or does it mean bringing the ecosystem back to an approximation of its natural state – prior to interference from development or other harm? </p>
<p>How the term “effective” restoration is defined at a national scale will drastically influence reports of “success” and make it difficult to compare results between countries. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The United Nations is honouring the planet’s most ambitious, successful, and inspiring examples of large-scale ecosystem restoration.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Scaling up</h2>
<p>Australia has signed the framework and is currently considering how to implement it domestically. If Australia does decide to interpret the restoration target broadly and commit to restoring larger areas of land and water through more ambitious standards, there will be other issues to contend with. </p>
<p>For example, one study identified a lack of funding and complex legal requirements as <a href="https://www.nespmarinecoastal.edu.au/project/1-6/">barriers to upscaling restoration</a> in marine and coastal areas. In particular, having to apply for numerous government permits for restoration can <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.13050">slow progress</a> and lead people to scale back their plans.</p>
<p>To meet the 30% target, the government will need to reconsider how to fund restoration and streamline legal processes. Remember, much of the heavy lifting is currently done by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-major-players-in-conservation-ngos-thrive-while-national-parks-struggle-199880">non-government organisations</a> such as The Nature Conservancy, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Bush Heritage Australia and Trust for Nature.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-major-players-in-conservation-ngos-thrive-while-national-parks-struggle-199880">The new major players in conservation? NGOs thrive while national parks struggle</a>
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<h2>Leading by example</h2>
<p>Ultimately, we argue countries should have discretion over how and where to implement restoration based on their individual circumstances. But we also think the global framework could be supplemented by standardised terminology and metrics to allow genuine comparison of countries’ progress towards the global targets. </p>
<p>Closer to home, our analysis has some important lessons for Australia as the federal government contemplates the fate of our national environmental laws and biodiversity strategy. Australia’s <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/">most recent State of the Environment Report</a> painted a bleak picture of biodiversity decline, highlighting an urgent need to upscale restoration of our land and water.</p>
<p>Australia has an opportunity to take a leading role in this area and reverse our legacy of biodiversity loss. Interpreting the 30% restoration target broadly and ambitiously would set us on a path towards achieving meaningful outcomes for biodiversity and make Australia a world leader in restoration. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-committed-to-protect-30-of-australias-land-by-2030-heres-how-we-could-actually-do-it-217795">We've committed to protect 30% of Australia's land by 2030. Here's how we could actually do it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225903/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justine Bell-James receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Environmental Science Program. She is a Director of the National Environmental Law Association.</span></em></p>Australia committed to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 when we signed the global biodiversity framework. But what does that really mean? It’s open to interpretation. So let’s be ambitious.Justine Bell-James, Associate Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2245662024-03-14T17:19:12Z2024-03-14T17:19:12ZEight ways to overhaul the UK’s inadequate sewer system<p>The recent surge in public scrutiny over untreated sewage in waterways paints a stark picture of the UK’s ageing sewer network. </p>
<p>Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a legacy of a bygone era. Victorian combined sewers, designed to collect both sewage and surface water runoff, are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-62631320">buckling</a> under the pressure. When excess rainwater overwhelms their capacity, overflows are triggered, releasing untreated sewage and rainwater directly into rivers, lakes and the sea.</p>
<p>While CSOs were originally intended as a solution for exceptional circumstances, their frequent activation exposes a deeper truth – the UK’s sewer system is riddled with inadequacies. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123022273?via%3Dihub">recent review</a> by my colleagues and I found that fundamental questions surrounding CSOs remain unanswered. For example, we do not know the volume of sewage that is spilled, exactly what it contains (especially in terms of emerging contaminants), and nor do we have a comprehensive view of its impact on the health of people, ecosystems and the economy.</p>
<p>Based on what we do know, however, here are eight ways to overhaul the UK’s sewer system.</p>
<h2><strong>1. Reduce water consumption</strong></h2>
<p>In the 1960s, the average Briton used <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/The-long-term-potential-for-deep-reductions-in-household-water-demand-report-by-Artesia-Consulting.pdf">85 litres</a> of water per day. Today, that figure has jumped to <a href="https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Water-Company-Performance-Report-2022-23.pdf">146 litres</a>. This translates to a much larger volume of wastewater flowing into an already strained sewer system. By finding ways to prevent this extra water from entering the network in the first place, we could significantly alleviate the pressure on its capacity. </p>
<h2><strong>2. Capture rainwater</strong></h2>
<p>One readily available solution lies in harnessing the power of rainwater, by capturing it through simple devices such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-more-houses-had-water-butts-it-could-help-with-drought-flooding-and-water-pollution-191469">water butts</a>. This can decrease the volume of water entering the network. Captured rainwater also offers a valuable secondary benefit as a readily available, eco-friendly source of water for tasks including gardening and flushing toilets. </p>
<h2><strong>3. Fix misconnections</strong></h2>
<p>Misconnected pipes pose a hidden threat, occurring when sewage pipes are mistakenly connected to rainwater drains, diverting raw sewage directly into rivers and streams. Conversely, rainwater can also be misdirected into the sewer system, overloading its capacity. <a href="https://www.ciwem.org/news/drain-misconnections">Estimates suggest</a> that between 150,000 and half a million homes have misconnected pipes.</p>
<h2><strong>4. Only flush the three Ps</strong></h2>
<p>The only things which should be flushed down the toilet are pee, poo and paper. But <a href="https://www.dwrcymru.com/en/blog/spot-the-april-fools">strange things</a> have been found in sewers, from adult toys to false teeth and even pet snakes. </p>
<p>However, it is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/producers-urged-to-address-flushable-wet-wipes-labelling">wet wipes</a> that contribute to 94% of sewer blockages. When combined with discarded cooking fats, they can form enormous <a href="https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/modus/built-environment/resilient-infrastructure/anatomy-of-a-fatberg--can-our-sewers-cope-.html">“fatbergs”</a> in sewers. Even so-called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164912">“flushable”</a> wet wipes can cause considerable issues, due to the time they take to degrade. Blockages cause sewage to back-up and ultimately spill out through CSOs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nearly-a-quarter-of-people-in-the-uk-flush-wet-wipes-down-the-toilet-heres-why-they-shouldnt-203301">Nearly a quarter of people in the UK flush wet wipes down the toilet – here's why they shouldn't</a>
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<img alt="Feces and wet wipes in a domestic sewer causing a blockage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579604/original/file-20240304-48072-3z44br.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wet wipes can build up in sewers and cause harmful blockages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/feces-wet-wipes-domestic-sewer-causing-2153353409">jax10289/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><strong>5. Use smart technology</strong></h2>
<p>While other utilities have embraced innovative technology, the water sector lags behind. The electricity sector has developed the smart grid – a network of sensors and software that allows for real-time monitoring and optimisation of energy use. By 2022, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64186258d3bf7f7fee268026/Q4_2022_Smart_Meters_Statistics_Report.pdf">31.3 million</a> smart energy meters had been installed across the UK. In contrast, the number of smart water meters remains unknown. </p>
<p>Water utilities are missing out on increased efficiencies. Even standalone smart meters, not integrated into a wider smart system, can lead to a <a href="https://www.thameswater.co.uk/news/smart-water-meter-milestone">17% reduction</a> in water usage, compared with traditional meters. However, this strategy relies on customers’ willingness to have meters; some <a href="https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/home-hub/water-meter">40% of households</a> in England and Wales don’t even have a basic water meter.</p>
<h2><strong>6. Use nature-based solutions</strong></h2>
<p>Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 demands innovative solutions across all sectors, including the sewer system. But traditional approaches to increasing sewage capacity often rely on expanding infrastructure such as large concrete pipes, which come with a significant carbon footprint.</p>
<p>The construction of <a href="https://www.tideway.london/media/5689/tideway-sustainability-report-2022.pdf">London’s Tideway project</a>, a vast combined sewer, generated 768,756 tonnes of CO₂ – roughly 0.19% of the UK’s total emissions in 2022. Replicating this approach across the UK’s 77 most populous urban areas would collectively produce 14.4% of its emissions.</p>
<p>Fortunately, nature-based solutions offer a promising alternative. These low carbon and even carbon-sequestering approaches can effectively manage wastewater and rainwater runoff. Human-made wetlands mimic natural ecosystems to treat sewage, while <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-features/rain-gardens">rain gardens</a> and <a href="https://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/suds-components/retention_and_detention/retention_ponds.html">retention ponds</a> capture rainwater, preventing it from overwhelming the sewer system. </p>
<h2><strong>7. Take the C out of CSO</strong></h2>
<p>Unlike more modern systems, combined sewers act as a mixing bowl for a variety of water sources, collecting everything from rainwater and domestic sewage to industrial runoff. This creates a complex cocktail of potential pollutants, including hazardous chemicals, that can be difficult and expensive to treat effectively at large centralised facilities.</p>
<p>By separating these different sources, the treatment process could be simplified. For instance, industrial wastewater, which can be laden with heavy metals, could be diverted to specialised treatment plants equipped with advanced technologies such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/ultrafiltration">ultrafiltration</a>. This targeted approach would allow for more effective treatment of smaller volumes of wastewater, reducing the burden on the current system. </p>
<h2><strong>8. Decentralise</strong></h2>
<p>The traditional model of transporting all sewage to a central treatment plant should also be reviewed. Decentralisation could see more households using “greywater” (wastewater from showers, sinks and washing machines) for garden irrigation. At a neighbourhood level, communities could treat domestic sewage locally, potentially incorporating natural solutions such as human-made wetlands.</p>
<p>The combination of climate change, population growth and rising water consumption is pushing our Victorian-era sewage system to breaking point. To safeguard our waterways and build resilience for future challenges, a radical rethink is essential, and soon.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Perry previously received funding from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to write an independent review on combined sewer overflows as part of his academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UK’s Victorian-era sewer network is at breaking point.William Perry, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234272024-03-12T12:28:48Z2024-03-12T12:28:48ZNational parks teach students about environmental issues in this course<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580259/original/file-20240306-31-8rw98h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5259%2C2613&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">TK</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scenes-from-maggie-valley-north-carolina-and-great-royalty-free-image/1346013285?phrase=great+smoky+mountains&adppopup=true">John Hudson Photography via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>Environmental Issues in National Parks</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>The University of Tennessee is a natural fit for this course, with the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm">Great Smoky Mountains National Park</a> and all the learning opportunities it offers being only a one-hour drive away. </p>
<p>Although I did not create this course, I jumped at the opportunity to serve as an instructor for it. Growing up as a Boy Scout, and later a merit badge counselor, I found a love for place-based education. I have always valued using the outdoors to teach about the theoretical concepts shared in the classroom.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>Each week of the semester we discuss an ongoing environmental issue and then dive into an applied case study in a different national park. For example, in one week students learn about fire regimes, or patterns of wildfires over time. Then, in the next class, we discuss how the fire regimes in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm">Sequoia National Park</a> in California naturally <a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/fire_ecology_research.htm">maintain the ecosystem</a> of the sequoia groves there.</p>
<p>The highlight of the semester is an in-person field trip to Look Rock in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here, my students and I meet a park ranger who teaches them about how trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere and how to measure it. The group also enjoys a hike to <a href="https://www.pigeonforge.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park/look-rock/">Look Rock Tower</a> to learn more about the local area and see awesome views all around.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>Visitation numbers at national parks <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/24004.htm">continue to rise each year</a>. Most of my students have been to at least one or two national parks and are exposed to their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100682">increasing presence on social media</a>.</p>
<p>If this course was just titled Environmental Issues, I do not believe it would have the same kind of draw it has now. Typically, the course fills to capacity early on every semester.</p>
<p>Using the parks as teaching tools not only keeps students engaged and entertained in the class but also gives them real-life lessons about environmental issues. They get front-row seats in learning about how landscapes change and the physical factors that affect them, like climate, topography and vegetation.</p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>I tell my students up front and repeatedly that the world is not black and white. Environmental issues are complex and difficult to solve. </p>
<p>For example, the bald eagle population in the U.S. fell drastically after World War II, and eventually they were <a href="https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/bald-eagle-fact-sheet.pdf">declared endangered</a>. This was a result of being poisoned by the insecticide DDT. </p>
<p>Upon quick reflection, it seems that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/caddis/case-ddt-revisiting-impairment">banning DDT</a> in the U.S. in 1972 was the obvious solution to save the bald eagle. Since then, there have also been <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status">international efforts to ban DDT</a> across the world for environmental reasons. But this leaves out the context that DDT kills mosquitoes, which spread the deadly disease malaria. In other parts of the world, DDT had saved an <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40924603?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiI1NjIyYWQ5NC1iZDMzLTRjZTAtYWE3Ni0wZDEzZTliNzk3NjMiLCJlbWFpbCI6ImNjNjA4NEBueXUuZWR1IiwiaW5zdGl0dXRpb25JZHMiOlsiYWZiYWM5MTYtMmExMS00OWYwLTk4NzctMzNiMzUyYmE5OTUyIl19">estimated 500 million lives</a> from malaria by the 1970s. </p>
<p>This example shows the nuance that’s required when thinking about environmental issues and solutions. Sometimes there is not an obvious right answer, and students visibly struggle to address ethical questions like these. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>I do not use a central textbook or provide specific assigned readings. Instead, students participate in group activities, enjoy illustrated lecture slideshows and YouTube videos and work with online resources.</p>
<p>One assignment has students use Google Earth to create a guided tour of a national park of their choice. They play the role of a park ranger through their written descriptions of tour stops. Students enjoy getting to choose which national park they would like to explore and highlight for visitors.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>Upon completing the course, I want students to become critical visitors of national parks and protected areas. I want them to be aware of the role they play in what happens in those spaces and of the complexities of the issues there. Examples could include the <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-national-parks-are-crowded-and-so-are-many-national-forests-wildlife-refuges-battlefields-and-seashores-206566">continual overcrowding</a> of national parks, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-america-national-parks-are-more-than-scenic-theyre-sacred-but-they-were-created-at-a-cost-to-native-americans-215344">removal of Indigenous peoples</a> from these lands or the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-the-worst-of-americas-jim-crow-era-black-intellectual-w-e-b-du-bois-found-inspiration-and-hope-in-national-parks-218680">history of Black discrimination in our parks</a>.</p>
<p>Whether grappling with strictly environmental issues or the larger political and social struggles related to the national parks, I want students to open their minds to new perspectives. In a way, this course is an intervention for students to understand that they can make a difference and help shape an ever-changing world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seth is a member of the first cohort of the National Park Classroom Ranger program, led by James Fester. He also serves an a VIP (Volunteers-In-Parks) with the Education Branch of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.</span></em></p>Students are provided the opportunity to use America’s national parks as case studies for environmental issues and tough conversations in this course.Seth T. Kannarr, PhD Student in Geography, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248322024-03-10T13:10:41Z2024-03-10T13:10:41ZHow nature-based knowledge can restore local ecosystems and improve community well-being<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580297/original/file-20240306-16-iukteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C29%2C6032%2C3674&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Regenerative agricultural strategies can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production, restore local ecosystems and enhance community well-being.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Organizations in the food and agriculture sector have been <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/three-things-nature-based-solutions-agriculture">looking to nature for inspiration</a> to improve soil health, maintain water quality and foster local food security in the places where they operate.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/17/cop28-sustainable-agriculture-food-greenhouse-gases">evidence is clear</a> that our current food and agriculture systems are severely impacting global greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater usage and deforestation.</p>
<p>In response to these issues, activists, policymakers and corporate executives have been exploring <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/analysis-cop28-put-food-system-transformation-menu-who-will-pick-up-bill-2023-12-21">new strategies</a> for making our food systems more resilient and sustainable. </p>
<p>Regenerative agricultural strategies, in particular, can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production, restore local ecosystems and enhance community well-being in specific geographical locations. </p>
<p>But they also require a foundation of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/climate/the-farming-conundrum.html">nature-based or ecological knowledge</a> in order to be effective. Our recent research sheds light on how organizations can gain and make use of this knowledge.</p>
<h2>Regenerating local communities</h2>
<p>In the face of current global ecological challenges, there is a need to explore how organizations can help revitalize local communities and ecosystems. Our research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231220081">farming organizations on Vancouver Island</a>, British Columbia, aims to explore this.</p>
<p>We studied nine certified organic farming organizations to examine how they were harnessing and using ecological knowledge. Certified organic farming involves business operations that are <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/ongc-cgsb/P29-32-310-2020-eng.pdf">“sustainable and harmonious with nature</a>.” In B.C., farms are awarded <a href="https://organicbc.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/BCCOP-Accreditation-Manual-v4.pdf">certification annually</a> after a rigorous evaluation process. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Piles of strawberries and cherries on sale at an indoor market." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Consumers have been increasing demand for locally sourced, pesticide-free and certified organic products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike <a href="https://doi.org/10.2134/agronmonogr54.c2">conventional farming practices</a> that prioritize short-term gains through the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and monocropping, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2009.11.002">organic farms focus on long-term health and ecological balance</a>.</p>
<p>The farms we studied were actively engaged in community initiatives aimed at conserving nature and strengthening local food and nutrition security.</p>
<p>Through a series of in-depth interviews with farmers, owners and other key decision-makers, we found these organizations were helping regenerate their local communities by committing to environmental stewardship, and pursuing, acquiring and applying new ecological knowledge.</p>
<h2>Environmental stewardship</h2>
<p>The leaders and decision-makers of the farming organizations we interviewed were strongly committed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-018-9749-0">environmental stewardship</a>. Environmental stewardship refers to actions and decisions that prioritize the conservation and enhancement of ecosystems and biodiversity, and the interests of future generations.</p>
<p>This commitment was evident through two main factors. First, decision-makers demonstrated a genuine appreciation for nature, leading them to feel strongly about safeguarding it from harm.</p>
<p>During our interviews, one farmer described how the goals of building sustainable communities and healthy ecosystems influenced her business’ long-term goals. She said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In the long term if you don’t have a really solid, values-based business, then you’re going to disappear anyway. [We] put our values behind our environmental footprint and [our efforts to make] this community a better place.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Second, these leaders had a deep understanding of how their organizations relied on the health of the surrounding ecosystems. The farming practices adopted by them were based on building mutually beneficial relationships between their organizations, local ecosystems and communities. </p>
<p>One board member we interviewed emphasized their reliance on the surrounding ecosystems in an interview, stating that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“By enhancing biodiversity, we can bring back beneficial ecosystems that directly benefit our farmers. We recognized the importance of pollinators and took steps to increase biodiversity by reintroducing native bees.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This dedication to environmental stewardship led decision-makers to seek out ecological knowledge about the local ecology to help them foster the creation of healthy and diverse ecosystems.</p>
<h2>Restoring local ecosystems and well-being</h2>
<p>The decision-makers we interviewed decided to seek out new knowledge to improve their organization’s performance and promote long-term social and ecological well-being. They often did this in response to <a href="https://organicbc.org/media-release-organic-market-2021">rising demand from customers and community members</a> for locally sourced, pesticide-free and certified organic products. </p>
<p>Organizations acquired ecological knowledge by collaborating with scientists, academics and non-profit organizations through knowledge exchanges. In our study, for example, some farmers integrated scientific knowledge with their farming methods, resulting in improved crop yield and quality. </p>
<p>Organizations then put their newly acquired ecological knowledge into practice by transforming it into manuals, reports, operating procedures or other similar formats. This allowed the knowledge to be accessed easily and updated as necessary. Applying new knowledge required flexibility, a hands-on learning approach, and the willingness to discard outdated practices.</p>
<p>Once organizations fully integrated new ecological knowledge, they were able to contribute to regenerating their communities, which enhanced financial and ecological sustainability.</p>
<h2>A growing urgency</h2>
<p>With the world’s population projected to reach <a href="https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/regenerative-agriculture-jbs-global/">10 billion by 2050</a>, there’s even more of a growing urgency to address environmental impacts and ensure community well-being, ecosystem health and food security, particularly in vulnerable places.</p>
<p>As businesses navigate today’s complex social and environmental challenges, the importance of <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/win-win-win-how-regenerative-farming-can-help-the-planet-farmers-and-you-1.5330180?cache=tzbrsjtr">turning to nature for inspiration is becoming increasingly evident</a>. </p>
<p>Businesses, in particular large corporations, have the responsibility to address the environmental impacts of the food system by committing to promote regenerative farming practices. </p>
<p>By situating themselves within their communities and prioritizing ecological knowledge, businesses have the potential to not only improve their own sustainability, but also to ignite positive change within the communities they operate in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saeed Rahman received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowships.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Slawinski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the face of growing social and environmental challenges, organizations in the food and agriculture sector are increasingly turning to nature for inspiration.Saeed Rahman, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, University of The Fraser ValleyNatalie Slawinski, Professor of Sustainability and Strategy, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239982024-03-06T07:24:34Z2024-03-06T07:24:34ZThe frantic pace of modern life is damaging our sense of time, but nature can help us heal – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579623/original/file-20240304-24-boijcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C2995%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Huge beech tree with large branches in the enchanted forest in the Basque Country, Alava, Spain.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/huge-beech-tree-large-branches-enchanted-2378469361">José Miguel Sánchez/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><em>“How did it get so late so soon?”</em> ― Dr. Seuss</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In an increasingly competitive world, time is of the essence. Notions of productivity and timeliness have accelerated contemporary lifestyles to a dizzying, sometimes overwhelming pace, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-is-stealing-your-time-in-ways-you-may-not-realise-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it-216863">our dependence on technology is doing little to help</a>. As the clock grows to dominate the tempo of life, time itself seems to be increasingly fleeting. This is particularly true in large cities, where hours, days, and even weeks can sometimes seem to fly by in an instant. </p>
<p>Indeed, an increasing number of people report constantly feeling <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X18300411">short of time</a>. Such feelings of “time scarcity” emerge from how time is both used and perceived by people. Long working hours inevitably limit the time that people have available for other activities, but leading fast-paced lifestyles while packed into noisy, dynamic and crowded urban environments is mentally exhausting, and this can also influence how we perceive time.</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10601">publication</a>, I propose that nature experiences offer a potential solution to the increasingly widespread feelings of time scarcity caused by contemporary urban lifestyles. This emerges from the unique nature of human time perception, which is highly subjective, and moulded by the experiences and environments in which we immerse ourselves.</p>
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Leer más:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-is-stealing-your-time-in-ways-you-may-not-realise-heres-what-you-can-do-about-it-216863">Technology is stealing your time in ways you may not realise – here’s what you can do about it</a>
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<h2>Human sense of time</h2>
<p>Human time perception — our sense of time — is made up of three key dimensions. One of these is <strong>temporal succession</strong>, meaning the way we perceive the order and overlap of different events. For instance, pressing a light switch and the light turning on may seem like simultaneous events, but we have the capacity to perceive the order in which they happen, and this helps us to make sense of the world around us.</p>
<p>Another dimension is <strong>temporal duration</strong>, or how we perceive and estimate the duration of an event. An afternoon spent in the tax office, for example, can seem to last forever, while the same amount of time spent in the company of friends can seem short and swift. Popular expressions such as “time stood still” or “time flies when you’re having fun” reflect our nuanced perception of temporal duration.</p>
<p>The third dimension is called <strong>temporal perspective</strong>, and it refers to the way we regard the past, present and future. Humans have a unique capacity to mentally “time travel” and focus on representations of the past, present and future. Most people have a natural tendency towards certain perspectives, either dwelling on the past or focusing on the future, but maintaining a balanced and dynamic time perspective is <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-07368-2_26">a sign of psychological wellbeing</a>.</p>
<p>Together, these dimensions help humans make sense of time. However, the way we perceive them can be profoundly influenced by our own characteristics, what goes on around us, and what we do during a given period of time. Our perception of time changes hugely when, for example, work captures our attention, when we are stuck in traffic, or when we find ourselves in the dentist’s chair undergoing a painful procedure. </p>
<p>In contrast, nature experiences can be mentally, physically and emotionally restorative, and this is reflected in our perception of time.</p>
<h2>How nature experiences help regulate human time perception</h2>
<p>Evidence from psychological experiments suggests that there are at least two ways natural surroundings can have a positive impact on human time perception. </p>
<p>One of these is expanding our perception of <strong>temporal duration</strong>. For example, one <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494417301081">study</a> reports that when people are inquired how long they have been walking in natural or urban settings, they tend to overestimate the time spent strolling in nature, but not in the city. In other words, time feels longer when we are immersed in natural settings in comparison to urban environments.</p>
<p>The other way nature experiences can influence our time perception is by promoting a shift in perspective. In one <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2019.1642374">experiment</a>, participants spent a short period of silence either indoors or outdoors, and were later asked how this experience influenced their <strong>temporal orientation</strong> towards the past, present and future. People who experienced the natural setting reported feeling more focused on the present, and less on the past. </p>
<p>Other studies have provided similar evidence suggesting nature experiences can help us shift our perspective on time, and induce a more positive outlook of the present moment.</p>
<p>While there is plenty of evidence that nature experiences have various physical and mental benefits, the idea that such experiences can help people uplift their relationship with time is new, and provides a unique perspective on the importance of nature for human well-being. </p>
<p>Further enhancing our understanding of how nature benefits human sense of time can help us design cities and other urban environments in healthier and more sustainable ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricardo A. Correia has received funding from the Academy of Finland (grant #348352) and the KONE Foundation (grant #202101976).</span></em></p>Feelings of “time scarcity” are on the rise, but research shows that natural surroundings can help us to slow down.Ricardo Correia, Assistant professor, University of TurkuLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225592024-02-29T17:37:30Z2024-02-29T17:37:30ZThree ways climate change is pushing butterflies and moths to their limits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573808/original/file-20240206-27-tmjdur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Like half of UK butterflies and moths, the high brown fritillary is a specialist feeder. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/high-brown-fritillary-butterfly-on-pink-460865704">Roman Malanchuk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In any competition, there are winners and losers. In the race to adjust to a changing climate, some butterflies seem to be doing well. But others, less so. </p>
<p>The brown hairstreak has been reported to be doing well <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/31/brown-hairstreak-rare-butterfly-quietly-retaking-london">around London</a> and the UK population has been stable <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/the-state-of-britains-butterflies">since the 1980s</a>. Meanwhile, the comma butterfly boasts a <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/state-of-uk-butterflies-2022">94% range expansion since the 1970s</a>, and is now a familiar sight across England, Scotland and southern Wales. </p>
<p>This uplifting news is masking the plight of the UK’s other 57 breeding butterfly species. Butterfly Conservation’s <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/the-state-of-britains-butterflies">2022 report</a> painted a grim picture. Since the 1980s, 80% of butterfly species have decreased in abundance, distribution or both. </p>
<p>The situation isn’t looking much better for moths, close cousins of the butterflies, with a 33% decrease in abundance of macromoths (larger moths) over the <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/StateofMothsReport2021.pdf">last 50 years</a>. Eight UK butterfly species are listed as endangered and a further 16 are vulnerable. </p>
<p>Only 29 species are classed as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12582">least concern</a>. So, while there are some winners, there are also many types of butterflies and moths that are clearly struggling to survive in our changing climate. </p>
<p><a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/recording-and-monitoring">Citizen science</a> tells us a lot about how butterfly numbers and distributions have changed since the 1970s, and sheds light on what drives some butterfly species to decline while others thrive. </p>
<h2>1. Butterflies are picky eaters</h2>
<p>Like half of the UK’s butterfly species, the high brown fritillary is a specialist. As a caterpillar, it depends on only one or a few plants to power its growth. The high brown fritillary relies on violets, which are mostly found in coppiced woodland and on sun-drenched slopes. Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management, involving cutting trees down to stumps to maintain the woodland and encourage new growth.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Do the seasons feel increasingly weird to you? You’re not alone. Climate change is distorting nature’s calendar, causing plants to flower early and animals to emerge at the wrong time.</em></p>
<p><em>This article is part of a series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/wild-seasons-152175?utm_source=InArticleTop&utm_medium=TCUK&utm_campaign=WS">Wild Seasons</a>, on how the seasons are changing – and what they may eventually look like.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Changes in land management, like the decline in coppicing, intensified agriculture and urbanisation, have diminished these habitats and their host plants. This endangered butterfly was once found throughout the UK, but is now restricted to only a handful of sites and conservationists are working hard to <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/high-brown-fritillary">conserve this species</a>. </p>
<h2>2. Some don’t like it hot or cold</h2>
<p>The wall brown, like <a href="https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/documents/5b5a13b6-2304-47e3-9c9d-35237d1232c6">most of the UK’s butterflies</a>, should spend winter as a caterpillar, or in a cocoon it will emerge from after April. But mild weather in autumn and winter means that wall brown adults are emerging from their cocoons in September and October. </p>
<p>At this time, it’s likely too cold for the adults, there aren’t other wall browns to mate with or there aren’t enough suitable plants for their caterpillars to eat before winter. Because these adults aren’t able to reproduce successfully, fewer caterpillars survive to become butterflies the following spring – a phenomenon researchers have called a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.02066">developmental trap</a>. This is contributing to the decline of wall brown. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Small brown butterflu with orange and black spots on wings, wings open as it rests on grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rare mountain ringlet butterfly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rare-mountain-ringlet-butterfly-erebia-epiphron-600627353">Sandra Standbridge/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Warmer summers also pose a problem, with temperatures in the UK soaring last <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2023/2023-was-second-warmest-year-on-record-for-uk">September</a>. Unlike us, butterflies and other insects have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13319">limited ways to keep cool</a>. </p>
<p>To cool down they angle their wings to not catch the direct sun and can also choose shady spots where it is often cooler. But butterflies and moths are very <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12594">sensitive to the weather</a> and extreme temperatures can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3588">early death in butterflies</a>. </p>
<p>There are also more subtle effects of these bursts of high temperatures. In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01047-0">fruit flies</a> and <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2688-8319.12303">other insects</a>, fertility is often reduced at temperatures lower than the lethal limit. This means that while butterflies may survive heat waves, their fertility could be reduced and this could lead to longterm population declines. </p>
<p>Understanding the effects of temperature on fertility in butterflies and moths is clearly a key priority and is at the forefront of ecological research. </p>
<h2>3. Small ranges make survival tricky</h2>
<p>The mountain ringlet is a <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">near-threatened</a> species that faces a different challenge. Currently only found in the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District, it lives at altitudes above 350 meters, where the air is cooler and the grass it depends on, <em>Nardus stricta</em>, flourishes. </p>
<p>Over time, these mountainous refuges will become less hospitable. Without cooler climes to retreat to, the mountain ringlet and other range-restricted butterflies may find themselves without a home. </p>
<p>The adonis blue (currently listed as vulnerable) is currently only seen in the south of England. As our climate warms the species may shift northwards, increasing its population. It thrives on horseshoe vetch, a plant that’s common on chalk and limestone grasslands. </p>
<p>But this butterfly is a real home body. It’s very <a href="https://www.eje.cz/pdfs/eje/2014/04/12.pdf">sedentary and has a low tendency to disperse</a> so it might not move north as the climate changes. Only time will tell. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bright blue butterfly on grassy plant, burry green background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rare adonis blue has a limited range and is only found in the south of England.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/adonis-blue-lysandra-bellargus-known-polyommatus-2418138073">Creative image dealer/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do these trends tell us?</h2>
<p>Because butterflies and moths are sensitive to environmental fluctuations, they act as excellent bioindicators for assessing the health of ecosystems. Declines in butterfly and moth populations have serious implications.</p>
<p>There are noticeably fewer butterflies and moths for you and I to watch in our gardens, parks and the beautiful countryside. Butterflies and moths play a vital role in pollinating wild and crop plants including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10376">strawberries, cucumbers and apples</a>. </p>
<p>Many animals, including bats, birds and other insects rely on butterflies, moths and their caterpillars as a food source. The abundance and timing of caterpillars determine when some songbirds lay their eggs, so these changing trends may alter <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29152888/">longterm bird populations</a>. </p>
<p>That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work">Butterfly Conservation</a> runs a UK-wide conservation programme, targeting 200 priority landscapes for threatened butterflies and moths. Citizen science surveys, including the <a href="https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/">big butterfly count</a>, help scientists understand longterm trends in butterfly populations. </p>
<p>And you, as gardeners and nature lovers, can get involved with citizen science activities, cultivate shady butterfly-friendly habitats and help preserve urban green spaces that act as havens for these insects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Climate change puts pressure on British butterflies and moths - sometimes pushing them to the edges of their geographical range or shifting the timing of their life cycle so they can’t feed.Elizabeth Duncan, Associate Professor of Zoology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191402024-02-27T12:41:39Z2024-02-27T12:41:39ZCould a couple of Thai otters have helped the UK’s otter population recover? Our study provides a hint<p>Otter populations crashed in Britain around the 1960s from the lethal effects of chemical pollution in rivers and lakes – or so we thought. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/40/11/msad207/7275014">Our research</a> has looked more closely at what happened to otters in Britain over the last 800 years and has revealed a more complex picture. </p>
<p>Since Eurasian otters (<em>Lutra lutra</em>) are at the top of the aquatic food chain in Britain, any contamination consumed by their prey, and by the prey of their prey, <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c05410">accumulates in otters</a>. So otters are particularly susceptible to any toxic chemicals in their environment. </p>
<p>Following the banning of many chemical pollutants, otter populations began to recover, and we now have otters in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eva.13505">every county in Britain</a>. National otter surveys have been conducted in Wales, Scotland and England since 1977 and have helped to track population recovery. </p>
<p>However, we didn’t have a good grasp on what population sizes were like in the decades before this time. We only had anecdotal evidence that otter hunting was becoming less “successful” over time, and that both sightings and signs of otters were rarer. </p>
<h2>Otter population decline</h2>
<p>Our research shows that roughly between 1950 and 1970, an extreme population decline happened in the east of England, and a strong decline in south-west England. They were probably caused by chemical pollution. </p>
<p>In Scotland, otter populations showed a long-term, but smaller decline, which suggests less chemical pollution. There was a smaller population decline in Wales, which started around 1800, possibly linked to otter hunting and changes in how people shaped and used the landscape. </p>
<p>While both deal with DNA, genetics focuses on individual genes and their roles, while genomics examines the entire set of an organism’s DNA. Although there have been genetic studies of otters in Britain, our research was the first time genomics was used to study Eurasian otters anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>Working with scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Wellcome Sanger’s Darwin Tree of Life project, we looked at the entire otter genome. The upgrade from genetics to genomics threw up a few surprises. </p>
<p>First, there was a mitochondrial DNA sequence found in the east of England, which was very different to the sequences in the rest of Britain. Mitochondrial DNA is a sequence of DNA found in a cell’s mitochondria, which is what generates the energy. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother, while the rest of the DNA is a mix of both the mother’s and the father’s DNA.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19768354.2023.2283763">recent study</a> by our research group, in collaboration with colleagues in South Korea, suggested a divergence between these two lineages at least 80,000 years ago. Finding this mitochondrial lineage (that, based on our data, is otherwise restricted to Asia) in the UK was surprising. </p>
<p>Second, we found high levels of genetic diversity in the east of England. Normally, after an extreme population decline such as the one we identified in this area, genetic diversity decreases. Yet we saw much greater diversity here than in the population in Scotland, where there was no clear evidence for such a decline. </p>
<h2>Thai otters</h2>
<p>With a little detective work, we discovered that a pair of Eurasian otters (the same species that we have in the UK), were brought to Britain from Thailand in the 1960s. Populations of Eurasian otters range right across Europe and Asia. Although they are the same species, there are several genetically distinct subspecies, particularly in Asia. </p>
<p>It seems possible that these genetically different otters from Thailand bred with otters in the east of England. At the time of the population decline, when native UK populations were at their smallest, even a few individuals introduced into the population may have made a big difference. And they left unexpected marks on the genome. </p>
<p>We don’t know for sure if this is what happened, and we need to do more work to find out what effect this may have had on otters in the east of England. High genetic diversity is usually good for a population or species. But on the other hand, conservation often strives to maintain genetic differences between populations, rather than mixing distinct populations.</p>
<p>One way to find out more would be to compare the genome of a Eurasian otter from Thailand to the otters we see in the east of England. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Since the 1960s, otters in Thailand and across Asia have become increasingly rare. This is due to habitat loss, pollution and the illegal otter trade. So getting samples for genome sequencing is very difficult. It highlights the importance of conserving the species in Asia, despite population recoveries in Europe.</p>
<p>Our work shows the value of using modern genomic tools to look at the genetic diversity of a threatened species. The application of such tools can uncover surprising facts, even in supposedly well-studied species.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frank Hailer receives funding from NERC and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Chadwick receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and from the Environment Agency</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah du Plessis receives funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council and the Global Wales International Mobility Fund.</span></em></p>Research has revealed how British otters may have been able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of otters from Asia.Frank Hailer, Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology, Cardiff UniversityElizabeth Chadwick, Senior Lecturer at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff UniversitySarah du Plessis, PhD Candidate, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229422024-02-26T20:42:20Z2024-02-26T20:42:20ZTo collaborate or confront? New research provides key insights for environmental NGOs<p>Just after dawn, volunteers for a Toronto-based NGO called the <a href="https://flap.org/">Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada</a> make their way along the streets of the city’s downtown core. FLAP’s mission is to limit the number of migratory birds injured or killed due to collisions with windows. These volunteers are looking for dead or injured birds that fell to the ground after hitting windows during the spring and fall migrations.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00568-080206">estimated 15-30 million birds</a> in Canada alone are killed each year after hitting a window. Migratory bird populations have <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaw1313">dropped significantly</a> in the last 50 years, with window collisions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054133">identified as a main cause</a>. However collisions, can only be reduced if building owners agree, or are obliged, to make glassed surfaces less dangerous to birds.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-kill-millions-of-birds-heres-how-to-reduce-the-toll-130695">Buildings kill millions of birds. Here's how to reduce the toll</a>
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<p>To achieve change, NGOs have two choices: confront stakeholders, or collaborate with them. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. </p>
<p>Highlighting guilty parties, especially through the media, can raise awareness and make responses more likely. But aggressive approaches risk closing off opportunities to work together on solutions. Working with stakeholders may achieve mutually acceptable solutions and funding, but NGO priorities may be watered down as a result.</p>
<h2>Collaboration?</h2>
<p>How does an NGO choose between collaboration and confrontation to achieve its goals? <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103885">My recent study used FLAP as a case study to help explore this critical question</a>.</p>
<p>Over three decades, FLAP has continued rescue and recovery operations to assist birds who have struck windows while also continuing advocacy work to push for meaningful change to reduce the risks posed by the windows themselves. Windows are often either <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224164">invisible to birds, or reflect nearby vegetation</a>.</p>
<p>FLAP, like many global NGOs, can often find itself in a delicate position of having to measure its calls for change with the reality of maintaining ongoing collaboration with stakeholders to carry out their core activities. For example, FLAP depends on access to the grounds around office towers to collect birds, so it was hesitant to publicly confront individual building owners. </p>
<p>Collaboration with stakeholders ensures both that FLAP volunteers are welcome to patrol and property managers also encouraged maintenance staff to store dead or injured birds they found. This collaboration had clear benefits.</p>
<p>Instead of targeting specific building owners or property companies, FLAP has largely focused on raising general awareness about the overall scale of bird injuries and deaths due to windows. Since 2001, FLAP has held an <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pattern-made-2100-dead-birds-180958379/">annual public layout</a> of all of the dead birds collected by volunteers, <a href="https://flap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Touching-Down-Spring-2023.pdf">with 4023</a> dead birds displayed in the 2023 layout. </p>
<p>Data about the location, time of collision and species of bird has also been recorded in a publicly available <a href="https://www.birdmapper.org/">database</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, FLAP has worked with municipal and commercial stakeholders, in developing <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/design-guidelines/bird-friendly-guidelines/">best practices</a> for limiting bird-window collisions. These guidelines eventually became part of the <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/toronto-green-standard/">Toronto Green Standard</a>, which included building specifications — voluntary at first, later mandatory — designed to limit bird collisions. </p>
<p>These requirements include making windows more visible to birds by applying markers, as well as reducing other hazards, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-can-help-migrating-birds-on-their-way-by-planting-more-trees-and-turning-lights-off-at-night-152573">artificial lighting</a>.</p>
<h2>Or a more assertive approach?</h2>
<p>Despite advances in awareness and policy, bird safety advocates were still frustrated with the toll on birds by existing buildings, which were not bound by the <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/toronto-green-standard/toronto-green-standard-version-4/mid-to-high-rise-residential-non-residential-version-4/ecology-biodiversity/">new standards</a>. While FLAP still took a largely collaborative approach, other organizations took more assertive stances. </p>
<p>Ecojustice, an environmental law NGO, became aware of the issue in part because of FLAP’s annual bird layout. Using FLAP’s bird collision data, Ecojustice brought legal action against the owners of two buildings where particularly high collision numbers had been recorded.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/billions-of-birds-collide-with-glass-buildings-but-architecture-has-solutions-215419">Billions of birds collide with glass buildings – but architecture has solutions</a>
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<p>The first court case <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/building-owners-not-responsible-for-deaths-of-birds-that-fly-into-it-judge-rules/article_7b6bad05-57b0-54a2-861d-158a585b1ead.html#:%7E:text=GTA-,Building%20owners%20not%20responsible%20for%20deaths%20of%20birds%20that%20fly,birds%20before%20applying%20remedial%20measures.">was dismissed</a> in 2012. However, during deliberations, the property owners did make changes to the windows to reduce bird collisions by installing window markers. Confrontation, it seems, could also yield results. </p>
<p>However, the second case brought by Ecojustice in 2013 was against a property owner that had a history of collaboration with FLAP, contributing to guideline development, providing funding and even receiving a “Bird Friendly Building” Certificate from FLAP.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://canlii.ca/en/on/oncj/doc/2013/2013oncj65/2013oncj65.html">ruling</a> in 2013 had mixed results for both sides. The judge ruled in favour of Ecojustice’s <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/birds-vs-mirrored-buildings-environmental-group-loses-case-but-wins-important-precedent/article_fb9c447e-a67c-50ae-aebc-2918ac5499ac.html">novel argument</a> that light, in the form of reflected vegetation, was a form of pollution. However, the judge also concluded that the property owners had exercised reasonable care in trying to reduce bird collisions by installing window film in areas with the highest recorded collisions. Unfortunately the collaborative relationship was also affected. </p>
<p>Following the ruling, the property owner informed FLAP that its volunteers were no longer allowed on their properties unless FLAP agreed to keep bird collision data confidential, which they did not agree to do.</p>
<h2>Key lessons</h2>
<p>FLAP has taken a mostly collaborative approach, allowing them to rescue birds and create a rigorous collision dataset. This information has contributed to new building codes, as well as prompting changes in older buildings with high collision rates. Confrontation, while rare, occurred only after collaboration did not achieve desired results.</p>
<p>Visual messages, like FLAP’s bird layout, can communicate the scale of the problem and reach a broad audience. This message can be all the more effective when people see a role in the solution, rather than feeling like helpless spectators. Collision reduction options have become <a href="https://flap.org/stop-birds-from-hitting-windows">widely available</a>, giving people a sense of agency.</p>
<p>Strong data and visual images can also attract allies who may take more direct approaches. For example, the NGO <a href="https://www.nevercollide.com/">Never Collide</a> formed in 2019 to address bird collisions in older office buildings. It used FLAP’s data to single out buildings for direct confrontation, through letter writing and shareholder pressure. One of their early victories was in 2021, when the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-countermeasures-being-installed-at-td-centre-to-reduce-bird-building/">largest bird safe retrofit in North America was installed in downtown Toronto</a>, on one of the buildings that FLAP volunteers had previously been barred from patrolling. </p>
<p>These are important lessons for building upon success in the long term.</p>
<p>In the meantime, volunteers in Toronto and other cities like <a href="https://safewings.ca/">Ottawa</a>, <a href="https://www.nycaudubon.org/our-work/conservation/project-safe-flight/collision-monitoring">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.birdmonitors.net/">Chicago</a> will be patrolling again this spring, as migrating birds return.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Abbott is affiliated with FLAP as a volunteer.</span></em></p>The experiences of bird safety NGOs show that when trying to achieve environmental goals, being on good terms with stakeholders is important, but direct action can also yield results.James Abbott, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Nipissing UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220982024-02-22T17:26:34Z2024-02-22T17:26:34ZOffshore wind farms: policymakers are more influenced by reports that accentuate negative impacts – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575368/original/file-20240213-28-r3rhvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New metrics could help policymakers assess the benefits and environmental effects of offshore wind more effectively</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-offshore-workers-on-top-windmill-1808741995">dragancfm/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Towering up to <a href="https://www.ge.com/renewableenergy/wind-energy/offshore-wind/haliade-x-offshore-turbine">260m</a> above the ocean’s surface, modern wind turbines are impressive feats of engineering, producing much-needed renewable energy. But what happens beneath the waves?</p>
<p>Government policymakers need reliable evidence to make planning decisions about new offshore wind developments and ensure positive outcomes. Currently, this evidence comes from a huge variety of sources, resulting in a lack of consistency and conflicting conclusions.</p>
<p>“Primary literature” refers to studies published in scientific journals, following a structured peer review process. “<a href="https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/c.php?g=670055&p=4756572">Grey literature</a>” includes all other types of reports and evidence sources. </p>
<p>For offshore wind farms, decision-makers more frequently rely on grey literature such as environmental statements, impact or habitat risk assessments, survey reports, social studies, and pre- and post-construction reports. But new research by myself and colleagues into these different forms of evidence reveals some unexpected findings.</p>
<h2>Shades of grey</h2>
<p>Our team of marine researchers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103693">compiled evidence from grey and primary literature</a> for environmental and social impacts of UK offshore wind farms published between 2002 and 2022. We discovered that primary and grey literature do not always present the same information.</p>
<p>Policymakers tend to favour grey literature even though it gives a less balanced outlook, perhaps due to access issues. Primary literature often sits behind paywalls, the process of review can lead to lengthy delays in publication, and these studies may just investigate one species or process in detail. Grey literature is easier to access, available much sooner, and can provide a useful overview or synthesis of available knowledge, which is exactly what regulators need.</p>
<p>Overall, 71% of outcomes reported in grey literature for the impacts of offshore wind farms are negative, compared with 36% in primary literature. This disparity could in part be due to the fact that environmental impact assessments address potential rather than specific impacts, and reflect a high proportion of the grey literature.</p>
<p>In addition, some positive outcomes related to offshore wind farms that are reported in primary literature are not found in grey literature. These can include positive impacts on food provision – for example, certain fish, such as cod and pouting, seem to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016578361200327X">aggregate</a> around these structures. Other aspects not evidenced in grey literature are improved water quality through filtration by shellfish, and carbon export, whereby deposits of faecal pellets by shellfish living on the wind turbines bring carbon down to the seabed for longer-term storage. </p>
<p>Lobster fishermen report better catches inside turbine arrays, but boats with mobile fishing gear such as trawlers and dredgers are often excluded from turbine arrays or cable routes due to practical and safety issues. This could provide a refuge for certain fish species, but is slowly eroding the right to commercial fishing where wind farms and cables are sited over important fishing grounds. </p>
<p>Negative impacts include underwater noise, increased boat traffic, and risk of collision and disturbance to marine mammals, particularly during <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.664724/full">construction</a>. Also, preferred feeding sites or migration routes <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.12961">can be disrupted</a> by the physical barriers caused by turbines and cables on the seabed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.05.041">emit electro-magnetic fields</a>. </p>
<p>There is also a fundamental lack of evidence for decommissioning, as well as disagreement on strategy – for example, whether to completely remove, partially remove, or repurpose old turbines. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119644">Decommissioning turbines</a> could result in pollution from chemicals and changes in nutrient cycling in the sea, depending on the strategy. This evidence gap urgently needs to be filled so that decommissioning strategies meet environmental targets.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Big red and white boat, next to offshore wind turbines, flat blue sea" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576733/original/file-20240220-16-pc4sxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Service vessels are an essential part of ongoing maintenance for offshore wind farms, but can contribute to boat traffic and acoustic pollution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sevice-operations-vessel-dynamic-positioning-sat-1936176001">David_Maddock/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Future frontiers</h2>
<p>Low-carbon, renewable energy sources are essential for a <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/ar6-syr/">sustainable future</a>. The offshore wind industry is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-needs-hundreds-of-thousands-more-offshore-wind-turbines-where-will-they-all-go-206698">growing rapidly</a>, and the <a href="https://doggerbank.com/">Dogger Bank wind farm</a> in the North Sea will be the world’s largest on completion.</p>
<p>But any marine urbanisation has implications for the environment. For offshore wind, we need to identify the positives and negatives of such large-scale development on our seabed. </p>
<p>The UK government’s proposed <a href="https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2022/06/07/marine-net-gain-leaving-the-marine-environment-in-better-state/">marine net gain</a> policy specifies that new developments should result in more or better quality natural habitat than there was beforehand. But, given that we found just 2% of outcomes reported in UK grey literature are positive, compared with 28% of outcomes in primary literature, opportunities to assess and achieve these targets may be missed. </p>
<p>The next frontier for offshore wind is <a href="https://www.iberdrola.com/innovation/floating-offshore-wind">floating turbines</a>, in which seabed anchoring systems replace the fixed base. These turbines can be sited in much deeper water, further from shore. That introduces a host of novel, and as yet poorly understood, environmental outcomes. We need to rapidly increase our understanding of the cumulative effects on ocean inhabitants and vital physical processes. Only then can we ramp up our renewable energy capacity while avoiding a myriad of unknown ecological and socio-economic consequences.</p>
<p>In the race to speed up the consenting process for offshore wind and increase the evidence base for decision-making, the industry needs standardised methods of data collection in grey literature, clear policy frameworks, and better communication between scientists and industry so evidence from primary literature can be used in evaluations. Environmental impacts need to be consistently and fairly assessed, as do the risks associated with each wind farm development.</p>
<p>Definitive metrics for assessing and measuring improvements to the environment need to be decided to achieve marine net gain. And we need diverse voices from the energy industry, wildlife conservation, fishing and recreational sectors to ensure that this marine urbanisation favours positive gains across the board.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Szostek receives funding from UKRI as part of UKERC. </span></em></p>A new study highlights how different literature portrays the pros and cons of offshore wind. Comprehensive assessment frameworks could create more consistency in the future.Claire Szostek, Marine Ecologist, Plymouth Marine LaboratoryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232242024-02-21T13:04:38Z2024-02-21T13:04:38ZGut bacteria may explain why grey squirrels outcompete reds – new research<p>Across large parts of the UK, the native red squirrel has been replaced by the grey squirrel, a North American species. As well as endangering reds, grey squirrels pose a threat to our woodlands because of the damage they cause to trees. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.001793">New research</a> from my colleagues and I compared the gut bacteria of red and grey squirrels. We found that differences between the two may explain their competition and red squirrel decline, as well as why grey squirrels are so destructive to woodland.</p>
<p>Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK between 1876 and 1929 and have displaced reds in most areas of the UK. Greys carry a virus called “squirrelpox”, which doesn’t affect them but leads to sickness and often death in red squirrels.</p>
<p>Grey squirrels are bigger than red squirrels and compete with them <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1083008/full">for food and habitat</a>.
Acorns, a widespread food source, contain tannins, which are hard for red squirrels to digest. But greys can digest acorns easily, giving them an extra edge in competing for resources. </p>
<p>Grey squirrels frequently strip the bark from deciduous trees. In commercial plantations, the damage can lead to fungal infection and result in the tree producing low quality timber. The annual cost is an <a href="https://rfs.org.uk/insights-publications/rfs-reports/report-overview-the-cost-of-grey-squirrel-damage-to-woodland-in-england-and-wales/">estimated £37 million.</a> with sycamore, oak, birch and beech frequently targeted. </p>
<p>The grey squirrels select the strongest growing trees as these have bark containing the largest volume of sap. Intriguingly, grey squirrels do not select trees with the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230344319_Bark-stripping_by_Grey_squirrels_Sciurus_carolinensis">highest sugar content</a>. This observation has led scientists to posit that the squirrels consume bark to obtain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716300421?via%3Dihub">certain micro-nutrients</a>. </p>
<h2>Gut bacteria</h2>
<p>All mammals have microorganisms living in their intestines. For example, the typical human colon is host to at least <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5847071/">160 bacterial species</a>, while in birds, research has found thousands of different bacterial species in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33868800/">chicken intestines.</a></p>
<p>The bacteria break down foods and help synthesise vitamins, complementing the enzymes secreted by the body. The diversity of these microorganisms, known as the “microbiota”, can reflect the level of health and also the diet of an individual. But we don’t know enough about the microbiota living in squirrel intestines. </p>
<p>The types of microbes present vary between species, yet the extent to which they differ between grey and red squirrels is unclear. We explored this and investigated the potential for any differences to affect competition between the two squirrel species. We also examined whether gut bacteria might be playing a role in bark stripping behaviour.</p>
<p>We sampled bacterial DNA from red and grey squirrel intestinal contents and performed gene sequencing to identify the range of bacteria present in the samples. The results were analysed to compare any important differences between the two.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cute red squirrels with a large bushy tail stands on the branch of a tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576545/original/file-20240219-20-ivfdqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ynys Môn off the north Wales coast is one of the few places in the UK where greys have been eradicated in favour of red squirrels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/red-squirrel-views-around-north-wales-2232607907">Gail Johnson/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Calcium</h2>
<p>Calcium is an important nutrient in the body and is required for healthy bones, muscles and nerves. It is especially needed by lactating animals and ones that are young and growing.</p>
<p>We found that grey squirrels may have the capacity to obtain the calcium that exists in tree bark thanks to the presence of a bacteria called “oxalobacter” in their gut. The calcium in tree bark comes in an insoluble form and is hard for an animal to digest. But oxalobacter would be able to change this into a form that could be more digestible. </p>
<p>Calcium levels <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716300421?via%3Dihub">increase in trees</a> as active growth resumes after winter dormancy. This happens immediately before the main squirrel bark-stripping season of May to July. Our research may therefore help to explain the destructive behaviour of grey squirrels and why red squirrels appear to strip bark much less frequently.</p>
<p>Our research also identified a significantly higher diversity of bacteria in the intestines of grey squirrels compared to red squirrels. This could hold the key to further understanding why grey squirrels outcompete red squirrels in the UK. </p>
<p>A more diverse range of bacteria being sustained in the gut means that grey squirrels potentially may be able to access a broader range of resources than red squirrels in addition to acorns.</p>
<h2>Adenovirus</h2>
<p>The grey squirrel harbours not just the squirrelpox virus, but also another potential threat – adenovirus. While this virus causes severe intestinal lesions in some red squirrels, curiously, grey squirrels never exhibit the same symptoms.</p>
<p>This discrepancy underscores the fascinating and complex potential role of gut microbiota. Research increasingly reveals their influence on everything from digestion to immune response, and even susceptibility to disease.</p>
<p>In the context of red squirrels, understanding how variations in their gut bacteria might predispose them to adenovirus becomes crucial. This is especially pertinent for captive breeding programs, where adenovirus infections pose a hurdle to successful reintroductions of red squirrels into the wild.</p>
<p>Given we only sampled red and grey squirrels from north Wales, we hope that future studies will map the gut microbiota of other European populations too. Such future research will continue to improve our knowledge of the competition between red and grey squirrels.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Shuttleworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research suggests the gut bacteria of red and grey squirrels differ significantly, potentially explaining the decline of the native red and the success of its grey counterpart.Craig Shuttleworth, Honorary Visiting Research Fellow, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221712024-02-05T14:19:56Z2024-02-05T14:19:56ZPesticides urgently need reform – the UK’s overdue action plan must make these drastic changes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572923/original/file-20240201-29-9wbv50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This oil seed rape field is just one of many sprayed with pesticide chemicals. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-tractor-spraying-oilseed-rape-crop-1586693839">Juice Flair/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nature is in crisis, with a human-caused global mass extinction event <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1704949114">well underway</a>. There is widespread recognition that the ongoing global increase in pesticide use is a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00712-5">significant contributor</a> to the biodiversity crisis. But we still haven’t heeded the warning that Rachel Carson’s book, <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/57236/silent-spring-by-rachel-carson-introduction-by-lord-shackleton-preface-by-julian--huxley-afterword-by-linda-lear/9780141184944">Silent Spring</a>, gave us in 1962. </p>
<p>If we are to tackle the biodiversity crisis, then radical and specific action is needed by governments around the world to mitigate the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-019-1485-1">impact of pesticides</a>. But progress in the UK has not been picking up pace. It is deeply concerning that the UK national action plan for the sustainable use of pesticides is six years late. </p>
<p>A plan is rumoured to finally be due for publication in February 2024, but based on a previous draft there are also concerns among scientists and environmentalists that it won’t be sufficient to address the problem. There are some specific steps that these experts agree the UK government should start taking to ensure pesticides don’t continue contributing to the collapse of our ecosystems. </p>
<p>Under an EU directive, the UK was supposed to produce a plan in 2018, but a first draft for consultation did not appear until <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/pesticides-future-strategy/sustainable-use-of-pesticides-national-action-plan/">4 December 2020</a>. By the end of the 12-week consultation period, Defra had received a remarkable 1,568 responses, 68% of them from private individuals, plus <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/sustainable-use-of-pesticides-draft-national-action-plan/outcome/summary-of-responses">37,000 emails</a>. </p>
<p>It is fair to say that there was a lot of criticism of the draft, summarised in detailed documents released by charities including the <a href="https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/21JAN_NAP_PRELIM_FINAL.pdf">Wildlife Trusts</a> and <a href="https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/PANUK_NAP_response_FINAL_Feb2021.docx.pdf">Pesticide Action Network</a> among others, and also in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/sustainable-use-of-pesticides-draft-national-action-plan/outcome/summary-of-responses">Defra’s response</a>. The high-level aim of the plan was to reduce pesticide use and minimise impacts of pesticides on humans and the environment, while still effectively managing pests. Almost everybody agreed with that, but there was widespread dissatisfaction with the detail. </p>
<h2>On target?</h2>
<p>In particular, the plan completely lacked <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02120-x">targets</a>: there were no clear targets for reducing overall pesticide use, no ambition to phase out pesticides in urban green spaces or along pavements and around hospitals and schools, and no plan to ban the more harmful pesticides. But several <a href="https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/sustainable-use-pesticides/farm-fork-targets-progress_en">European countries</a> are making significant progress through the use of targets in these areas. </p>
<p>Many environmental organisations also called for more concrete plans to support farmers to properly implement <a href="https://www.pan-uk.org/integrated-pest-management/">integrated pest management</a>. This approach considers pesticide use a last resort. </p>
<p>Research has shown that integrated pest management is an effective way to <a href="https://pure.sruc.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/26612788/14799_300326IPMFinalreportpDF.pdf">reduce pesticide use</a>. It involves a combination of crop rotations, resistant varieties, encouraging natural predators, and other techniques to minimise pest problems, only applying pesticide if all else fails and pest numbers exceed economic thresholds. </p>
<p>The draft action plan offered no mechanism for meaningful progress here, which might have included providing farmers with independent agronomic advice, provision of demonstration farms, and funding for research.</p>
<p>More recently, the government has received considerable criticism over its decision to repeatedly grant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/ban-use-bee-killing-pesticide-uk-business-government">emergency derogations</a> (exemptions) allowing use of banned neonicotinoid insecticides on sugar beet. This decision went against the recommendations of both the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65a7e912ed27ca000d27b172/Cruiser_SB_HSE_emergency_registration_report_2024_-_redacted.pdf">Health and Safety Executive</a> and the government’s <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6570a03f809bc300133081c1/ECP-Full-Minutes-Sept2023.pdf">ExpertCommittee on Pesticides</a>, and so does not appear to be following the science. </p>
<p>These emergency derogations were declared illegal in the EU in 2023, so the UK has now departed from all EU member states in still allowing farmers to use neonicotinoids. </p>
<h2>Strengthening the strategy</h2>
<p>This has all fuelled existing concerns among environmental NGOs that the UK government may be using the freedoms of Brexit to weaken environmental protections and that the country is becoming the dirty man of Europe.</p>
<p>Defra has remained quiet for three years since the consultation on the national action plan ended in February 2020, perhaps trying to digest the 1,568 responses like a python having a nap after a large meal. </p>
<p>Now that a final plan is thought to be imminent, members of the <a href="https://pesticidecollaboration.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/NAP-red-lines-final.pdf">Pesticide Collaboration</a> is gearing up to prepare a response. This large consortium of environmental and human health-related charities including RSPB, Breast Cancer UK, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Cure Parkinson’s, WWF and The Wildlife Trusts, recently met to discuss what they are hoping for. </p>
<p>As outlined by <a href="https://pesticidecollaboration.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/NAP-red-lines-final.pdf">this coalition</a>, there was broad agreement that the national action plan’s new iteration should include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>a continued commitment to the precautionary principle and a hazards-based approach to pesticide regulation</p></li>
<li><p>ambitious and unambiguous targets to reduce impacts of pesticides on the environment via reducing usage and toxicity (and not simply a promise to introduce such targets at a future date)</p></li>
<li><p>a strategy to phase out pesticide use in urban areas</p></li>
<li><p>provision of support, advice and training for farmers to adopt integrated pest management, with a clear definition of what is meant by the term</p></li>
<li><p>a commitment to breaking the link between agronomic advice and profits from pesticide sales (at present most of the agronomists who advise farmers work for pesticide companies)</p></li>
<li><p>an end to emergency authorisations of banned chemicals.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Other issues that have been raised by environmental organisations include provision for better monitoring of pesticide use and environmental fate. For example, monitoring of rivers is patchy while soils are scarcely ever screened for pesticides. </p>
<p>It would also be in the public interest for all pesticide usage data collected by Defra to be made open access, enabling researchers to examine links between use and environmental harms or human health impacts.</p>
<p>Few people at the recent Pesticide Collaboration discussion were optimistic that many of these aspirations will be met by the new action plan, if it does arrive this month. There is a keen appetite for meaningful action, not more kicking the can down the road. </p>
<p>If actions are not delivered, this could become a highly politicised issue in this election year. With environmental issues becoming increasingly <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/trackers/the-most-important-issues-facing-the-country">important for voters</a>, it remains to be seen whether any of the main UK political parties will grasp the opportunity to win over the green vote.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Goulson is a member of the Green Party</span></em></p>The six-year-late UK national action plan for the sustainable use of pesticides is finally due but experts doubt it will be radical enough.Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment), University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2213522024-02-05T13:34:48Z2024-02-05T13:34:48ZHow bats ‘leapfrog’ their way home at night – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572171/original/file-20240130-27-o1vlrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3413%2C2539&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The greater horseshoe bat is one of the UK's 18 bat species. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/flying-bat-hunting-forest-greater-horseshoe-1494098204">Rudmer Zwerver/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A silent ballet takes place above our heads at night as Britain’s bat populations leave their roosts to forage for food. Although their initial movement away from roosts is fairly well understood, until recently little was known about how they returned home. </p>
<p>But our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11538-023-01233-5">new research</a> shows how bats may use a “leap-frogging” motion to make their way home, something which could help conservationists in future.</p>
<p>As they flit through the darkness, bats play a crucial role in the health of our ecosystems. From keeping insect populations in check to dispersing seeds and pollinating plants, they provide a multitude of benefits. </p>
<p>In the UK alone, the 18 bat species devour agricultural pests such as cockchafers with impressive efficiency. So, it is imperative that we not only understand and appreciate bats, but also actively support and safeguard their populations for the wellbeing of our planet.</p>
<p>But bat populations are vulnerable to pollution, climate change and loss of roosting locations. Habitat fragmentation and light pollution can also interrupt how bats feed. This is particularly important during the maternity season <strong>in early summer</strong>, when bats gather together to have and raise their young.</p>
<p>An integral aspect of effective bat conservation lies in unravelling the mysteries of how bats move. This not only helps us understand how bats navigate and use their environment, but also helps in identifying and protecting their roosts. </p>
<h2>Radio-tracking</h2>
<p>Conventional methods for pinpointing bat roosts primarily hinge on radio-tracking surveys. This arduous process involves capturing bats, attaching small radio transmitters to them before releasing them and following the signals throughout the night. </p>
<p>Our team conducted a radio-tracking survey in Devon which monitored 12 greater horseshoe bats over 24 nights. The trajectories of seven of those bats over 14 nights were extracted from the data for analysis, ensuring that in each case, a bat’s beginning and ending roost were the same.</p>
<p>Using this data, we measured the population’s average distance from the roost. We found two distinctive patterns in the data we analysed: an initial spread of bats within the first one to two hours after sunset and a gradual return to the roost afterwards.</p>
<p>The initial spread reflects the expected random dispersal of bats leaving their roosts to forage after sunset. The return to the roost, occurring two to eight hours after sunset, is more complicated. </p>
<p>This prompted us to explore two potential mechanisms influencing the bats’ return. First, a “pull mechanism”, where the roost attracts the bats home, and second, a mechanism pushing the bats who range furthest away back to the roost.</p>
<p>We modelled the pushing mechanism as a leapfrog process. Imagine this as a cascade effect, where the outermost bats begin their return. Once the “outer” bats have passed or “leapt over” bats that are closer to the roost, the “inner” bats become the furthest out causing them to return too.</p>
<p>This motion unfolds systematically, like a synchronised dance, as each bat from the periphery of the foraging range follows suit in returning to the roost after being “leapfrogged”.</p>
<p>But what causes the bats to return in this manner? One plausible explanation underscores how bats rely on each other for effective navigation, like tiny radar signals. If a bat experiences prolonged silence or predominantly hears calls from one direction, it might decide to move closer to the roost, anticipating the presence of other colony members. </p>
<p>But a bat might return more slowly, prolonging foraging, if it perceives the presence of bats beyond its current location. So, it is the outer bats that would drive the return as they would not be surrounded by calls.</p>
<h2>How does this research help bats?</h2>
<p>The significance of these findings extends beyond just describing the movements of bats. They have laid the foundation for work that promises easier discovery of new bat roosts, potentially reducing the need for labour-intensive bat tracking surveys in the future. </p>
<p>One of the immediate effects of our research includes informing a measurement of the “core sustenance zone” for greater horseshoe bats. This is where most of their foraging occurs, so it’s important in bat ecology, conservation and construction planning.</p>
<p>The leapfrogging mechanism also allows us to ascribe intention to bat movements. Namely, through using surrounding bat calls they can identify where the population is relative to their position, suggesting whether or not they are on the periphery of the group, which is an indicator of their vulnerability. Should they be furthest from the roost they move back towards the bulk of the population and closer to the roost.</p>
<p>While these interpretations hold promise, further rigorous testing is essential. And we need to think about the safety and wellbeing of the bat population.</p>
<p>Our observations are also specific to greater horseshoe bats during the summer months. Different bat species have distinct flight patterns and habitat preferences, with the same species displaying diverse behaviours at different times of the year. </p>
<p>So, while we have taken some crucial first steps, we still have a lot of work to do in unravelling the characteristics of bat motions in general.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Mathews receives funding from Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Devon County Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. She is affiliated with the UK Mammal Society, Mammal Conservation Europe, Ecotype Genetics and Ecology Search Services Ltd. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Woolley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Maths plays a crucial role in new research which finds that bats “leapfrog” their way home at night.Thomas Woolley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, Cardiff UniversityFiona Mathews, Professor of Environmental Biology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209812024-01-29T16:38:15Z2024-01-29T16:38:15ZHow simple changes can open up Britain’s green spaces so everyone can benefit from them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571631/original/file-20240126-19-bgcjee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Catbells route in the Lake District is just one of many accessible Miles Without Stiles trails. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>A typical British countryside walk may conjure up images of vast green fields, heather-topped moorlands, and of course, countless stiles providing access throughout the right-of-way network. However, while stiles connect trails and public pathways, they are a physical barrier to accessible green spaces for all. </p>
<p>Over the last two decades, national parks across England have been removing stiles as part of a programme of measures to create more easy-to-navigate walking routes. Research by us and others shows how opening up natural spaces in such ways can particularly benefit young and disabled people. If such schemes were adopted more widely, the benefits could be spread even further.</p>
<p>Disabled people access natural and rural green spaces, including national parks, much <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02614360903071704">less frequently</a> than non-disabled people. And the physical barriers that stiles and other aspects of the landscape present are not the only issue. Rural green spaces can simply feel daunting for some people, often requiring skilful navigation, specialist equipment and confidence. </p>
<p>These things can also act as barriers for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016713000132">young people</a>, who reportedly spend <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-childrens-people-and-nature-survey-for-england-summer-holidays-2021-official-statistics/the-childrens-people-and-nature-survey-for-england-summer-holidays-2021-official-statistics">less time outside</a> now than ever before. Many children and young people in the UK, particularly those with <a href="https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/9443">special educational needs or disabilities</a>, do not regularly access natural, wilder green spaces for play and recreation, despite the <a href="https://extremephysiolmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2046-7648-2-3">broad-ranging benefits</a> doing so can offer.</p>
<p>As a result, schools are often tasked with introducing young people to these spaces through outdoor and adventure education. This can be beneficial, but the short-term nature of these programmes leads to short-term <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14729679.2013.867813">gains</a>, such as improved social skills. </p>
<p>That said, our latest independent evaluation reports of Nottinghamshire YMCA’s <a href="https://www.nottsymca.com/news/access-to-nature-a-positive-first-day/">access to nature programme</a> with marginalised and vulnerable young people show it can improve confidence, increase connection to nature and improve environmental awareness. It can also enhance physical, social and mental health. </p>
<p>While outdoor and adventure education programmes offer a glimpse into available opportunities such as climbing or kayaking, regular involvement in these activities is difficult for many families. </p>
<p>More <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3953">regular access</a> to green spaces for young people can benefit them over the longer term by enabling more creative play, opportunity to experience risk and direct hands-on interaction with nature. </p>
<h2>Removing barriers</h2>
<p>Improving accessibility could be one step towards young people spending more time outside in natural landscapes, like those found in the UK’s 15 national parks. Launched by the Lake District National Park nearly two decades ago, the Miles Without Stiles initiative improves the accessibility of many public footpaths and trails. </p>
<p>Adopted now by <a href="https://democracy.peakdistrict.gov.uk/documents/s17985/LAFbg170615-Item11-2.pdf">National Parks England</a>, this scheme involves the removal of stiles, resurfacing of pathways, and a clear grading system which rates routes depending on their gradient and surface conditions. Improving accessibility also involves more consistent signposting and waymarking, decent public transport links and carpark provision, plus availability of toilets, cafés and other facilities. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/walking/mileswithoutstiles">Lake District National Park</a> now boasts 51 Miles Without Stiles routes, the <a href="https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/miles-without-stiles#mwsroutes">Peak District National Park</a> has 20 and <a href="https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/all-abilities/miles-without-stiles/">South Downs National Park</a> has seven. </p>
<p>Miles Without Stiles is endorsed by charities like the <a href="https://disabledramblers.co.uk/">Disabled Ramblers</a> who advocate for a more accessible countryside. And 21% of visitors to the Lake District National Park choose routes because of their accessibility, according to a 2019 Lake District National Park Authority report. </p>
<p>Many of these routes offer a gentler introduction to wild spaces, which may make young people feel more confident in accessing these places easily, either independently or with family members. No specialist equipment is required beyond a sturdy pair of shoes, wheelchair or buggy, and more people can go at their own pace. </p>
<h2>Connecting with nature</h2>
<p>When we interviewed a group of secondary school teachers for our research in 2020, it was clear that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1356336X20953872">inclusive</a> physical education provision involves differentiating lessons for mixed abilities and offering activities that could be modified accordingly. That relates to nature access too, and is especially relevant for young people with special educational needs and disabilities who experience a range of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1034912X.2021.1952939">barriers</a> to regular <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2023.2181464">physical activity</a>. </p>
<p>In the case of Miles Without Stiles, well-surfaced and clearly signposted routes are clearly graded as suitable for all, for many or for some, depending on their gradient.</p>
<p>We believe that schools, sport, and other physical activity providers could learn much from Miles Without Stiles about accessibility. Given the notable benefits of physical activity and of spending time outdoors, if National Parks England were to extend the Miles Without Stiles programme across the country, it would provide more accessible options for more people. </p>
<p>Promoting Miles Without Stiles to local authorities and schools could increase awareness of the initiative, and encourage young people and their families to spend more time being active outdoors. Beyond the countryside, local authorities could even use the Miles Without Stiles model to make urban green spaces more accessible, promoting more active lifestyles for all.</p>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Maher works for Leeds Beckett University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janine Coates does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This initiative could give more disabled and young people the confidence to explore more of Britain’s wild spaces and build a stronger nature connectionJanine Coates, Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Research Methods, Loughborough UniversityAnthony Maher, Professor of Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2216722024-01-24T17:39:06Z2024-01-24T17:39:06ZThe palm tree that lives beneath the rainforest floor<p>In the heart of western Borneo’s vibrant jungles, the edible fruits of the underground palm are well-known to the local people who snack on them. But this botanical marvel has remained unnoticed by the scientific community for so long because it flowers and bears fruit underground. </p>
<p>At first glance, <em>Pinanga subterranea</em>, a rare palm tree, it looks like a small plant or seedling. Compared to a typical palm tree, <em>Pinanga subterranea</em> looks more modest and dainty, making it well-suited for smaller spaces or dense forests. </p>
<p>Its bright red fruits stay almost completely hidden by the soil. So how does this underground superstar survive beneath the forest floor? </p>
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<p><em>Many people think of plants as nice-looking greens. Essential for clean air, yes, but simple organisms. A step change in research is shaking up the way scientists think about plants: they are far more complex and more like us than you might imagine. This blossoming field of science is too delightful to do it justice in one or two stories.</em> </p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/plant-curious-137238?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=PlantCurious2023&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of a series, Plant Curious</a>, exploring scientific studies that challenge the way you view plantlife.</em></p>
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<p>Plants grow by using their roots to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. They also need sunlight to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis. </p>
<p>Typically, the stems and leaves are above ground, reaching up towards the light. Palm trees usually develop their flowers and fruits above ground for pollination and seed dispersal.</p>
<p>However, <em>Pinanga subterranea</em> challenges this norm by flowering and fruiting underground, showcasing an extraordinary survival strategy that challenges what we already know about how plants usually make and distribute their seeds.</p>
<h2>Secrets of survival</h2>
<p>There are three possible reasons this palm grows flowers underground, as highlighted in 2023 by the research team <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10393">Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,</a> with partners from Indonesia and Malaysia who outlined this discovery. First, its stem demonstrates saxophone growth, bending down and then back up. </p>
<p>Second, the leaves form a funnel, and when organic litter piles up, roots sneak in. They suggest that the litter collects faster than the stem grows, so it stays underground. </p>
<p>Third, its flower clusters are short and below the leaves, usually developing completely underground. </p>
<p>Little is known about how exactly pollination happens in this underground palm. Pollination by flying insects such as bees is difficult, yet this palm still has a fruit and seed set that’s close to the soil surface, suggesting efficient pollination. Insects, especially beetles that move deep down through the undergrowth, might carry pollen for <em>Pinanga subterranea</em>. </p>
<p>Another potential pathway is the process of self-pollination of a flower by pollen from the same flower. Alternatively, wild boars living in the Borneo forest have been seen to unearth the red berries so they might play a crucial role too.</p>
<h2>A master of mutation</h2>
<p>One thing is certain though. Plants adapt by making changes in their genes, through what’s known as epigenetics. These changes help plants survive stress and adapt. While some changes are temporary, others can last longer and affect how plants grow and develop. Some might even be passed on to future plant generations, helping them to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.00246/full">adapt and evolve</a>.</p>
<p>Over time, climate change has seriously affected both the environment and the plants and crops we grow. Different environmental stresses caused by climate change, like extreme temperatures, drought and heavy rain, can make it harder for plants to grow well, affecting their quality. Pressures like these can lead to epigenetic changes.</p>
<p>For example, peanut flowers produce above-ground blossoms, but the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69943-7">fruits mature underground</a>. This adaptation likely offers greater protection, as the underground environment provides a safer and more stable space for seed development, contributing to the plant’s overall survival and reproductive success. </p>
<p>A small Australian underground orchid has also adapted to develop both fruit and <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.45">flowers underground</a>. With the help of fungi, this orchid survives and reproduces in a safer and more stable underground environment. </p>
<p>Through epigenetic adaptations, some plants, including <em>Pinanga subterranea</em>, can adjust to changes without altering the core instructions or DNA. It’s like a tree’s survival manual. </p>
<p>Epimutations are changes that happen more often than regular changes in instructions (genetic mutations). <em>Pinanga subterranea</em>‘s underground flowering showcases nature’s adaptability. </p>
<p>By using its epigenetic toolbox to master survival in a changing climate, this palm has evolved smart ways to adapt to tough conditions in Borneo’s tropical landscape. </p>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chungui Lu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A recently discovered palm tree has an unusual survival strategy - it flowers and fruits beneath the groundChungui Lu, Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192132024-01-24T17:21:11Z2024-01-24T17:21:11ZVan Gogh’s final months were his most productive<p>Though he had spent the previous year at an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the south of France, <a href="https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890">Vincent van Gogh</a> arrived in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, just north of Paris, in an optimistic mood. It was here, in 1890, that he would spend the last few months of his life which, despite the depression that would soon return, were his most productive.</p>
<p>The move offered him the prospect of a fresh start, close to his brother Theo, and under the watchful eye of Paul Gachet, a homeopathic doctor with an interest in art and mental wellbeing. Over the course of the next two months, Van Gogh produced no fewer than 74 paintings and more than 50 drawings, which are catalogued chronologically by Nienke Bakker, Emmanuel Coquery, Louis van Tilborgh and Teio Meedendorf in their book, <a href="https://thamesandhudson.com/van-gogh-in-auvers-sur-oise-his-final-months-9780500026731">Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months</a>. </p>
<p>As Van Tilborgh observes in the opening essay, Van Gogh’s final works have “a special, almost existential significance” for us. The paintings most closely identified with his final days include the profoundly melancholic <a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/wheatfield-with-crows/dwFdD5AMQfpSew?hl=en-GB">Wheatfield with Crows</a> (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), whose central path leads us through the golden wheat towards an intensely brooding sky. It was here, in the fields above Auvers, that Van Gogh would shoot himself at the age of 37 in July 1890.</p>
<p>As Meedendorf recounts, Van Gogh was initially enchanted by this “distinctive and picturesque” village nestling in the heart of the countryside. Accessible from Paris by train, it remained surprisingly unspoiled, with thatched whitewashed cottages and a distinctive medieval church.</p>
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<h2>At home in nature</h2>
<p>Unlike previous inhabitants of Auvers, such as the landscape artist and precursor of impressionism, <a href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/charles-francois-daubigny">Charles-François Daubigny</a>, Van Gogh ignored the nearby river Oise. He preferred to record the village, its quaint old buildings merging organically with the landscape and the surrounding vineyards. He also chose surprisingly modern motifs such as the town hall bedecked with flags and bunting on Bastille Day. </p>
<p>Another important subject, explored by Nienke Bakker, was a series of floral still lifes, painted between late May and mid-June 1890. Van Gogh had painted irises and roses as if “in a frenzy” towards the end of his stay at Saint-Rémy and was optimistic that his pictures would find a buyer, despite the fact that they had failed to do so in the past.</p>
<p>He had a preference for wild cornflowers, daisies, poppies, buttercups and thistles, but also painted Chinese asters, carnations and marigolds, blossoming chestnuts and acacia, rendered in rhythmic patterns that dominated the picture space.</p>
<p>Flowers and ears of wheat appear also in his portraits, most memorably in the two of Dr Gachet, leaning on his elbow in a <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2019/11/15/where-is-the-portrait-of-dr-gachet-the-mysterious-disappearance-of-van-goghs-most-expensive-painting">classic melancholic pose</a> and clutching a sprig of foxglove, which he used in his homeopathic remedies.</p>
<p>Gachet was an important early supporter, not only of Van Gogh, but of the impressionist artists <a href="https://www.camille-pissarro.org/biography.html">Camille Pissarro</a>, who lived at nearby Pontoise, and <a href="https://www.paul-cezanne.org/biography.html">Paul Cézanne</a>, who painted Gachet’s distinctive white house at Auvers.</p>
<h2>The final days</h2>
<p>The book includes a useful map of Auvers-sur-Oise which identifies many of the sites at which Van Gogh set up his easel. One of these is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jul/28/location-van-gogh-final-painting-tree-roots-postcard">Tree Roots</a>(Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), recently identified as the final work produced by the artist.</p>
<p>It is one of a series of 13 works that were distinctive for their double-square format. As Emmanuel Coquery explains, the format derived from Daubigny, who is referenced in the third canvas in the series, <a href="https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0104v1962">Daubigny’s Garden</a> (Rudolf Staechelin Collection).</p>
<p>Daubigny is still celebrated today in the village. His house and studio, decorated by his friend Camille Corot, and also his children, have been preserved for posterity. So, too, has the room at the Auberge Ravoux, in which Van Gogh died on 29 July 1890. </p>
<p>Fittingly, the last two essays in this brilliantly researched and colourfully illustrated book focus on Van Gogh’s final days. Following a visit to Theo in early July, the artist was beset by an extended period of depression, brought on by feelings that he was becoming a burden to his brother.</p>
<p>In his letters he wrote: “My life … is attacked at the very root, my step also is faltering.” He described his latest landscapes as expressions of “sadness, extreme loneliness”. Eventually he shot himself in the chest with a revolver and died in Theo’s arms nearly two days later.</p>
<p>His body was laid to rest in a spacious, sunny plot in the graveyard, close to the wheatfields he loved so much. In 1914, Theo’s remains were transferred to the same ivy-covered grave, remarkable for its simplicity.</p>
<p>As the final essay by Bregje Gerritse and Sara Tas shows, even before his death, Van Gogh was beginning to be appreciated by critics such as Gustave Kahn and Albert Aurier.</p>
<p>He made his only recorded sale when the Belgian artist Anna Boch purchased <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/04/how-did-the-only-painting-sold-by-van-gogh-in-his-lifetime-end-up-in-russia">The Red Vineyard</a> (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow) for 400 francs. Before long he would posthumously achieve the fame and commercial success he had so longed for.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frances Fowle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite his mental anguish, Van Gogh produced some of his greatest paintings in the last few months of his life.Frances Fowle, Personal Chair of Nineteenth-Century Art, History of Art, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2204222024-01-21T19:03:14Z2024-01-21T19:03:14ZIt is time to draw down carbon dioxide but shut down moves to play God with the climate<p>The global effort to keep climate change to safe levels – ideally within 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures – is moving far too slowly. And even if we stopped emitting CO² today, <a href="https://stao.ca/what-would-happen-to-the-climate-if-we-stopped-emitting-greenhouse-gases-today/#:%7E:text=If%20we%20stop%20emitting%20today,was%20normal%20for%20previous%20generations.">the long-term impacts</a> of the gas already in the air would continue for decades. For these reasons, we will soon have to focus not only on halting but on reversing global warming.</p>
<p>We can do that in two ways. The first is by “<a href="https://drawdown.org/drawdown-foundations">drawdown</a>” – strengthening natural processes on Earth that withdraw CO² from the atmosphere. The second is through vast experiments with the climate known as <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/what-climate-engineering#:%7E:text=Also%20known%20as%20%22geoengineering%2C%22,prepare%20for%20now%20unavoidable%20impacts.">geo-engineering</a>, some of which sound like science fiction, and could be extremely dangerous if ever tried.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-973" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/973/534c98def812dd41ac56cc750916e2922539729b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>The dangers of some forms of geo-engineering</h2>
<p>Geo-engineering proposals to arrest climate change range from the seemingly sensible – <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/urban-heat-can-white-roofs-help-cool-the-worlds-warming-cities">painting our roofs and roads white</a> – to the highly speculative: <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/41903/one_atmosphere.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y">solar radiation modification</a>, or putting mirrors in space to reflect some of the Sun’s heat away from Earth. Probably the most <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/what-is-solar-geoengineering-sunlight-reflection-risks-and-benefits.html">commonly proposed form of geo-engineering</a> involves putting sulfur into the stratosphere to dim the power of the sun. </p>
<p>The natural <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/">1991 eruption</a> of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines showed the effects of sulfur in action. The eruption <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1510/global-effects-of-mount-pinatubo">measurably</a> cooled the Earth’s surface for almost two years.</p>
<p>But we don’t have to wait for an erupting volcano: all we need do is <a href="https://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/RobockStratAerosolGeo.pdf">add some sulphur</a> to the emissions of the world’s airline fleet, and release it once planes are in the stratosphere. The sulphur layer, which would also reflect some of the Sun’s heat back to space, would be a relatively inexpensive global cooling mechanism, instantaneous in its effect and implementable right now.</p>
<p>Yet this approach does nothing to remove CO² from the atmosphere, or to reduce
the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification#:%7E:text=Because%20of%20human%2Ddriven%20increased,the%20ocean%20becomes%20more%20acidic.">rising acidity</a> of the oceans. It’s like a Band-Aid over a festering sore. And, beyond its cooling effect, its impact on the climate system as a whole is unknown: no one to my knowledge has modelled the effects of using the jet fleet in this way.</p>
<p>No international treaty exists to regulate such experiments. In April 2022, the US
start-up company, Make Sunsets, <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/24/1066041/a-startup-says-its-begun-releasing-particles-%20into-the-atmosphere-in-an-effort-to-tweak-the-climate">released weather balloons</a> designed to reach the stratosphere, carrying a few grams of sulphur particles. There was no public scrutiny or scientific monitoring of the work. The company is already trying to sell “cooling credits” for future flights that could carry larger volumes of sulphur.</p>
<p>And what if climate change brings <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2023/07/13/china-is-obsessed-with-food-security-climate-change-will-challenge-it">mass famine</a> and civil disobedience to China? It is already <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/06/china-modified-the-weather-to-create-clear-skies-for-political-celebration-study">seeding clouds</a> to make rain on a massive scale. China might think it is doing the right thing by putting sulfur into the stratosphere. But that decision might lead to war with other countries. What if this form of geoengineering <a href="https://www.csis.org/blogs/new-perspectives-asia/india-and-atmospheric-sulfate-injection-double-edged-sword">affected the monsoon</a> in India and caused famine? We just don’t know what the climatic and political impacts would be.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-laggard-to-leader-why-australia-must-phase-out-fossil-fuel-exports-starting-now-219912">From laggard to leader? Why Australia must phase out fossil fuel exports, starting now</a>
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<h2>Drawdown’s potential to store carbon</h2>
<p>Drawdown, by contrast, involves <a href="https://drawdown.org/drawdown-foundations">withdrawing CO²</a> from the atmosphere and storing it in other planetary organs, such as rocks, oceans or plants. Drawdown is much longer term than geoengineering, and most initiatives are only in the research and development stage. The most advanced and practical, by far, is forest <a href="https://www.oneearth.org/protection-of-primary-forests-is-priority-but-reforestation-is-also-crucial/">protection and reafforestation</a>.</p>
<p>Today humans emit about <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/14/bill-gates-concepts-to-understand-the-climate-crisis.html">51 billion tonnes of CO²</a> a year. Protecting and regenerating forests draws down <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2020.00058/full">2 billion tonnes a year</a>. Other approaches, such as <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage/direct-air-capture">direct air capture</a> of CO², draw down much smaller volumes. </p>
<p>So forest protection and reafforestation is our best bet for getting us closer to limiting warming to 1.5°C. A <a href="https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/diverse-forests-hold-very-large-carbon-potential.htm#:%7E:text=New%20study%20estimates%20that%20natural,better%20manage%20and%20restore%20biodiversity.">recent paper</a> in the Nature journal argues we could draw down as much as 226 gigatonnes by allowing existing forests in areas where few humans live to recover to maturity, and by regrowing forests in areas where they have been removed or fragmented.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-homes-can-be-made-climate-ready-reducing-bills-and-emissions-a-new-report-shows-how-219113">Australian homes can be made climate-ready, reducing bills and emissions – a new report shows how</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>We should not ignore other drawdown pathways, however. Seaweed is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723023203">a promising option</a> for drawing down a billion tonnes or so of CO² by 2050. But we need a lot more scientific research to understand how to do that, and what its wider impacts might
be. Today only one commercial kelp farm exists – <a href="https://kelp.blue/namibia/">Kelp Blue</a>, off the coast of Namibia, where four hectares of kelp are not only storing carbon but are used to make biodegradable food packaging and crop stimulants.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2448-9">Silicate rocks</a>, which are common in many places, including Victoria’s <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/olcanic-centre-distribution-Macedon-Trentham-and-Western-District-Volcanic-Provinces_fig1_261958672">Western
District</a>, also offer great hope. Once the rocks are crushed, a kilogram of a mineral they contain, <a href="https://eos.org/articles/can-these-rocks-help-rein-in-climate-change">olivine</a>, will sequester 1.5 kilograms of CO² from the atmosphere within a few weeks of being spread on a farm field or put onto a beach.</p>
<p>The crushing speeds up a natural sequestering process of thousands of years. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972106054X">Field trials conducted in Brazil</a> and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0715">other countries</a> show using crushed rocks on crops can bring another benefit – significant increases in the yields of corn, cocoa and many other crops.</p>
<p>The problem is that the way we quarry and transport rocks today creates a lot of fossil fuel emissions. Once a farm is more than a few hundred kilometres from the quarry most of the benefit is gone. So until we can decarbonise transport and industrial energy, the benefit of silicate rocks will be minimal.</p>
<p>A process known as “direct air capture” sucks CO² out of the air and either puts it deep into rock strata or uses it for greenhouses or as the basis of concrete, plastic and other products that can sequester carbon long term. <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage/direct-air-capture">Nineteen plants</a> using this technology are already operating around the world, including in Switzerland, the US and Iceland. But again, a lot of industrial capacity and a clean energy to run the plants are needed to get the value.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-growth-or-degrowth-what-is-the-right-way-to-tackle-climate-change-218239">Green growth or degrowth: what is the right way to tackle climate change?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>What the Albanese government should do</h2>
<p>For these reasons, the Albanese government should focus its drawdown efforts on forest protection and regrowth. This could be a theme of the UN climate conference Australia is <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/sprawling-and-costly-can-australia-host-cop31-in-just-two-years-20231212-p5eqqm">bidding to co-host</a> with Pacific nations in 2026. Our temperate forests contain <a href="https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/article/2022/march/in-20-years-of-studying-how-ecosystems-absorb-carbon-heres-why-were-worried-about-a-tipping-point-of-collapse#:%7E:text=For%20example%2C%20every%20hectare%20of,of%20Mediterranean%20woodland%20or%20shrubland.">more carbon per hectare</a> than almost anywhere on Earth. Stopping old-growth logging would be a magnificent contribution to arresting climate change.</p>
<p>The government should also back research and development on seaweed and silicate rocks so that the country’s huge resources can be responsibly deployed in future. Finally, Australia must push urgently for a global treaty to restrain sulphur geoengineering.</p>
<p>Today governments are busy just trying to reduce emissions and haven’t looked closely at drawdown and geoengineering. But things are moving fast, and it’s time to start.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-new-dawn-becoming-a-green-superpower-with-a-big-role-in-cutting-global-emissions-216373">Australia's new dawn: becoming a green superpower with a big role in cutting global emissions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Flannery is Ambassador for RegenAqua, which uses seaweed and river grass to clean up wastewater before it flows out to sea and on to the Great Barrier Reef. He consults for the not-for-profit environmental charity, Odonata. He is Chief Councillor and Founding Member of the Climate Council, Governor at WWF-Australia, and sits on the board of the Kelp Forest Foundation, a philanthropic entity associated with Kelp Blue.
</span></em></p>To fight global warming we will soon have to try to remove carbon dioxide from the skies or find ways to reflect the Sun’s heat. Such radical paths must be examined, but risky experiments avoided.Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210092024-01-17T23:33:35Z2024-01-17T23:33:35ZThese fierce, tiny marsupials drop dead after lengthy sex fests – and sometimes become cannibals<p>If you are exploring our beautiful Australian wilderness this year, keep an eye out for animals behaving in interesting ways. You never know what you might see, as our research team discovered.</p>
<p>In 2023, our colleague from Sunshine Coast Council, Elliot Bowerman, took a two-night trip to <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/new-england-national-park">New England National Park</a> – its 1,500 metre-high mountain peaks are some of the loftiest on Australia’s mid-east coast.</p>
<p>On the afternoon of 17 August, Elliot trekked the path to Point Lookout. While inspecting some plants on the trail, he heard a rustle in the bushes ahead and peering more closely, saw something of interest. A small mammal had abruptly appeared, dragging the carcass of another mammal, which it then began to devour.</p>
<p>At first glance, this was not so strange. Mammals eat each other all the time. However, it <em>is</em> unusual to see small mammals during the day at such close quarters, so Elliot recorded the scene, taking a video on his mobile phone.</p>
<p>It was only several days later when looking over the footage that our research team realised it featured something rarely seen in the wild, the record of which is now published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23042">in the journal <em>Australian Mammalogy</em></a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-5-of-australias-tiniest-mammals-who-tread-a-tightrope-between-life-and-death-every-night-159239">Meet 5 of Australia’s tiniest mammals, who tread a tightrope between life and death every night</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>A native marsupial… cannibal</h2>
<p>The furry critter on film was an <a href="https://animalia.bio/dusky-antechinus">antechinus</a>, a native marsupial denizen of forested areas in eastern, south-western and northern Australia. Antechinuses usually eat a range of insects and spiders, occasionally taking small vertebrates such as birds, lizards, or even other mammals. </p>
<p>But this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd1nlIdIsK8">camera footage</a> clearly showed a mainland dusky antechinus (<em>Antechinus mimetes mimetes</em>), and it was eating a dead member of its own species!</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dd1nlIdIsK8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Antechinuses are perhaps best known for exhibiting <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/death-and-mating/">semelparity</a>, or “suicidal reproduction”. This is death after reproducing in a single breeding period. The phenomenon is known in a range of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, but it is rare in mammals. </p>
<p>Each year, all antechinus males drop dead at the end of a one to three week breeding season, poisoned by their own raging hormones.</p>
<p>This is because the stress hormone cortisol rises during the breeding period. At the same time, surging testosterone from the super-sized testes in males causes a failure in the biological mechanism that mops up the cortisol. The flood of unbound cortisol results in systemic organ failure and the inevitable, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-007-0250-8">gruesome death of every male</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark grey marsupial with a pointy snout tearing at pink flesh" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569221/original/file-20240115-15-2bu24v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mainland dusky antechinus during the mating period, with fur loss visible on the shoulder, eating another antechinus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elliot Bowerman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mercifully, death occurs only after the males have unloaded their precious cargo of sperm, <a href="https://theconversation.com/doing-it-to-death-suicidal-sex-in-marsupial-mice-18884">mating with as many promiscuous females</a> as possible in marathon, energy-sapping sessions lasting up to 14 hours. The pregnant females are then responsible for ensuring the survival of the species.</p>
<p>So, exactly what was happening that day at Point Lookout – why had an antechinus turned cannibal? </p>
<h2>Cheap calories</h2>
<p>August is the breeding period for mainland dusky antechinuses at that location. Intense mating burns calories, and at the end of winter it is cold and there isn’t as much invertebrate food about.</p>
<p>If there are male antechinuses dropping dead from sex-fuelled exhaustion, our thinking is that still-living male and female antechinuses are taking advantage of the cheap energy boost via a hearty feast of a fallen comrade.</p>
<p>After all, animal flesh provides plenty of energetic bang for the buck, particularly if its owner does not have to be pursued or overpowered before being devoured.</p>
<p>In many areas of Australia, two antechinus species (of the known fifteen) occur together, and usually their breeding periods <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00571.x">are separated by only a few weeks</a>. One can imagine a scenario where individuals may not only feed on the carcasses of their own species but consume the other species as well.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569229/original/file-20240115-15-pri0fh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=713&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An endangered silver-headed antechinus, <em>Antechinus argentus</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Baker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Each species may benefit from eating the dead males of the other. For the earlier-breeding species, females may be pregnant or lactating, which is a huge energy drain.</p>
<p>For the later-breeding species, both sexes need to pack on weight and body condition before their own breeding period commences. </p>
<p>Plausibly then, antechinus engage in orgiastic breeding and, when opportune, cannibalistic feeding. </p>
<p>So, the next time you are out and about in the bush, keep your eyes and ears peeled – you never know what secrets nature might reveal to you just around the next corner.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the co-authors of the paper, Elliot Bowerman from Sunshine Coast Council, and Ian Gynther from the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/torpor-a-neat-survival-trick-once-thought-rare-in-australian-animals-is-actually-widespread-146409">Torpor: a neat survival trick once thought rare in Australian animals is actually widespread</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew M. Baker receives funding from the Federal Government, State Governments, Australian Biological Resources Study and various Industry sources. </span></em></p>Antechinuses are tiny marsupials famous for their intense sex lives. Now, researchers have documented another unusual behaviour – the cannibalism of their own species.Andrew M. Baker, Associate Professor in Ecology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193742024-01-09T13:24:10Z2024-01-09T13:24:10ZWhat Taoism teaches about the body and being healthy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568087/original/file-20240105-15-9ngj1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1759%2C1095&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Daoism, which emphasizes harmony with nature, can inform individuals on their relationship with the environment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Yuan_(painter)#/media/File:Ma_Yuan_Walking_on_Path_in_Spring.jpg">Ma Yuan 'Walking on Path in Spring.' National Palace Museum via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Year’s resolutions often come with a renewed investment in making our bodies healthier. Many may take to the newest diet plan or sign up for a health club membership, but it is worth taking some time to consider what actually constitutes a healthy, happy body. </p>
<p>Taoist visions of the body <a href="https://religion.utk.edu/people/michael-naparstek/">form a central part of my research</a>. Taoism, (also spelled Daoism) an indigenous tradition of China, understands humans to be an integral part of the larger cosmos. </p>
<p>Rituals and bodily techniques are used to align one’s individual body with surrounding social and natural environments. These concepts of the body can inform individuals on their relationship with our environment and on what it means to be healthy. </p>
<h2>Taoism, the body and cosmos</h2>
<p>Accounts of Taoism begin sometime in the fourth century B.C.E., starting with the text “Tao Te Ching,” attributed to Lao Tzu. Though scholars do not believe there was an actual person called Lao Tzu, this figure, whose name means “old master” or “old child,” would become the model for bodily practice. Taoists would later develop rituals designed to mirror their body with that of Lao Tzu’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/157342009X12526658783817">as a way to align themselves with the Tao,</a> or the source of all things.</p>
<p>Taoist texts described Lao Tzu’s body as a kind of map for the entire cosmos, visualizing their own individual body like a smaller version of the entire cosmos, and likening the entire cosmos to a larger mirror of one’s own body. Bringing one’s body in alignment with the cosmos was understood to grant Taoists the ability to transform the environment around them by transforming their own bodies. </p>
<p>What happened in the body was understood to have an effect on the entire universe, just as the environment has an effect on one’s body.</p>
<h2>Physical exercises for longevity</h2>
<p>Some of the earliest examples of Taoist practices describe a series of body movements and postures to help align one’s body with their environment. </p>
<p>Historian of Taoism, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40727453">Isabelle Robinet</a>, notes that dating back to the second century B.C.E., the physical exercises were used to help <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=3024">cultivate one’s qi</a>, or breath, in order to better achieve harmony with the patterns of nature, nourish one’s health and increase longevity. Contemporary practices such as qigong continue to be informed by these concepts to this day.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A banner showing different postures of exercise." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568052/original/file-20240105-15-mfuii6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reconstruction of a silk painting from the second century B.C.E showing early ritualized bodily postures, excavated at Mawangdui, Hunan Province, China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/rrb7c7cm?wellcomeImagesUrl=/indexplus/image/L0036007.html">Wellcome Images, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition to practicing bodily techniques, early Taoists also sought out a connection to the environment through alchemy, a process of mixing rare natural elements together to create a refined substance that they believed was an elixir of health. According to renowned scholar of Taoist alchemy <a href="https://www.fabriziopregadio.com/">Fabrizio Pregadio</a>, practitioners sought out rare and powerful elements from the earth, which they mixed and <a href="https://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan.html">consumed in an attempt to attain longevity or even immortality</a>.</p>
<h2>Integrating with the outer landscape</h2>
<p>By the eighth century C.E., Taoists would look inward for these alchemical benefits. Taoist masters developed meditative and bodily practices called “neidan,” or inner alchemy, to help replicate the landscape within their own body.</p>
<p>Rather than seeking out rare elements in the earth, inner alchemy taught how to find the power to refine one’s vital essences from within one’s own body.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A detailed Taoist chart with intricate black etchings and inscriptions in Chinese." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1781&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1781&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568086/original/file-20240105-20-pl5vqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1781&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Taoist inner landscape diagram of the human body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/%E5%86%85%E7%BB%8F%E5%9B%BE_Diagram_of_the_Internal_Texture_of_Man_%D0%94%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%B8%D0%B7_%22%D0%A2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%96%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%98%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0_%D0%BE_%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BC%22_%289441066681%29.jpg/1024px-thumbnail.jpg">Nikolaj Potanin from Russia via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fully developed ritual programs instructed Taoists to undertake an inner journey within themselves. Along the way, they would visualize their old self encountering temples tucked away within lush mountain forests, discover hidden grottoes, and even find divine figures mixing elixirs of immortality. </p>
<p>This internal climb was believed to eventually lead one’s old self to the peak located at the crown of one’s head. From there, Taoists would visualize a new immortal self emerging out from atop their skull.</p>
<h2>Taoist priests and community</h2>
<p>This concept of a body fully integrated with the cosmos informs the logic for how contemporary Taoist priests conduct rituals to benefit the broader community today.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/04/world/asia/kristofer-schipper-dead.html">Kristofer Schipper</a>, a scholar of Taoist ritual, the body is seen as the primary medium that can <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520082243/the-taoist-body">fulfill their duty to reconnect the local community</a> with the original source of the cosmos – the Dao itself.</p>
<p>Taoist priests will envision a different kind of journey, this time across the cosmos but still all within their own body. They seek an audience with the highest gods of Taoism, known as the Three Pure Ones, to whom they will report the merits of the local community. </p>
<p>It is understood that in so doing, the Taoist priest helps reaffirm the connection between the people and the Tao itself. Thus, the community becomes integrated into the “Taoist Body.”</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rcUzbNrXPeY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Taoists performing a ritual at Longhushan, sacred mountain of Taoism, Jiangxi Province, China.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While an audience with the purest forms of the Tao is reserved only for trained Taoist priests, notions of the Taoist body ultimately provide a way for everyone to understand one’s body to be transformed both inside and out. </p>
<p>As the new year brings new resolutions for healthier bodies, we may gain from added perspectives on what transforming our body can mean – not just for ourselves, but for those around us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Naparstek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of Daoist rituals explains how the indigenous tradition of China understands the human body as being part of the larger cosmos.Michael Naparstek, Lecturer in Religious Studies, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2174272024-01-04T21:49:56Z2024-01-04T21:49:56ZCanada’s Nature Agreement underscores the need for true reconciliation with Indigenous nations<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadas-nature-agreement-underscores-the-need-for-true-reconciliation-with-indigenous-nations" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In late 2023, the federal government, British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council signed a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2023/11/government-of-canada-british-columbia-and-the-first-nations-leadership-council-sign-a-historic-tripartite-nature-conservation-framework-agreement.html">$1 billion Nature Agreement</a> to protect 30 per cent of B.C.’s lands by 2030. </p>
<p>The agreement stressed the full collaboration of Indigenous Peoples in alignment with the <a href="https://social.desa.un.org/issues/indigenous-peoples/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>The Nature Agreement follows a series of <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/nature-legacy.html">historic federal investments</a> in nature conservation over the <a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/12/07/protecting-more-nature-partnership-indigenous-peoples">past several years</a>. Like the previous announcements, the 2023 Nature Agreement includes funding for <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/explainer-ipcas-canada/">Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas</a>, or IPCAs.</p>
<p>Environment <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-nature-agreement-2023/">Minister Steven Guilbeault</a> stated about the agreement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I think people will look at this agreement and say, ‘OK, this is how it needs to be done going forward now in Canada’… It’s nature, it’s conservation, it’s restoration, but it’s also about reconciliation.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, despite advances in Canadian conservation policy and practice, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1286970/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Human_Dynamics&id=1286970">our research</a> has shown that First Nations advancing IPCAs can still face significant challenges. </p>
<p>Unless Canadian governments meaningfully address these challenges, the reconciliatory potential of IPCAs — and new funding agreements intended to support them — will be undermined.</p>
<h2>Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas</h2>
<p>IPCAs present vast opportunities for nature conservation and reconciliation. However, they also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108271">face multiple pressures</a>. Unlike regular parks and protected areas in Canada, IPCAs are established and maintained by First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments. </p>
<p>Indigenous governments establish IPCAs under their own Indigenous laws, while some also choose to <a href="https://www.landoftheancestors.ca/">pursue protection</a> under Canadian law.</p>
<p>IPCAs are varied, but typically support ecological restoration or protection and local economic development while centring Indigenous cultures, languages, knowledge and laws. At the heart of IPCAs is Indigenous governance over lands and waters for future generations.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of the Mamalilikulla Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area produced by the Mamalilikulla First Nation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Indigenous-led conservation movement in Canada is gaining momentum along with growing awareness of how wilderness conservation has disenfranchised Indigenous Peoples through <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.89.2.189">displacement</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198177">criminalization</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12600">limiting access</a>. </p>
<p>Simultaneously, efforts <a href="https://nctr.ca/records/reports/#trc-reports">to advance reconciliation</a> in Canada <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/index.html">and recognize</a> inherent <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-13.html">Indigenous rights</a> are more widespread.</p>
<p>While a few First Nations in B.C. established the first <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9948-8">tribal parks</a> in the early 1980s, IPCAs have been emerging across the country since 2018, some with support from federal funding programs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop15s-global-biodiversity-framework-must-advance-indigenous-led-conservation-to-halt-biodiversity-loss-by-2030-195188">COP15's Global Biodiversity Framework must advance Indigenous-led conservation to halt biodiversity loss by 2030</a>
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<p>In 2018, the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/s/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">Indigenous Circle of Experts</a>, a national Indigenous-led advisory group, advocated for IPCAs as a solution for Canada to achieve its nature conservation targets while advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. </p>
<p>Since 2018, Environment and Climate Change Canada has funded <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/explainer-ipcas-canada/">59 Indigenous-led conservation proposals</a> and a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2022/12/introducing-the-new-first-nations-guardians-network.html">First Nations National Guardians Network</a>.</p>
<h2>Roadblocks to reconciliation</h2>
<p>One of the biggest challenges for IPCAs is the pressure of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.4716">resource extraction</a>. Even once an IPCA is declared, it may not be safe from resource extraction, as was the case with <a href="https://theconversation.com/tsilhqotin-blockade-points-to-failures-of-justice-impeding-reconciliation-in-canada-120488">Dasiqox Nexwagwezʔan</a>, an IPCA in B.C.</p>
<p>Canadian governments continue to grant tenures and licences to companies for logging, mining, fish farms and other impactful activities inside IPCAs against the wishes of Indigenous nations. </p>
<p>These actions go against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its foundational principle of free, prior and informed consent. <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/index.html">Canada</a> and <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/indigenous-people/new-relationship/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples">B.C.</a> have both implemented legislation on the declaration. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Video produced by the Coastal First Nations articulating the importance of IPCAs for environmental protection and justice.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This dynamic is not surprising since many Indigenous nations establish IPCAs precisely because Canadian governments do not respect their governance and decision-making authority around extractive industry.</p>
<p>Indigenous governments are sometimes forced to compensate companies by <a href="https://www.trailtimes.ca/news/proposed-qatmuk-ipca-will-involve-buyout-of-glacier-resorts-ltd-s-jumbo-tenure-5040598">buying out tenures</a> to ensure protection of their IPCAs. </p>
<p>While there are examples of <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/jumbo-glacier-deal-enshrines-indigenous-protected-area-consigns-mega-resort-to-history">tenure buyouts</a> that enabled Indigenous nations to establish IPCAs, these are extremely costly, impractical and should not be considered the norm. </p>
<p>Another option is for <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/s/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">“cooling-off periods”</a> that pause resource extraction while IPCA planning and negotiations are underway.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-conservation-funding-must-reflect-canadas-true-debt-to-first-nations-inuit-and-metis-196772">Indigenous conservation funding must reflect Canada’s true debt to First Nations, Inuit and Métis</a>
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<p>These challenges are particularly acute in instances where IPCAs are not designated under Canadian protected area legislation. The vast majority of Canadian governments have not created new legislation or amended existing legislation to explicitly enable the designation and protection of IPCAs. </p>
<p>This means that Indigenous governments seeking additional legal protection for their IPCAs must make do with regular protected area designations that limit Indigenous authority, even under <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2022-0217">co-management</a> arrangements.</p>
<p>Indigenous governments establishing IPCAs also face financial struggles. Previous federal investments in Indigenous-led conservation revealed high demand for funds but resulted in only a small percentage of projects getting funding, sometimes due to IPCA visions <a href="https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.4716">clashing with resource extraction aims</a>. </p>
<p>A further issue is that funding is only for IPCA establishment and not ongoing stewardship.</p>
<p>At the core of these challenges are fundamental conflicts regarding the Crown’s continued assertion of its ultimate authority. This assertion is in spite of the <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/principles-principes.html">Canadian government’s own guidance</a> for reconciliation and <a href="https://www.bcli.org/wp-content/uploads/PRIMER-3-Legal-Pluralism-in-Canada.pdf">legal pluralism</a> — including the recognition of Indigenous rights and building equal relationships with Indigenous Peoples.</p>
<h2>Systemic change will advance reconciliation</h2>
<p>Canadian governments increasingly view IPCAs as a means of meeting their conservation targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity — especially the goal of protecting 30 per cent of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. This requires roughly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2022-0118">doubling the total protected area</a> in Canada. </p>
<p>At the recent COP28 climate conference, parties underscored the need to take action on biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation in a “<a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/joint-statement-on-climate-nature">coherent, synergetic and holistic manner</a>.” This includes <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era">cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent</a>, compared to 2019, by 2030 in order to keep global warming under 1.5 C.</p>
<p>While the most recent conservation funding announcement is commendable, it is unclear how the $500 million of new federal funding, which includes previously announced funds, will be distributed. Additionally, <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-nature-agreement-2023/">internal government records</a> allegedly show that B.C. may use the agreement to avoid federal efforts to protect species at risk in the province.</p>
<p>The challenges IPCAs surface can be embraced as catalysts for reconciliation. This involves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0083">changing mindsets</a>, behaviours, practices, policies and laws at multiple scales. It is the kind of transformative work that the <a href="https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf">Truth and Reconciliation Commission</a> called for in all sectors of society.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-peoples-across-the-globe-are-uniquely-equipped-to-deal-with-the-climate-crisis-so-why-are-we-being-left-out-of-these-conversations-171724">Indigenous peoples across the globe are uniquely equipped to deal with the climate crisis – so why are we being left out of these conversations?</a>
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<p>IPCAs offer tremendous potential for addressing the biodiversity and climate crises and repairing relationships with Indigenous Peoples. </p>
<p>As such, how Canadian governments and the conservation sector respond to the roadblocks encountered by Indigenous governments advancing IPCAs is crucial. Our responses matter not just for the success of IPCAs in supporting nature conservation, but also for advancing reconciliation in meaningful ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justine Townsend received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for her doctoral research. She is affiliated with the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership and the IISAAK OLAM Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin J. Roth receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (#895-2019-1019) and is the principal investigator and co-lead of the Conservation Through Reconciliation Partnership. </span></em></p>Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas face significant hurdles but nevertheless remain a key way to advance reconciliation and environmental goals.Justine Townsend, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British ColumbiaRobin J. Roth, Professor, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128512023-12-26T20:30:13Z2023-12-26T20:30:13Z‘Rights of nature’ are being recognised overseas. In Australia, local leadership gives cause for optimism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565351/original/file-20231212-19-ctql05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=287%2C5%2C3706%2C2233&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blue-mountains-national-park-landscape-788973853">Denis Doronin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As each day passes, the need to protect Australia’s environment grows more urgent. As noted in the most recent State of Environment Report in 2021, we are increasingly turning to “<a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/soe2021-biodiversity.pdf">measures of last resort</a>” to prevent species extinctions and the collapse of ecosystems. </p>
<p>In legal theory, the “rights of nature” acknowledges <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1175143/full">all Earth’s natural elements as having an inherent right</a> to exist and flourish. </p>
<p>Developments towards recognition of the rights of nature have attracted international attention. In some countries, they have come about through <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2017/0007/latest/whole.html">legislative reform</a>, <a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Ecuador_2021">constitutional amendment</a> and <a href="https://www.ielrc.org/content/e1704.pdf">the courts</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, federal, state and territory parliaments have not shown much appetite for introducing the rights of nature principle into legislation. The <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3872">Murray-Darling River System (Rights of Nature) Bill 2021</a> in New South Wales and the <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/BillProgressPopup?openForm&ParentUNID=A83E23DAE4373236482584AB002386A7">Rights of Nature and Future Generations Bill 2019</a> in Western Australia raised the possibility, but did not progress. One exception is Victoria, where a law protecting the Yarra river and <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/waterways/protecting-the-yarra-birrarung/yarra-river-protection-wilip-gin-birrarung-murron-act-2017">its First Nations custodianship</a> was passed in 2017.</p>
<p>Around the globe, lawyers and policy makers have been engaged in finding ways the law can contribute to the protection of ecosystems. Conferring ecosystems with rights is one strategy we can use to prevent species extinctions and ensure a “voice” for nature.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-rivers-are-now-legally-people-but-thats-just-the-start-of-looking-after-them-74983">Three rivers are now legally people – but that's just the start of looking after them</a>
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<h2>Rivers as legal persons</h2>
<p>Central to these efforts has been realising the rights of nature based on legal personhood, which confers entitlements and duties on an entity. There are benefits, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/can-nature-hold-rights-its-not-as-easy-as-you-think/3FF2901E0FA5EF1A2E37CCB7C403E190">complexities</a> and risks involved in this approach.</p>
<p>Indeed, the use of legal personhood as a mechanism to give natural entities like rivers or wetlands rights has been criticised <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13200968.2019.1802154">from a First Nations perspective</a>.</p>
<p>At a time when we are seeing threats to the environment turn into <a href="https://wwf.org.au/what-we-do/australian-bushfires/in-depth-australian-bushfires/">catastrophes with alarming frequency</a>, the law can be an inflexible tool and slow to respond. </p>
<p>In Australia, the rights of nature idea is emerging in social and political debate. Ultimately, the success of the rights of nature vision depends on effective broad legal frameworks combined with local action.</p>
<p>Sometimes, we can overlook the significant role local-level reform can play. So it is encouraging to see communities and councils leading the way.</p>
<p>The rights of nature principle provides a framework a local community can use when wanting to show its respect for nature and ensure due care for the local ecosystem.</p>
<h2>Two examples of local governance</h2>
<p>Two examples of such local leadership are the Blue Mountains City Council in NSW and the Shire of Augusta Margaret River local government area in WA. </p>
<p>In 2021, the Blue Mountains City Council received a <a href="https://www.centerforenvironmentalrights.org/local-recognition-of-rights">Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights Local Recognition Award</a> for its commitment to embedding rights of nature principles into its operations. The rights of nature principle is reflected in the <a href="https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/files/CommunityStrategicPlan2035.pdf">Blue Mountains Community Strategic Plan 2035</a>: “natural environment is valued for its intrinsic nature and role in maintaining all forms of life”.</p>
<p>In rights talk, “intrinsic value” means that a thing or being has value “in itself”, or “<a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-intrinsic-extrinsic/">for its own sake</a>”.</p>
<p>For example, a tree has intrinsic value for its own sake because it is a living thing and the tree’s life has value in and of itself. The tree’s value is not based on how it can be used by humans.</p>
<p>With some exceptions, Western philosophers have confined intrinsic value to human beings alone. The same notion permeates the law. Yet recognising the intrinsic value of other species and our broader environment is a pathway to ethical reflection and has the potential to transform our perspective. </p>
<p>In Western Australia, following community advocacy, the Shire of Augusta Margaret River has also shown leadership in this regard. Among other things, the shire’s May 2023 <a href="https://www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/getmedia/d02065a4-022b-42ec-b03b-ca9db2f7d4a8/Overarching-Sustainability-Policy-May-2023.pdf">Overarching Sustainability Policy</a> requires due regard for “the needs, rights and wisdom of Traditional Custodians” and “the rights of nature to exist, thrive and evolve”.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-traditional-owners-and-officials-came-together-to-protect-a-stunning-stretch-of-wa-coast-163078">How Traditional Owners and officials came together to protect a stunning stretch of WA coast</a>
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<h2>Caring for Country</h2>
<p>We believe these local examples give cause for optimism and a source of “<a href="https://www.environmentandsociety.org/perspectives/2019/1/slow-hope-rethinking-ecologies-crisis-and-fear">slow hope</a>”. And First Nations leadership sits at the heart of these developments. Community-led approaches are key to caring for Country, <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/indigenous/management/caring-country">something that’s also noted</a> in the latest State of the Environment report.</p>
<p>Best-practice local policy development can actively enable caring for Country and integrate it into the regulatory conversations that inform the operational plans of councils. </p>
<p>For the CSIRO First Nations Australian Peoples led research initiative <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/indigenous-knowledge/our-knowledge-our-way">Our Knowledge, Our Way</a>, connection to Country is a cultural must. For First Nations peoples, Country already has “rights”: to be cared for, respected and listened to. This is a relationship that arises organically and is entwined in the experience of being human.</p>
<p>From a Western perspective, enshrining rights of nature thinking in environmental stewardship at all levels of society is something <a href="https://www.routledge.com/A-New-Environmental-Ethics-The-Next-Millennium-for-Life-on-Earth/III/p/book/9780367477998">environmental ethicists</a> describe as essential.</p>
<p>Local communities can draw upon these two convergent lines of thinking to inform culturally sensitive collaboration. While higher levels of government are yet to introduce the principle of rights of nature into legislation, leadership at local levels is showing us it can be done. State and federal governments should take note.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra McEwan is a member of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Hewson undertook a sabbatical at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society (Ludwig Maximillian University Munich Deutschland) from September 2022 to February 2023.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rolf Schlagloth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One way to protect our ecosystems is to confer legal rights on them. This idea is at the heart of the ‘rights of nature’ movement – but Australia has few examples of this principle in action.Alexandra McEwan, Lecturer: Law, CQUniversity AustraliaMichael Hewson, Senior Lecturer Geography, CQUniversity AustraliaRolf Schlagloth, Koala Ecologist, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173582023-12-11T23:29:05Z2023-12-11T23:29:05ZPeople worry Christmas beetles are disappearing. We’re gathering citizen data to see the full picture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564735/original/file-20231211-25-tm8qr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=156%2C287%2C3621%2C2614&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-beetle-feeding-on-scrub-apple-1566097558">Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In eastern Australia, the arrival of the summer holidays has traditionally been heralded by big iridescent beetles known as <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/christmas-beetle/">Christmas beetles</a> due to their appearance during the Christmas season.</p>
<p>In recent years, public perception seems to suggest these lovely insects may no longer be arriving in high numbers.</p>
<p>Each year insect scientists like us field questions from the press and public about <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/christmas-beetles/">Christmas beetle populations</a>: where have they gone? Why have their populations shrunk? Is it climate change?</p>
<p>So have Christmas beetles really declined? With the help of people around Australia, we’re working to figure this out.</p>
<h2>What are Christmas beetles?</h2>
<p>In most of Australia, the term “Christmas beetle” refers to large beetles in the genus <em>Anoplognathus</em>. There are 36 Christmas beetle species, almost all of which are only found in Australia.</p>
<p>Christmas beetles are most common along the east coast and are found over most of the continent, except for a <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/c0b25da0-a8f0-4be8-a2c3-72cb64918aba">curious absence in the south west</a>.</p>
<p>They emerge in early summer and seek out mates, sometimes pausing to munch on eucalyptus leaves. Females lay their eggs in the soil. After a few weeks, these eggs hatch into chunky white or cream coloured larvae often known as “curl grubs”.</p>
<p>Larvae live in the soil for 1–2 years until forming a pupa and transforming into their final adult form. They then dig their way out of the ground and take to the air, starting the cycle again.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TolRQ4pXDjI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Commonly observed species like the washerwoman (<em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/01a8652e-6a29-47ef-ae90-9c87bdb5e04d">Anoplognathus porosus</a></em>) and <em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/09b5e6e4-4818-45b0-821e-960c2c41f9bf">A. olivieri</a></em> have classic Christmas beetle colouring, with flecks of iridescence across their tawny brown bodies.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a beige beetle with orange-green iridescence on its front part" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564407/original/file-20231207-23-96i7xh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The washerwoman (<em>Anoplognathus porosus</em>) Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But not all Christmas beetles are iridescent. Some, like the Granny Smith beetle (<em><a href="https://australian.museum/learn/collections/natural-science/entomology/christmas-beetles/Anoplognathus-prasinus/">A. prasinus</a></em>), are a vibrant green, while others look golden (<a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/f68e243d-2353-4f7c-90e5-4c9d8a256e43"><em>A. aureus</em></a> and <em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/9460fbc2-3b3d-4bff-b3e2-e5d6e4a96493">A. parvulus</a></em>).</p>
<p>To make things more complicated, people in Tasmania tend to use the term “Christmas beetle” to refer to the glorious golden stag beetle (<em><a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/59fede41-4359-40c9-bff7-c0cbcab02440">Lamprima aurata</a></em>). A lovely beetle to be sure – but not the kind we’re talking about.</p>
<p>Christmas beetles are also frequently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECEHmBibyAY">confused with other scarab beetles</a>, especially Argentinian lawn scarabs (<em><a href="https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/517487-Cyclocephala-signaticollis">Cyclocephala signaticollis</a></em>) which are very common in the summer, particularly in cities. Argentinian lawn scarabs are smaller than most Christmas beetles and lack the distinct thickened back legs and scoop-shaped snout.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a brown beetle with dark specks on its wings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564444/original/file-20231208-25-v6wlih.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Argentinian lawn scarab (<em>Cyclocephala signaticollis</em>) is not a Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Native flower chafers such as <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/fiddler-beetle/">fiddler beetles</a> (<em>Eupoecila australasiae</em>), <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/punctate-flower-chafer-beetle/">punctate flower chafers</a> (<em>Neorrhina punctata</em>) and <a href="https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/c88d4abd-4262-429b-b70a-428d1fb2cd8d">cowboy beetles</a> (<em>Chondropyga dorsalis</em>) are also commonly mistaken for Christmas beetles. These beautiful summer-active beetles are pollinators of native flowers.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black beetle with neon green stripes in a cool pattern on its back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564453/original/file-20231208-23-2uftxu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A native fiddler beetle (<em>Eupoecila australasiae</em>) is striking, but isn’t a Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Have Christmas beetles declined?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, we don’t have long term population data for any Christmas beetle species, so we cannot conclusively say if there’s been a decline. However, many people (including some of the authors) remember there being more Christmas beetles in the past. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of a small beige beetle with black spots all over it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=678&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564447/original/file-20231208-21-tciit6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A native punctate flower chafer (<em>Neorrhina punctatum</em>).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But memory alone is not strong enough evidence, so we’ve designed a project to help us determine the health of Christmas beetle populations. The <a href="https://invertebratesaustralia.org/christmasbeetles">Christmas Beetle Count</a> is a community science project led by conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia in collaboration with the University of Sydney.</p>
<p>We are asking the public to submit their sightings of Christmas beetles to the online database <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/">iNaturalist</a>. We can then use the data to determine which Christmas beetle species are likely to be at risk of decline or extinction. </p>
<p>So far, the project has been a roaring success. As of December 2023, over <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/christmas-beetle-count">8,000 sightings</a> have been submitted by over 4,000 people across Australia, including photos of four very rare species last sighted decades ago.</p>
<p>For one species (<em><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1443806-Anoplognathus-vietor">A. vietor</a></em>), our observers took the first known picture of a living individual – it had previously been known only from a single, dead beetle. This record was 300km away from the only site previously known for this species, suggesting it occupies a larger range than thought. </p>
<p>Sightings like these help us better understand the distribution and population health of Christmas beetles, and anyone can help.</p>
<h2>Are Christmas beetles coming back in 2023?</h2>
<p>It’s too early to determine if Christmas beetles have made a comeback this year. Between November 1 and December 8 2023, 532 “research grade” sightings of Christmas beetles have been reported, more than double from the same period last year.</p>
<p>Although the rise in reported sightings seems promising, it’s possible this increase is not due to a growing beetle population, but rather because more people are aware of the project and are actively searching for Christmas beetles.</p>
<p>We will need a few more years of data before we can say anything conclusive about Christmas beetle population trends.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The face of a beetle with red legs, big black eyes and green-yellow iridescent sheen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564448/original/file-20231208-21-za277f.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Close up, you can really appreciate the iridescent shine of a true Christmas beetle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tanya Latty</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why are Christmas beetles important?</h2>
<p>Like many insects, Christmas beetles are likely threatened by habitat loss. We can help by conserving our native bushland – Australia’s pledge to <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-committed-to-protect-30-of-australias-land-by-2030-heres-how-we-could-actually-do-it-217795">preserve 30% of land</a> is welcome news.</p>
<p>These insects play an important ecological role. Since they emerge at a predictable time of the year when many reptiles, mammals and birds are producing and raising their young, adult Christmas beetles may be an important food source for many animals. </p>
<p>The larvae of Christmas beetles tunnel through the soil helping to aerate it and to recycle organic matter. They likely serve as a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684676/">protein and fat-rich</a> meal for hungry birds, reptiles and mammals. </p>
<p>Christmas beetles are an iconic part of Australia’s natural heritage, as uniquely Australian as koalas, platypuses and kangaroos.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-kill-the-curl-grubs-in-your-garden-they-could-be-native-beetle-babies-191771">Don’t kill the curl grubs in your garden – they could be native beetle babies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya Latty co-founded and works for conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia, is former president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour and is on the Education committee for the Australian Entomological Society. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Saving our Species, and Agrifutures. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Reid received funding from the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), federal Department of Environment (2016) to produce the Xmas Beetle ID app.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hauke Koch volunteers as outreach officer for the conservation organization Invertebrates Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Mesaglio volunteers as outreach officer for the conservation organization Invertebrates Australia.</span></em></p>Each year insect scientists like us field questions from the press and public about Christmas beetle populations: where have they gone?Tanya Latty, Associate professor, University of SydneyChris Reid, Adjunct Associate Professor in Zoology, UNSW SydneyHauke Koch, Research Scientist, Environment, CSIROThomas Mesaglio, PhD candidate, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147762023-10-27T10:44:22Z2023-10-27T10:44:22ZHow to solve our mental health crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554870/original/file-20231019-21-lgmepp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=298%2C51%2C3414%2C2098&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Advert for a universal basic income (UBI) scheme in New York, May 2016. Such schemes could offer significant benefits for recipients' mental health.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BASIC_INCOME_COMMING_SOON_-_31857924093.jpg">Generation Grundeinkommen via Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When BBC journalist Rory Carson <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001m0f9">sought online consultations</a> for a potential mental health issue, three private clinics diagnosed him with <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD). They charged between £685 and £1,095 for these consultations, which lasted between 45 and 100 minutes, and all prescribed him medication.</p>
<p>ADHD is a <a href="https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/hyperactive">highly controversial disorder</a> which emerged in the US in the late 1950s during the <a href="https://theconversation.com/adhd-how-race-for-the-moon-revealed-americas-first-hyperactive-children-120393">cold war</a>, and quickly became associated with stimulant drugs such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/ritalin-at-75-what-does-the-future-hold-121591">Ritalin</a>. Now diagnosed <a href="https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/30/4/767/2919401">throughout the world</a>, ADHD is central to many debates about <a href="https://www.autisticuk.org/neurodiversity">neurodiversity</a>.</p>
<p>While Carson’s Panorama investigation into its treatment attracted <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bbc-panorama-adhd-diagnosis-twitter_uk_64621f2fe4b018d846bf19ee">plenty of criticism</a>, the fact that this disorder could apparently be diagnosed quite casually online is concerning. When he subsequently had a more rigorous (but free) three-hour, in-person consultation with an NHS psychiatrist, he was told that he did not, in fact, have ADHD.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Across the world, we’re seeing unprecedented levels of mental illness at all ages, from children to the very old – with huge costs to families, communities and economies. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/tackling-the-mental-health-crisis-147216?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=ArticleTop&utm_campaign=MentalHealthSeries">In this series</a>, we investigate what’s causing this crisis, and report on the latest research to improve people’s mental health at all stages of life.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Society’s increasing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X2300003X">awareness of mental health issues</a> and <a href="https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/analysis-rise-mental-health-demand">demand for mental health support</a> has been driven, in part, by social media and easier access to information online. While this is no bad thing in many ways, the related <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/our-new-discontents/202209/the-appeal-and-the-peril-self-diagnosis">increase in self-diagnosis</a> (including among <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X22000682">children and adolescents</a>) is clearly open to abuse by some organisations offering costly diagnoses and treatments.</p>
<p>But there is another reason for this <a href="https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/mental-health-pressures-data-analysis#:%7E:text=Mental%20health%20services%20in%20England,mental%20health%20services%20steadily%20rising.">rapid growth in private mental healthcare</a>. In England alone, the NHS spends around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/24/nhs-paying-2bn-pounds-a-year-to-private-hospitals-for-mental-health-patients">£2 billion per year</a> on private hospital care for mental health patients – equating to 13.5% of its total mental health spend. Due to the reduction in <a href="https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/hospital-beds">NHS bed provision</a>, nine out of ten privately-run mental health beds are now filled by NHS patients.</p>
<p>While the UK government says it is committed to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mental-health-services-boosted-by-150-million-government-funding">spending more money on mental health</a>, private investment companies are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/17/private-equity-nhs-hospital-crisis">reportedly</a> queuing up to “seize the opportunities offered up to them by the NHS crisis”. <a href="https://www.business-reporter.co.uk/management/tackling-the-mental-health-crisis-how-the-private-sector-can-help-improve-nhs-mental-health-services">Private providers</a> say they can do more to help avert a mental health emergency exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, yet a dozen of the <a href="https://www.carehome.co.uk/mental-health-hospitals/index.cfm/searchcountry/England/orderid/-1">80-odd</a> privately-run mental health hospitals in England were <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mental-health-hospitals-inadequate-map-cqq-b2360777.html">rated as “inadequate”</a> in the Care Quality Commission’s latest report, which has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65761273">warned of possible closures</a>.</p>
<p>As a health historian, I find our worsening <a href="https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/shameful-statistics-show-a-mental-health-crisis-that-is-spiralling-out-of-control-as-demand-far-outweighs-capacity-warns-bma">mental health crisis</a> sadly predictable. Governments around the world have been involved in tackling mental illness <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mental-disorder/Treatment-of-mental-disorders">since at least the early 19th century</a>. While not all of their attempts were successful, many important lessons remain unlearned.</p>
<p>At the heart of them is this: amid ageing populations and the spiralling <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2022/c-Mar-22/Mental-health-problems-cost-UK-economy-at-least-118-billion-a-year-new-research">costs of mental illness</a> to national economies, investing in people’s future mental health, based on what the key <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/poverty-statistics">socioeconomic factors</a> that we know are underlying it, is the only effective, long-term way to reduce this burden. As a major coalition of UK mental health organisations <a href="https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/AMentallyHealthierNation_Digital.pdf">recently reported</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The risks to mental health, and the poor outcomes that follow, do not fall evenly across the population. People living in poverty, those with physical disabilities and illnesses, people with neurodevelopmental conditions, children in care, people from racialised communities, and LGBTQ+ people all experience much poorer mental health outcomes because of intersecting disadvantage and discrimination.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This all adds up to the life expectancy of a person with a severe mental illness being about 20 years shorter than someone without a diagnosis – and that gap is getting bigger. We understand the reasons why – so why do we seem unable to do anything about it?</p>
<h2>Learning from history: the emergence of asylums</h2>
<p>The first asylum in Britain was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlem_Royal_Hospital">Bethlehem Hospital</a> near London’s Bishopsgate, which began to specialise in insanity by the 15th century. Commonly referred to as “Bedlam”, what is now Bethlem Royal Hospital was often depicted negatively – including in <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/research/features/hogarth-rakes-progress-paintings-to-prints">A Rake’s Progress</a>, a series of eight paintings by the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Painting of naked man being attended to in a madhouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554873/original/file-20231019-17-935x2j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘In The Madhouse’ (1732-1735) by William Hogarth, from his series A Rake’s Progress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Hogarth_019.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Across the Atlantic, the treatment of patients in American asylums also proved very controversial. When Ebenezer Haskell escaped the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane in 1868, he immediately sued the hospital for unjust confinement and published an <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/h367tupx/items?canvas=109">account of his ordeal</a>, writing in the foreword:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The object of these pages is … simply to speak a few plain unvarnished truths [on] behalf of the poor, helpless and suffering patients put in these [institutions], and to show why a strong and positive legislative action should be taken for their protection.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The pamphlet included depictions of Haskell being punished and tortured, sometimes in the guise of treatment. In one, he is shown naked and lying on his back on the floor, restrained by four men while another performs “<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/short-history-mental-health/201510/the-healing-waters">hydrotherapy</a>” – dumping a bucket of water on Haskell’s face as a second man stands ready with another bucket.</p>
<p>Public perceptions of the brutal forms of care provided in mental asylums – and private “<a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1660-1832/the-age-of-the-madhouse/">madhouses</a>” – continue to be heavily influenced by films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/">Shutter Island</a> (2010), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172493/">Girl, Interrupted</a> (1999) and, perhaps most notably, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/">One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</a> (1975). Such films, and the novels that inspired them, portray asylums as harsh, unforgiving places run by mostly callous or sadistic staff. While this is justified in some cases, such portrayals mask the impressive ambition, care and expense that went into the building of many asylums by governments around the world during the 19th century.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OXrcDonY-B8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The provision of care for the mentally ill has long been considered a public responsibility. In Britain, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhouses_Act_1774">1774 Madhouses Act</a> was a response to concerns about abuse in private madhouses. Soon after, the <a href="https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/history/">County Asylum Act of 1808</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunacy_Act_1845">Lunacy Act of 1845</a> were passed in England and Wales to create dedicated public facilities for the mentally ill, so they wouldn’t languish in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workhouse">workhouses</a>. Dozens of asylums began popping up all over Britain, regulated by the newly established <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioners_in_Lunacy">Lunacy Commission</a>.</p>
<p>Encouraged by the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/the-enlightenment">Age of Enlightenment</a>, which spurred the idea that science could solve most of the world’s problems, Britain was among the pioneers embracing the concept of <a href="https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/resources/brief-history-public-health">public health</a>, with governments investing in public infrastructure to prevent infectious disease. In the case of asylums, <a href="https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/inside-glasgows-abandoned-gartloch-hospital-24459623">little expense was spared</a> even for so-called “pauper lunatics”. </p>
<p>At this time, asylums would have been among the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/short-history-mental-health/201901/cathedrals-the-mind">most impressive buildings</a> people would have seen – overshadowed only by cathedrals. However controversial, they were the first concerted, state-led effort to deal with mental illness. And while few mental health experts would recommend a return to the asylum era today, they might well envy the commitment that governments in Britain and elsewhere demonstrated in the facilities they provided for their mentally ill. </p>
<h2>The disease that linked mental illness to poverty</h2>
<p>Nineteenth-century experts provided numerous explanations for insanity. Some, such as <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/b4y4n6pn">masturbation</a>, we would laugh at today. But financial insecurity, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurasthenia">overstudy and overwork</a>, or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8953002/pdf/atlantajrecmed141958-0005.pdf">problems related to giving birth</a> seem much more reasonable and still relevant. Just as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/heredity-genetics">heredity</a> was cited as a cause in the past, today we cite <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/looking-at-my-genes#:%7E:text=Certain%20mental%20disorders%20tend%20to,factors%20also%20play%20a%20role.">genetic predisposition</a>.</p>
<p>As governments began to invest more in hospital infrastructure to treat physical ills, due in particular to advancements in germ theory and surgery, asylum buildings and care standards were often left to deteriorate. In Alabama’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searcy_Hospital">Mount Vernon Insane Hospital</a>, for example, scandal surrounded the death of 57 African-American patients in 1906. But the cause of these deaths, pellagra – a disease that <a href="https://www.psychiatrist.com/blog/pellagra-niacin-deficiency-and-mental-illness/#:%7E:text=The%20relevance%20of%20pellagra%20to,it%20may%20lead%20to%20death.">can affect the brain</a> and cause severe psychiatric symptoms – has an important place in the history of public mental health treatment.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wax head-and-shoulders model of a woman with pellagra" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554936/original/file-20231020-25-pr3fqp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1061&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Waxwork model of a pellagra patient in Bologna, Italy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museo_delle_cere_anatomiche_(Bologna)_abc2_pellagra.jpg">Patafisik via Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In northern Italy from the 1850s and the American South from the 1900s, asylums were suddenly filling up with pellagra sufferers. At this time, the disease was thought to be hereditary or contagious, and those afflicted, known as pellagrins, <a href="https://www.psychiatrist.com/blog/pellagra-niacin-deficiency-and-mental-illness/#:%7E:text=The%20relevance%20of%20pellagra%20to,it%20may%20lead%20to%20death.">were shunned</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, the real reason they were succumbing to pellagra was poverty. In both regions, landowners had introduced corn due to its high yields and attractiveness as a cash crop. At the same time, in <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-22496-6">Italy</a>, a deterioration in agricultural working conditions meant that, by the 1870s, many workers relied on cheap corn for food in the form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta">polenta</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, in the post-Civil War <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6451741/">American South</a>, landowners devoted most of their property to growing cotton, leaving little room for other crops or livestock. So, tenant farmers relied on corn for food in the form of grits or <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/us-history-in-15-foods-9781350211971/">corn pone</a>, which left many suffering from malnutrition and, in particular, a severe deficiency of vitamin B3 (niacin). </p>
<p>This was the real cause of pellagra – but at this time, the role of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/science/learning-from-the-history-of-vitamins.html">vitamins</a> in health was little understood. And even when the link between people’s over-reliance on corn in their diets, lack of niacin and mental illness <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557728/">was established by scientists</a>, policymakers were hesitant to acknowledge the role of poverty and malnutrition in this explosion of mental illness.</p>
<p>In the US, New York physician Joseph Goldberger discovered the <a href="https://history.nih.gov/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8883184">link between pellagra and poor diet</a> in the mid-1910s – yet the overwhelming evidence he provided was rejected in the American South. For nearly 20 years, southerners <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25605634">were too proud</a> to accept the disease was rooted in poverty, and continued to conduct fruitless research on other causes.</p>
<p>Even today, knowing that a poor diet contributes to poor mental health is one thing; tackling the poverty that leads to a bad diet is quite another. As researchers crystallise the link between <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2167702616641050">diet and mental health</a> – now widely framed in terms of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/">gut-brain axis</a> – the need for governments to tackle the social determinants of a poor diet is <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9209/#:%7E:text=According%20to%20the%20Department%20for,%2C%20including%2021%25%20of%20children.">clear and urgent</a>. Namely, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/24/more-than-1-million-uk-children-experienced-destitution-last-year-study-finds">poverty</a> and the <a href="https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/food-insecurity">food insecurity</a> that goes with it.</p>
<h2>When governments got serious about prevention</h2>
<p>In 1929, a 13-year-old girl turned up to a Chicago social service agency, reporting that she had been raped by her brother-in-law. After a medical examination, <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-first-resort/9780231203937">her case was taken on</a> by a team of social workers who visited her and her family, all Polish immigrants. The social workers took note of the family’s financial circumstances and helped the family press charges against the rapist, who was given a prison sentence. The girl attended counselling sessions for many months.</p>
<p>The agency overseeing this case was one of hundreds of <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.16.1.22">mental hygiene and child guidance clinics</a> founded in the US during its “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era#:%7E:text=The%20Progressive%20Era%20(1896%E2%80%931917,monopoly%2C%20waste%2C%20and%20inefficiency.">Progressive Era</a>” in the early 20th century. This was a period of political reform and social activism dedicated to countering the problems associated with industrialisation, urbanisation and immigration, and these child guidance and mental hygiene movements soon spread to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Child-Guidance-in-Britain-19181955-The-Dangerous-Age-of-Childhood/Stewart/p/book/9781138662315">Britain</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5287990/">elsewhere</a>.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
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<p>Prevention was the cornerstone of these movements, which espoused that it was much more efficient <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30601725/">to prevent mental illness</a> than treat it. In the US, the clinics were often funded by charities such as the <a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/">Commonwealth Fund</a> and the <a href="https://dimes.rockarch.org/collections/kpoaALEcdxhvPyFBRby8nS">Laura Spelman Rockefeller Fund</a>. But the state played an important role too – more so in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>In Britain, social welfare departments established to run similar clinics began to hire new types of mental health worker, such as psychiatric social workers and psychiatric nurses. From the 1930s, <a href="https://www.historyandpolicy.org/docs/john_stewart.pdf">education authorities</a> became more involved in child guidance activities, which were included in the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/146642404606600204?journalCode=rsha">1944 Education Act</a>. </p>
<p>While some conclusions drawn at this time appear shocking today – some mental hygienists and child guiders, for example, were sympathetic to <a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Eugenics-and-Scientific-Racism#:%7E:text=Eugenics%20is%20the%20scientifically%20erroneous,ills%20through%20genetics%20and%20heredity.">eugenic explanations</a> for mental illness, even if they also acknowledged the role of environmental causes – overall, the existence of child guidance and mental hygiene during the first half of the 20th century demonstrates how seriously preventive mental health was taken. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-new-clues-to-how-dementia-and-alzheimers-work-in-the-brain-uncharted-brain-podcast-series-194773">Unlocking new clues to how dementia and Alzheimer's work in the brain – Uncharted Brain podcast series</a>
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<p>Today, this is not the case. As in most areas of healthcare, the majority of public and private funding for mental health is funnelled towards <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4471962/">researching and prescribing pharmaceutical treatments</a>, rather than prevention.</p>
<p>Such investment has resulted in some effective medications, such as drugs to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder - although there <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8751557/">are heated debates</a> about this. But it has also distracted from the need to prevent upstream causes of mental illness, while pharmaceutical companies continue to aggressively lobby governments and politicians <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8224875/">in the UK</a>, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2762509">US</a> and elsewhere for more funding.</p>
<h2>The peak of care in the community</h2>
<p>In 1948, American journalist Albert Deutsch’s landmark book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shame_of_the_States">The Shame of the States</a> exposed the parlous position of state-run mental hospitals throughout the US. In contrast to the good intentions that had led to the asylum era, Deutsch showed that many of these hospitals were now under-resourced, overcrowded and poorly staffed institutions characterised by deprivation, violence and abuse.</p>
<p>Around the same time, <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-first-resort/9780231203937">social psychiatry research</a> was confirming what reformers had long believed: that poor socioeconomic conditions were a <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/112828/9789241506809_eng.pdf">significant factor in the mental illness</a> suffered by millions of people.</p>
<p>Dissatisfaction with mental hospitals and faith in psychiatry’s ability to prevent mental illness led to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_mental_health_service">community mental health movement</a>. Proponents had two main arguments: that the mentally ill were best treated in their home communities, and that such illness could largely be prevented through community intervention.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">JFK’s ‘special message’ to the US on mental illness and mental retardation, February 5 1963.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the US and elsewhere, political will for radical change was strong. In February 1963, President <a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKPOF/052/JFKPOF-052-012">John F. Kennedy argued</a> that prevention should be central to the US’s approach to mental illness, highlighting the “harsh environmental conditions” in which it flourished. This momentum culminated in the 1963 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Mental_Health_Act">Community Mental Health Act</a> – the first time the US federal government had invested significantly in mental healthcare. Its ambition was to replace the traditional asylum system with some 2,000 community mental health centres, designed to both provide treatment and engage in preventive work. Fewer than 800 were ultimately built.</p>
<p>Not every psychiatrist wanted to work in community mental health, so other mental health workers were recruited including social workers, psychologists, nurses and “<a href="https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1214&context=jssw#:%7E:text=The%20indigenous%20paraprofessionals%20can%20be,those%20experienced%20by%20their%20clients.">indigenous paraprofessionals</a>” – people from the local community who lacked formal mental health qualifications. They worked closely with members of the public to help resolve the socioeconomic problems that were fuelling their poor mental health, and also liaised with schools, landlords, welfare officers, the justice system and medical professionals on behalf of their patients.</p>
<p>Yet despite their <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00125554">effectiveness</a>, indigenous paraprofessionals were often an awkward fit within community mental health centres. In New York’s South Bronx neighbourhood, for example, their attempts to unionise, receive training and be respected resulted in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5024401/">rising tensions</a> with the professional healthcare staff. Racism was one of the contributing factors, as most of these paraprofessionals were black or Latinx, while most of the professional staff were white.</p>
<p>In 1969, the South Bronx <a href="https://footagefarm.com/reel-details/personalities/albert-einstein/lincoln-hospital#/">paraprofessionals went so far as to lock out</a> their centre’s managers and run it themselves for more than two weeks, supported by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party">Black Panther Party</a> – which further irked the management. While they eventually agreed to some of the paraprofessionals’ demands, the underlying tensions were not resolved and, when funding for community mental health decreased, the budgets for paraprofessionals were the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/758837/">first to be cut</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aK_ALMA1NMk?wmode=transparent&start=19" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The story of the Lincoln Hospital occupation. Documentary by the New York Times.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By 1970, little preventive activity was occurring in community mental health centres. It turned out that President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_poverty">war on poverty</a>” was more focused on “improving” the poor than progressive structural reform. Many social psychiatrists agreed that disadvantaged people <a href="https://psyche.co/ideas/mental-health-is-not-an-individual-matter-but-a-political-one">needed to be “transformed”</a> into upstanding citizens, rather than given material resources. This centuries-old idea of <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-school-meals-debate-shows-how-victorian-attitudes-about-undeserving-poor-persist-149130">deserving and undeserving poor</a> persists today throughout most of the world.</p>
<p>In the US, an increasing number of mentally ill people became <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6479924/">homeless</a>. Others ended up <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration#:%7E:text=The%20committee%20found%20that%20the,to%20prisons%20and%20jails%20instead.">in prison</a> or in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23337214221101260">nursing homes</a>, while an increasing number were cared for <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-45360-6_12">by family members</a>. In short, this marked a gradual return to the situation prior to the asylum era, when there was little public support for the mentally ill.</p>
<h2>A shift towards treating the individual</h2>
<p>The rise and fall of community mental health in the US is a cautionary tale. In the UK too, history shows that preventive approaches to mental health are soon weakened if not accompanied by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6025145/">genuinely progressive social policies</a> that reduce poverty, inequality, racism, social isolation and community disintegration.</p>
<p>Following the election of US president Ronald Reagan in 1981 with a promise to <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10576/pdf/COMPS-10576.pdf">reduce the role of government</a> in most areas including healthcare and social support, and not long after his political soulmate Margaret Thatcher had come to power in the UK, the community mental health movement lost all momentum on both sides of the Atlantic. </p>
<p>But there was another reason for this: the publication, in 1980, of the third edition of the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/about-dsm/history-of-the-dsm">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a> (DSM-III). This “bible of psychiatry”, published by the American Psychiatric Association (a new edition emerges roughly every couple of decades), determines what constitutes a psychiatric disorder and how to diagnose it. In the US, if you want your psychiatric treatment covered by health insurance, you must be diagnosed with a disorder found in DSM.</p>
<p>Its third edition marked a major shift away from addressing mental health at a population-wide level, in favour of a focus on individual mental disorders. This led psychiatrists and patients away from environmental explanations for mental illness towards genetic and neurological explanations, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_psychiatry">biological psychiatry</a>.</p>
<p>This shift was mirrored by the rise of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopharmacology">psychopharmacology</a> – the ever-growing use of drug therapies to treat psychiatric patients. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listening_to_Prozac">Faith in these medications</a> – in particular, antidepressants such as Prozac – further reduced demands for preventive psychiatry. A <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/astounding-increase-in-antidepressant-use-by-americans-201110203624">2011 study</a> found that antidepressant use in the US roughly quadrupled over two decades from 1998. More recently, <a href="https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/antidepressant-prescribing-increases-by-35-in-six-years#:%7E:text=Prescriptions%20of%20antidepressants%20rose%20by,the%20sixth%20consecutive%20annual%20increase.&text=The%20number%20of%20antidepressants%20prescribed,annual%20increase%20in%20a%20row.">antidepressant use</a> in England rose by 35% between 2015 and 2021.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u3F928a9jdE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The role of fentanyl in the US opioid crisis. (Bloomberg)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But psychopharmacology has not proved the panacea the pharmaceutical companies promised. One <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj-2021-067606">major study in 2022</a> found that only around 15% of participants in randomised, placebo-controlled trials experienced a substantial antidepressant effect. The fact that long-term use of antidepressants is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X13001454?casa_token=Ti1Ee8v4NagAAAAA:0aYFC0HuA-2CjPooL5_Lxhl8MHSYnQYqIMd0nza66klDbCT6Fz8iLJgs34R3ijoCGZnYaKkHJVk">likely to cause side effects</a>, such as weight gain and sexual dysfunction, also raises questions about their widespread use.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html">opioid crisis</a> in the US indicates that we cannot rely on pharmaceutical companies to always do what is in our best interest. Sadly, it has also showed us that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448203/#:%7E:text=Three%20million%20US%20citizens%20and,in%20a%20year%20time%20period.">millions of Americans</a>, and countless millions more around the world, are struggling to cope with mental as well as physical pain, and are desperate for solutions.</p>
<h2>The dangers of privatised mental healthcare</h2>
<p>In the UK, US and most other countries, there has probably never been more awareness of mental health issues among the general public – particularly in the wake of the COVID pandemic, whose impact on mental health has often led <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/27/covid-pandemic-mental-health">media headlines</a> and dominated <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/coronavirus-research/">scientific discussions</a>.</p>
<p>There is also much better evidence for what works – including, for example, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5942544/">efficacy of talking therapies</a>. In part because of concerns about the overprescription and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6998955/">ineffectiveness</a> of drugs used to treat mental illness, the 21st century has seen a growth in popularity of talking therapies such as <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/#:%7E:text=work%20for%20me%3F-,What%20is%20CBT%3F,affect%20your%20feelings%20and%20actions.">cognitive behavioural therapy</a> (CBT) in the west.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cycle diagram explaining cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554939/original/file-20231020-29-wl67fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cycle diagram explaining cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/cbt-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cycle-diagram-320312924">artellia/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, accessing state-provided psychoanalytic treatments is very difficult, particularly in less well-off regions. In the UK, average waiting times for the NHS’s <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/nhs-talking-therapies/">Talking Therapies</a> programme <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/25/mental-health-care-postcode-lottery-nhs-talking-therapies">vary enormously</a> depending on where you live. There are nearly <a href="https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2017/09/11/postcode-lottery-for-psychiatric-care">three times</a> as many NHS consultant psychiatrists per 100,000 people in parts of London than there are in Yorkshire. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/child-mental-health-waiting-times-b1972830.html">Vulnerable children</a> in some parts of the UK can wait two years for a first appointment, while those elsewhere are seen within a week.</p>
<p>Overall, while the number of successful referrals for talking therapies such as CBT have increased since the NHS programme’s inception in 2008, so have demands, and it has recently been <a href="https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/improving-access-to-psychological-therapies-iapt-programme">missing its targets</a> by about a third. As a result, an increasing number of people are reported to be seeking <a href="https://www.mentalhealthtoday.co.uk/news/awareness/rise-in-demand-for-private-counsellors-as-patients-say-nhs-waiting-lists-are-too-long">private treatment</a> – despite the expense, and amid concerns about the reliability of some services offering these treatments.</p>
<p>As with physical health services, people also opt out of the NHS by purchasing private health insurance or <a href="https://www.totalhealth.co.uk/blog/waiting-list-fast-passes">waiting list “fast passes”</a>. All of this creates a <a href="https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/state-of-health-and-care-2022">two-tier system</a> that undermines the principles of universality and accessibility that are meant to underpin the NHS.</p>
<p>Most private mental health providers, like drug companies, are also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/04/who-profits-private-providers-health-services-nhs-70">motivated by profit</a> and the demands of their shareholders. It is not in their interest to invest in preventive strategies with long-term, non-<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/commoditization.asp">commoditisable</a> outcomes. Equally, with people living longer and <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/older-people-statistics#:%7E:text=Depression%20affects%20around%2022%25%20of,at%20all%20from%20the%20NHS.&text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20the,predicted%20to%20double%20by%202030.">populations ageing rapidly</a>, the future cost of not investing in preventive mental healthcare that makes a difference across whole populations will only grow with every year that passes. The onus is on governments to act now.</p>
<h2>Three preventive strategies</h2>
<p>The annual <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2022/c-Mar-22/Mental-health-problems-cost-UK-economy-at-least-118-billion-a-year-new-research">cost of mental illness</a> to the UK economy is estimated to be at least £117.9 billion, or 5% of the UK’s annual GDP. Almost three-quarters of this cost is <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/MHF-Investing-in-Prevention-Full-Report.pdf">explained</a> by the lost productivity of people living with mental health conditions and the unpaid, informal carers who look after them.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/barnardos-calls-government-provide-missing-link-youth-mental-health-support">new report</a> by the children’s charity Barnardo’s has called for a national strategy for <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-10/report-missing-link-social-prescribing-children-young-people.pdf">social prescribing</a>, suggesting that “every pound spent on helping young people access activities and support in the community could save nearly twice as much in dealing with longer-term mental health problems”.</p>
<p>There are many different potential strategies that could be introduced. Here are three of my favoured options – based not only on new research into the social determinants of health, but also on <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-98699-9">historical approaches to preventive mental healthcare</a>.</p>
<p><strong>1. To address malnutrition, eradicate food inequality</strong></p>
<p>Today, we are returning to an idea that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_diet_in_ancient_medicine">physicians of the past</a> would have taken for granted: that food is a major contributor to our <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/diet-and-mental-health">brain’s health</a>, as well as our body’s. New research on diet and mental health often centres on the “<a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection">gut-brain axis</a>”: a varied diet consisting of whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables is thought to provide the type of bacteria needed to maintain good <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190218-how-the-bacteria-inside-you-could-affect-your-mental-health">gut-brain health</a>.</p>
<p>But people in deprived communities often live in so-called “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/12/more-than-a-million-uk-residents-live-in-food-deserts-says-study">food deserts</a>”, where most of the food available is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001mp67/panorama-ultraprocessed-food-a-recipe-for-ill-health">highly processed</a>, <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/an-alternative-history-of-hyperactivity/9780813550169">laden with chemicals</a> and high in sugar, salt and fat. A bolder approach to food policy is needed that ensures everyone has access to healthy food – and the skills and means to prepare it.</p>
<p>During the first world war, <a href="https://drbryceevans.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/the-national-kitchens-of-ww1/">national kitchens</a> were established to provide people with inexpensive, healthy food in attractive communal settings. The <a href="https://www.hippocraticpost.com/poverty/bring-back-wartime-era-national-kitchens/">return of such facilities</a> would be welcome today amid the cost of living crisis – and they could also play a role in preventing mental illness.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Women serving food to children around a long table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554942/original/file-20231020-17-a2se2z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A first world war ‘national kitchen’ serving children in Kent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ministry_of_Information_First_World_War_Official_Collection_Q30637.jpg">Imperial War Museums via wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2. To address poverty, introduce universal basic income</strong></p>
<p>Interest in <a href="https://theippo.co.uk/basic-income-what-is-it-and-what-it-isnt/">universal basic income schemes</a> (UBI) – which provide everyone with a guaranteed income with no conditions attached – surged during the pandemic, when many countries introduced furlough or other income replacement schemes. Although UBI pilots have rarely studied mental health specifically, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621007061">there is still evidence</a> that a secure and sufficient income improves the mental health of participants.</p>
<p>UBI could <a href="https://www.thersa.org/reports/universal-basic-income-anxiety-depression-mental-health-crisis-interim-report">prevent mental illness</a> in <a href="https://www.compassonline.org.uk/publications/treating-causes-not-symptoms-basic-income-as-a-public-health-measure/">numerous ways</a> – from alleviating the stress associated with financial insecurity and which can cause <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6491771/">inflammation</a> in the brain, to reducing so-called <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31172197/">diseases of despair</a> that are associated with rising inequality, including the damaging <a href="https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/CPAG-Povertyarticle-stigma-0213.pdf">stigma</a> associated with welfare benefits (and the stress for people who work in the welfare system as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spol.12527">gatekeepers</a>).</p>
<p>It would also show people currently working as <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helping-someone-else/carers-friends-family-coping-support/your-mental-health/">unpaid carers</a> that their labour is valued. Many people find that <a href="https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2022/11/28/why-volunteering-can-benefit-your-mental-health/">volunteering</a> benefits their mental health, and the efforts of volunteers <a href="https://independentsector.org/resource/value-of-volunteer-time/">contribute significantly</a> to our communities. But it is often a privilege for those with time and money. A UBI would empower everyone to contribute to rebuilding their communities.</p>
<p><strong>3. To tackle depression and isolation, get in touch with nature</strong></p>
<p>During the COVID lockdowns, many people remarked how <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00282-0/fulltext">spending time in nature</a> was their <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001ng76">salvation</a>. This built on <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/our-cause/nature-climate/nature-conservation/everyone-needs-nature">existing evidence</a> about the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-marine-biological-association-of-the-united-kingdom/article/blue-gym-what-can-blue-space-do-for-you-and-what-can-you-do-for-blue-space/2409C4FCED48391786A65146D8A5C51D">positive impact</a> nature can have on our mental health.</p>
<p>However, much like access to healthy food, not everyone has <a href="https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/journals/land-journal/why-access-to-nature-is-a-social-justice-issue-.html">access</a> to natural beauty. Governments could do a great deal to reduce this inequality – for example, by providing inexpensive or free public transportation to national parks and other places of natural beauty. A priority should be ensuring that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/mar/01/improving-childrens-access-nature-addressing-inequality-bame-low-income-backgrounds">children from deprived urban backgrounds</a> have regular access to nature.</p>
<p>In addition, more can be done to create new areas of natural beauty while protecting existing areas. Schemes that tackle biodiversity loss and climate change would reduce the <a href="https://wellcome.org/news/explained-how-climate-change-affects-mental-health">clear impact</a> these issues have on some people’s mental health – in part because worries about the climate are also known to trigger <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/240094/what-impact-climate-crisis-having-mental/">anxiety and depression</a>.</p>
<h2>Governments have a critical role to play</h2>
<p>Responsibility for mental health should not lie solely with the individual. Sure, most of us can do something to improve our own mental wellbeing. But our lifetime mental health course is largely determined by socioeconomic, genetic and other factors, such as exposure to traumatic events, that may be mostly out of our control.</p>
<p>As centuries of evidence have shown us, governments play a <a href="https://www.gov.wales/review-evidence-socio-economic-disadvantage-and-inequalities-outcome-summary-html">critical role</a> in creating the socioeconomic conditions that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/27/policy-must-tackle-root-causes-of-englands-record-mental-ill-health-says-report">determine the mental health of their citizens</a>. Yet, relatively speaking, many are doing less to address this today than they were decades ago. Until and unless this changes, state health providers such as the NHS will never be able to cope with the resulting demand for individual treatments. Those fortunate enough to do so will turn to the private sector. But what about everyone else?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-new-clues-to-how-dementia-and-alzheimers-work-in-the-brain-uncharted-brain-podcast-series-194773?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Unlocking new clues to how dementia and Alzheimer’s work in the brain – Uncharted Brain podcast series
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/existential-crisis-how-long-covid-patients-helped-us-understand-what-its-like-to-lose-your-sense-of-identity-and-purpose-in-life-211223?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Existential crisis: how long COVID patients helped us understand what it’s like to lose your sense of identity and purpose in life
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<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/gp-crisis-how-did-things-go-so-wrong-and-what-needs-to-change-208197?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">GP crisis: how did things go so wrong, and what needs to change?
</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/its-like-being-in-a-warzone-aande-nurses-open-up-about-the-emotional-cost-of-working-on-the-nhs-frontline-194197?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">‘It’s like being in a warzone’ – A&E nurses open up about the emotional cost of working on the NHS frontline</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/loneliness-loss-and-regret-what-getting-old-really-feels-like-new-study-157731?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Loneliness, loss and regret: what getting old really feels like – new study
</a></em></p></li>
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Smith receives funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the AHRC and the Wellcome Trust. He is affiliated with the Scottish Green Party. </span></em></p>Investing in people’s future mental health, based on the key socioeconomic factors underlying it, is the only way to address this rising problem.Matthew Smith, Professor in Health History, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158342023-10-24T15:13:23Z2023-10-24T15:13:23ZLife on Our Planet: evolution experts review this ‘hugely entertaining’ Netflix docuseries<p>Netflix’s beautifully realised historical biography of life certainly has ambition. Perhaps <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1696512">4 billion species</a> have existed in as many years of Earth’s history: an embarrassment of riches for eight 50-minute episodes.</p>
<p>To make sense of this, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80213846">Life on Our Planet</a> focuses on some remarkable turning points. The evolution of photosynthesis, multi-cellular animals, skeletons, legs and big brains are innovations that created opportunities for life to diversify and modify its environment in radically new ways.</p>
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<p>Underlying all this, the inexorable movement of the continents repeatedly changed the stage. Sometimes, landmasses clustered together producing vast, harsh deserts, and sometimes they broke apart – as now – yielding a richer variety of environments that harbour vastly greater diversity. This interplay between biology and geology is the narrative thread throughout the series.</p>
<p>Life on Our Planet has some important messages about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-reassuring-to-think-humans-are-evolutions-ultimate-destination-but-research-shows-we-may-be-an-accident-201048">nature of evolution</a> and our own future. Here are the three we think most important.</p>
<p><strong>1. Nothing is ever perfect</strong></p>
<p>Every schoolkid knows that <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-natural-selection.html">natural selection</a> favours those most able to reproduce, and thereby shapes the genetics of all species. However, this honing process is far from perfect, and <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en/news/all-species-can-go-extinct-and-so-can-humans">all species ultimately go extinct</a>.</p>
<p>Not only does the physical environment change, but other species – predators, parasites and competitors – are always out to get you. Species are constantly evolving to catch up, but they never do. As the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/red-queen-hypothesis">Red Queen</a> in Lewis Carroll’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Through-the-Looking-Glass">Through the Looking Glass</a> observed: “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.”</p>
<p>But it’s worse than that. Not all evolution results from natural selection. Much occurs by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/heredity-genetics/Random-genetic-drift">random drift</a>, so many traits probably have no advantage, but are merely coincidental to those that do. Random effects may even be vital for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripatric_speciation">some modes of speciation</a>.</p>
<p>The palaeobiologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould">Stephen Jay Gould</a> warned against interpreting all biological structures <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spandrels_of_San_Marco_and_the_Panglossian_Paradigm">as though perfectly refined by evolution</a> for some particular function. But Life on Our Planet does adopt this flawed, <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/adaptationism/">adaptationist</a> world view at times, usually in pursuit of a dramatic narrative. </p>
<p><strong>2. The past is the key to the future</strong></p>
<p>Follow your family tree back about 12,000 generations and you are somewhere near the origin of our species. Go back perhaps 300,000 generations and you will find your many-times great grandmother shared with a chimpanzee. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article/70/4/873/6852224">Around 80 million years ago</a>, your tree merges with that of the family dog.</p>
<p>Every species today therefore carries an enormous weight of evolutionary baggage. Amazingly, our embryos imperfectly “run through” some of these ancient evolutionary precursors. Early in fetal development, we temporarily bear the gill slits and post-anal tail of our fish forbears. </p>
<p>Our genes and bodies contain the imprints of the past, and these often limit the ways in which we can evolve in the future. Some things have simply “got stuck” for no particularly good adaptive reason that we can fathom.</p>
<p>Nearly all mammals – from humans to giraffes – have just seven vertebrae in their neck, no matter how long or impressive. Conversely, our distant cousins the birds (about 320 million years removed) evolved different numbers of neck bones – 10 in parrots, 26 in swans – in response to selection. </p>
<p>As development becomes more complicated, there are more interdependent parts (gene products and structures), and these tend to <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/pleiotropy-one-gene-can-affect-multiple-traits-569/">serve more than one function</a>. With time, it becomes increasingly difficult to change one thing for the better without detrimental effects elsewhere. Much like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenga">Jenga</a>, it’s hard to build a taller tower by taking blocks from lower down.</p>
<p><strong>3. Nothing lasts forever</strong></p>
<p>The story of Life on Our Planet is punctuated by five mass extinctions, each triggered by different events. Animals and plants today are just the uppermost tips of vast, otherwise extinct “icebergs” of biodiversity, 99% of which lie submerged in deep time and are known only from fossils. </p>
<p>Many once-dominant branches of the tree of life – like the <a href="https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-arthropod-story/exoskeleton-and-the-jointed-limb/trilobites-excellent-exoskeletons/">armoured trilobites</a> and the <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/pterosauria.html">flying pterosaurs</a> – have no descendants. Others, like the egg-laying mammals (monotremes) and the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/largetooth-sawfish">largetooth sawfish</a>, are just hanging on by a thread.</p>
<p>The asteroid impact shown in episode six that <a href="https://theconversation.com/dinosaurs-could-have-avoided-mass-extinction-if-the-killer-asteroid-had-landed-almost-anywhere-else-87109">exterminated most dinosaurs</a> (and 75% of other species) is the best known and most recent mass extinction, but wasn’t the biggest. Episode two showcases an unprecedented and unsustainable planktonic bloom in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Devonian-extinctions">late Devonian</a> (360 million years ago). As the plankton died, bacteria harvested their remains, turning the oceans anoxic (depleted in oxygen). This catalysed the demise of ammonites, sharks and armoured fishes such as the colossal <a href="https://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/vert/placoderm/dunkleosteus/index.htm">Dunkleosteus</a>, and the ocean became a sickly green graveyard. </p>
<p>Worse still, 252 million years ago (as shown in episode three), vast upwellings of magma burned through the Earth’s crust over millions of square miles of Siberia. The ensuing “<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/the-great-dying/">great dying</a>” saw the loss of 96% of the planet’s marine species. The volcanic outgassing of greenhouse CO₂ raised Earth’s temperature by 10 degrees, while SO₂ caused acid rain that washed away entire ecosystems.</p>
<p>Despite different ultimate causes, <a href="https://theconversation.com/which-species-will-survive-the-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-47893">the real damage in every mass extinction</a> results from environmental changes that are too fast for organisms to adapt to. The subtext throughout the series is a warning: humans are driving swings in Earth’s climate that will catastrophically deplete the biodiversity on which we all depend.</p>
<h2>Should I watch it?</h2>
<p>We hope that you do. Life on Our Planet highlights the richness of Earth’s biodiversity, as well as the achingly long geological timescales it needed to evolve. It’s also hugely entertaining, with all the prehistoric stand-offs you could wish for, irresistibly narrated by the Christmas-pudding-rich tones of Morgan Freeman. But Life on Our Planet really excels when explaining the dynamic relationship between Earth and its organisms – showing how the two are inextricably intertwined. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Wills receives funding from BBSRC, NERC, The Leverhulme Trust and the John Templeton Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Rock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Life on Our Planet has some important messages about the nature of evolution, and what the future may hold for us.Tim Rock, PhD Candidate in Biology, University of BathMatthew Wills, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.