Innovation
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Business
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Main Content
Technological Harmony
Human advancement has without a doubt disturbed the natural order in the wild, can it now fix some of the mistakes made?
The fury of Mother Earth is known in its various forms throughout the world. From tsunamis that barely give a minute of warning before striking to inescapable earthquakes registering at 7.0 on the Richter Scale, her forces show no mercy to the victims on the path of destruction. Toppling buildings, uprooting roads and killing thousands, natural disasters manage to simultaneously evoke fear and fascination among the general population. In many cases coming as a surprise and unpredictable at their very core they create a sense of urgency and present a need for often unattainable answers. Proving to be inexplicable in the path they take or the magnitude they reach, natural disasters have also been blamed for the biggest extinction mankind has ever come to discover – dinosaurs.
The reptiles that once roamed the planet disappeared at what is hypothesised to be an extremely fast pace, leaving nothing behind but a few skeletons that now fill museums of natural history in various cities. Their vanishing act has been attributed to everything from climate change to meteorites, with no way for paleontologist to actually ascertain with complete conviction what took place some 65 million years ago. What scientists do agree on, however, is the trend of extinction that the dinosaurs merely exemplify. Throughout Earth’s history, certain species have died out. Failing to adapt quickly enough in the natural world translated into countless animals or plants vanishing from the ecosystem of which they had been a staple. The process is endemic to the cycle of life and the transitions that occur are hardly out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, thanks to human intervention, both unintentional and deliberate, the extinction of species has accelerated as an increasing number of wildlife find themselves on the endangered lists.
Exotic animals such as the Bengalese tiger or the African elephant are among those that are dwindling in numbers. Prized in many cultures for what they represent in the spiritual realm, for many others they signify nothing more than a coveted possession. Items made of ivory for instance are also status symbols in certain societies, obtained at any cost necessary. The result has been far from positive as authorities seize either parts of endangered animals or their whole bodies, sometimes even alive. The black market for such trade is projected to be growing and despite efforts it often proves ineffectual due to misidentification by border controls. Remedies to assuage the situation and sustain species that are currently teetering on the verge of disappearances are difficult to come by, but not impossible to uncover.
Based in Canada and including participants from 25 countries, the International Barcode of Life (iBOL) initiative aims to put a stop to the negative impact of human interference on nature. By producing an individual DNA barcode extracted from a genome in a specific tissue for all species of wildlife, including those that are endangered and even extinct, the project hopes to categorise all of the data collected. The resulting Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) databank would be publically available, serving educational, preservationist and legal purposes.
“We are only beginning to scratch the surface of how DNA barcoding will impact the way we live, work and play,” said iBOL Scientific Director, Dr. Paul Hebert.
The iBOL plan to help ensure the black market for products from endangered species becomes smaller is supplemented by other initiatives that focus on the smart use of technology to preserve natural habitats and the flora and fauna that rely on them. Save Our Species, an endeavour embarked on by the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), hopes that by 2020 it will manage to successfully combat the degradation of natural areas, particularly those impacted by logging and plantation or farm extension. By ensuring that coastal areas and water supplies remain intact, SOS hopes to exemplify the importance that should be placed on the natural habitats, for the wildlife that live within them and for humanity as a whole.
The goals set out by iBOL and SOS are lofty, but the atmosphere for protection of the environment is riper than in years past. Contrasting to the ill received Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009, the 2010 International Children’s Conference on the Environment in Nagoya alongside the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity were seen favourably. They produced positive responses and a set of protocols meant to enhance cooperation that would be of benefit for the natural habitats and society. The positive message that emerged was the ability for humans to live in harmony with nature without sacrificing advancement. Whether this will actually translate to substantial benefits for wildlife remains to be seen, but more so, the success of the display of good will depends on how long it will sustain itself in a world where the concrete jungle rules over nature.