[Scpg] Designer Ecosystems are Now in Vogue By David Suzuki Environmental News Network

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/061004G.shtml
http://www.enn.com/news/2004-06-08/s_24520.asp (original article)


     Designer Ecosystems are Now in Vogue
     By David Suzuki
     Environmental News Network

     Tuesday 08 June 2004

     We have designer clothes and designer perfumes. Now we need designer
ecosystems - at least according to a group of scientists writing a report
in the journal Science.

     The authors argue that humans have so monumentally interfered with the
planet's natural systems that we have to stop focusing on the fewer and
fewer remaining undisturbed ecosystems on Earth. Instead, they say, we need
to focus a lot more on the services nature provides and how to modify
ecosystems to make sure they can continue to provide these services in a
human-dominated world.

     It's an interesting idea. Natural services are essential for human
survival. Even with all our ingenuity, we cannot artificially recreate the
systems that have evolved over 4 billion years on this planet to build the
very conditions necessary for life to exist.

     As far as we know, ours is the only planet in the entire universe to
have accomplished this monumental task. From water filtration to climate
stability and soil fertility, there is an intelligence embedded in these
natural systems that we are only just beginning to fathom.

     At the same time, human activities are pushing the capacity of these
systems to their limits. And with a projected population of 9 billion by
2050, we cannot afford to continue with business as usual.

     With this in mind, the authors bring up two very important points.
First, the knowledge that we do have about ecosystem services is not widely
disseminated, and it is certainly not being acted upon.

     For example, we have known for some time about the importance of city
green spaces for water filtration. Plants and soil are essential in helping
remove impurities from our water. Yet, rarely is this knowledge
incorporated into urban design. Instead, we funnel rainwater from our roads
and rooftops into concrete drainage systems that empty directly into our
lakes and rivers - causing tremendous pollution.

     Second, as the authors point out, all the scientific knowledge in the
world won't protect natural services unless the public understands that
they are vital to our health and well being. Without the public bringing
sufficient pressure to bear on our political and business leaders, those
leaders are unlikely to make the policy changes needed to ensure the
protection of ecosystem services.

     But for all its value, the report does miss some key points. First, the
analysis provides barely any sense of how little we actually know. We are
only just beginning to understand how our complicated natural systems work.

     We don't even have an adequate grasp of how many species there are on
the planet or what they do.

     Also missing is the crucial point that there are still intact
ecosystems providing important services to humanity. Large parts of the
Amazon basin and Canada's boreal forest are still fairly pristine. These
forests are extremely important resources for life diversity and climate
stability.

     Removal of their forest cover would have profound repercussions in
terms of global weather patterns and climate change. Even small patches of
relatively undisturbed ecosystems in or near our cities are extremely
valuable in terms of providing refuge for wildlife.

     Extreme caution is also necessary around the very idea of designing
ecosystems. Generally, minimal interference has proven to be the best
policy. In fact, whenever humans have tried to design or modify ecosystems
in the past, it has usually resulted in disaster. Ecosystems are incredibly
complicated. We barely know how parts of these systems function, let alone
the whole. For example, when we have introduced alien species, we have
inadvertently caused a host of other unexpected problems.

     Still, any discussion of natural services is very important. The value
of these services is largely ignored in our current economic and political
systems. We treat them as though they are free and limitless, when in fact
they are invaluable and irreplaceable.

     And although designer ecosystems may be necessary one day, more
important are thoughtfully designed human systems, from our cities to our
energy sources and our agriculture. It's much easier to learn to live
within the natural systems we have now than to try to desperately redesign
the ones we have left later.

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