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Transformative Change of our Relationship with Nature: Key to Saving Global Biodiversity

Credit: Mila Drumeva / iStock

By Arun Agrawal, Lucas Garibaldi, and Karen O’Brien
BONN, Germany, Jul 4 2023 – To most people, ‘transformative change’ is an abstract academic catchphrase. But transformative change is far more than that. It is the foundational response necessary to address the global crisis of biodiversity loss that threatens the wellbeing of every person in every community – and every species in every region.

Species of plants and animals around the world are going extinct at a rate at least tens to hundreds of times greater than the average over the past 10 million years. A million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction. Seventy five percent of our global land surface and 66% of the ocean area has been significantly altered by human activity. Rapid increases in greenhouse gas emissions, consumption patterns and an extraordinary concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small minority are profoundly damaging nature’s contributions to people. They threaten the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. We are on the path towards a disastrous future.

But altering course to achieve a sustainable, just, and prosperous world is possible. Getting to such a world requires different choices. It requires transformative change. There is broad scientific consensus that justice and equity are integrally connected with sustainability. This means that halting and reversing biodiversity loss will not be accomplished by small, slow, incremental changes. Deep, structural, and rapid changes, are necessary and possible. They will entail both individual and collective action. They will span behavioural, social, cultural, economic, institutional, technical and technological dimensions.

To succeed, transformative change must begin now. Shifts towards greater justice, equity and sustainability require clear evidence on how transformative change comes about – especially how it can lead to a fairer distribution of resources, capacities and benefits for socially, economically and politically disadvantaged and marginalised groups. This knowledge exists. Evidence and strategies that translate knowledge about transformations into actions for transformations are needed. The transformative change assessment aims to pinpoint the necessary evidence and strategies.

Representatives of the 139 member States of IPBES, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, tasked the world’s leading experts to undertake a thematic assessment of transformative change over more than four years. The aim is to better understand and identify the specific elements of human society that can be leveraged to bring about transformative change for the conservation, restoration, and wise use of biodiversity, taking into account broader social and economic goals in the context of sustainable development.

The transformative change assessment process is now well advanced. Due to be considered by IPBES member States in 2024, and published thereafter, the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment Report will provide the knowledge and policy options to help governments, decision-makers, organisations and even individuals to better understand and act to address the drivers of change that link biodiversity loss with social, economic, political and cultural dimensions.

The report will highlight specific actionable options to meet the targets of the newly adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The assessment draws on more than 10,000 sources – including scientific publications, government data, as well as vital indigenous and local knowledge. It explores diverse case studies of historical transformations and examines quantitative evidence on past and ongoing transformations. It investigates the likely trajectories of change into the future and how to turn away from the catastrophic path on which we are currently marching. This evidence will allow the assessment and its audiences to pinpoint the drivers and consequences of transformations, avoid potential pitfalls to ensure nature-positive changes, and propel the planet towards sustainability and wellbeing.

Transformative change is not only an environmental issue. It is also a social, economic and justice issue. Creating an equitable world that recognizes the fundamental interdependence of human well-being and the health of the natural world is simultaneously about creating a world that is sustainable, resilient and prosperous for all people and all nature.

About the Authors:

Dr. Arun Agrawal is a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, USA.

Dr. Lucas Garibaldi is a professor at the Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro and a researcher for the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina.

Dr. Karen O’Brien is a professor at the University of Oslo, Norway.

IPS UN Bureau

 


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Excerpt:

The writers are Co-Chairs of the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment

Quest for Safe Water in One of India’s Most Isolated Villages

Simita Devi, whose daughter spent days in hospital recently suffering from typhoid caused by contaminated water, collects clean water brought to the surface by a solar pump. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

Simita Devi, whose daughter spent days in hospital recently suffering from typhoid caused by contaminated water, collects clean water brought to the surface by a solar pump. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah
Champad, India, Jul 4 2023 – Simita Devi spent over ten days in a government-run hospital a year ago anxiously watching her critically ill nine-year-old daughter, Gudiya, who was diagnosed with typhoid.

Gudiya was so sick she even went into a coma for a day. Medical staff attending to the child said she contracted the disease from drinking contaminated water.

After being discharged, Devi’s main worry was to get safe drinking water for her ailing daughter.

She was advised not to consume water from village wells or untested sources like river streams or springs.

Hailing from Champad, a tribal village in India’s Jharkhand state, Devi works as a daily wage labourer alongside her husband. With a limited income, Devi couldn’t afford packaged drinking water for her daughter.

She then decided to boil the water using firewood to make it safe to drink. But to get the firewood, she had to trek the treacherous terrains of the nearby forests – a long, difficult work and the fear of wild animals loomed.

It was not Devi alone impacted by contaminated water, it was making many people in her village ill, and there was nothing the inhabitants could do about it.

According to government records, 80% of India’s rural drinking water comes from underground sources. One-third of India’s 600 districts do not have safe drinking water because fluoride, iron, salinity, and arsenic concentrations exceed tolerance levels. India’s water quality is poor, ranking at 120 of 122 nations.

The solar panels on the water tower have meant clean waters for the villagers of Champad, a tribal village in India’s Jharkhand. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

The solar panels on the water tower have meant clean waters for the villagers of Champad, a tribal village in India’s Jharkhand. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

Experts believe that the source of these heavy metals is industrial waste being dumped untreated into water systems and nitrates which surface due to excessive and prolonged use of fertilizers. The government estimates that every year, over one lakh (100,000) people die of waterborne diseases in the country.

Champad, a village inhabited by a tribal community, has 105 households per the 2011 census. Until 2022, the community depended on only two tube wells as their source of drinking water. However, these tube wells often experienced malfunctions, leaving the villagers with no choice but to fetch water from a nearby river or pond. Consequently, there has been a rise in waterborne diseases, particularly affecting the health of women and children. The need to travel long distances for safe drinking water has increased women’s workload, increasing their workload.

Perturbed by the threat of waterborne diseases, the village locals congregated earlier this year to try to find a solution. They at first visited the local politicians for help. Then they headed towards government offices. “Nothing happened—absolutely nothing. We were virtually left high and dry. Except for God, no one is there to help us. At times, we were told to wait, and at times, we were told that government funding wasn’t available. But we were slowly dying. Our children are suffering in front of our own eyes,” Ram Singh, a local villager at Champad, told IPS.

Earlier this year, a team from a non-governmental agency working to uplift rural areas in India visited the village to assess the villagers’ hardships.

The agency then mooted the idea of a solar water tower in the village. The villagers were made aware of the process involved in the tower’s construction and that government approval for the facility was needed.

The village representatives were taken on board, and a proposal was submitted to the water department of the district.

“Government liked the idea, and it was readily approved. The entire village worked together to make the project a success story,” says a member of the humanitarian agency who wished to remain anonymous.

The towers were equipped with solar panels, enabling them to operate sustainably and with minimal environmental impact. The selection of sites for the towers was a collaborative effort involving the village communities. The first solar water tower was constructed in February 2023, while work on the other two towers is still ongoing. As a result, 45 families now directly benefit from the convenience of having clean drinking water channelled to their homes through pipelines. The water provided is of good quality and considered safe, in contrast to the open well water that was previously relied upon. This development has significantly alleviated the burden on women, who no longer have to travel long distances to fetch water from various sources.

The impact of this intervention was significant. The community’s health improved, and they were no longer at risk of waterborne illnesses. The women and children, who were often responsible for collecting water from distant sources, could now spend their time on other activities. The community’s overall quality of life improved, and they could focus on their livelihoods and education.

For Simita Devi, the facility is no less than a major solace in her life. She excitedly uses this water for drinking and thanks God for such an endeavour.

“Safe water means life for us. The solar tower has become a messiah for poor villagers like us. We will cherish the moments for life when we find its water coming to our homes,” Devi told IPS.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 


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