Biodiversity

«Biodiversity is the driver of the farm. If I'm asked "What do you grow?", I say "Biodiversity". The vegetables are a by-product. (...) What I'm trying to do here is to copy the forest." To make farming work, "we need to restore a forest soil ecology, aligning farming with the original ecosystem. (...) Small farmers around the world are seeking such solutions, and have come together to build a global agroecology movement." George Monbiot (2023). Regenesis: Feeding the World without devouring the Planet. Photo by Monica Pinheiro CC BY-NC-SA (CC) May 12, 2024.

Success

"The Natural World definition of success is not keeping offspring alive in a generation. Success is keeping offspring alive for 10 000 generations or more. This is the magic of Nature." But since "you are not going to be here to take care of 10 000 generations from now, what organisms learned to do, is to take care of the place, that's going to take care of their offspring. (...) Life has learned to create conditions conducive to life (...) that's also the design brief to us. We have to learn to do that." in Biomimicry video from Biomimicry Institute. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA.

November

"Fighting to save our life supporting systems isn't radical at all. Believing that civilization as we know it can survive a 2.7 degree or a three degree hotter world, on the other hand, is not only extremely radical, it's pure madness." Greta Thunberg's speech on COP26. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

The choice is (still) ours to make

To form a collective will, a «We», "will require the critical production and sharing of knowledge, resistance to flattening aesthetic diversity, and the invention of sustainable models that don´t threaten the viability of the whole, whether economically or ecologically, socially or institutionally" and "asserting a new biocentric imperative for living, producing, and consuming. (...) The choice is (still) ours to make." T.J. Demos (2016). Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Art and the Politics of Ecology.  Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

July

"Fully integrate biodiversity values into policies, regulations, planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies, accounts, and assessments of environmental impacts at all levels of government and across all sectors of the economy, ensuring that all activities and financial flows are aligned with biodiversity values." See New Global Framework for Managing Nature Through 2030: 1st Detailed Draft Agreement Debuts. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC )

2021 11 16 Note: follow up on the Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

June

 

"So, what is your vision? What do you really want? What would make this a world that would make you excited to get up in the morning and go to work in it? (...) What kind of world would that be?" in «Final Warning Limits to Growth». Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May

From nothing to something. The power of creation. "It seemed to me that man could be as effective as God, in tasks other then destruction." in The Man Who Planted Trees (16:40 / 30:02). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

March

 

“There are a total of 399 protected areas in Portugal, 167 Natura 2000 sites - 62 Special Protection Areas (Birds Directive) and 102 Sites of Community Importance (Habitat Directive) - as well as 232 sites designated under national laws. The protected area network in Portugal is strongly influenced by Natura 2000 sites, which make up 60% of the total area covered by protected areas.” in Biodiversity in Portugal [data displayed in February 17, 2021]. 

See Green Infrastructures in Portugal. See also report from EU (2020) "Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: The state and trends of ecosystems in the European Union", that gives an assessment of the key ecosystems in the EU, evaluates the EU 2020 biodiversity targets, and provides a baseline for the 2030 biodiversity policy and EU nature restoration plan.

March

 

"Halting land transformation and degradation could contribute 6.6 (range 2–11) GtCO2e per year to greenhouse gas emission reductions between 2020 and 2050, and land restoration-related activities could contribute a further 18.6 (range 1.8–35.5) GtCO2e per year over the same period, while simultaneously restoring ecological function and ecosystem services, and in some cases, biodiversity" p.73, United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

March

"Achieving transformative change requires that the fundamental drivers of overconsumption are addressed, through changes in personal values, norms, economic and social operating rules, technologies and regulations. Given the interconnected nature of climate change, loss of biodiversity, land degradation, and air and water pollution, it is essential that these problems are tackled together urgently." (p. 107) United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies.

February

"The report serves to translate the current state of scientific knowledge into crisp, clear and digestible facts-based messages that the world can relate to and follow up on. It first provides an Earth diagnosis of current and projected human-induced environmental change, by putting facts and interlinkages in perspective, including by using smart infographics. In building on this diagnosis, the report identifies the shifts needed to close gaps between current actions and those needed to achieve sustainable development. The analysis is anchored in current economic, social and ecological reality and framed by economics and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By synthesizing the latest scientific findings from the global environmental assessments, the report communicates the current status of the world’s urgent issues and opportunities to solve them." United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

August

"The stories illustrate that biodiversity, climate and inequality are inseparable agendas. (...) The biodiversity community needs to move beyond the technocratic approaches that currently dominate ways of thinking about the future (...). This means that researchers have to acknowledge that imagining the future, whether in a model or a story, is political" Wyborn, C., Davila, F., Pereira, L. et al. Imagining transformative biodiversity futures. Nature Sustainability, number 8, volume 3. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Diversity

"(...) trees and plants aren´t simply competing with one another. (...) Instead, over millions of years vegetation has built vast collaborative networks to allow the system as a whole to thrieve. And that system includes us." Gary Ferguson, 2019. Eight Master Lessons of Nature. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

September

"If restoration is not possible for a disturbed ecosystem in an irreversibly changed environment, then rewilding is the adaptive tactic for regaining and maintaining functionality, perhaps with introduced components. (...) the rise of the rewilding concept is a sign that new approaches are urgently needed to conserve biodiversity and maintain ecosystem services under increasingly unpredictable global conditions, as traditional approaches on their own are demonstrably unfit for the challenges ahead." in Rewilding needs a conceptual framework. Is the adaptive cycle the answer? Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Territory of Life

"No matter how small, if you attend to the space you control with love you become part of the solution, not the problem! What can you plant? How can you tend it to encourage greater diversity of animal life? Who else can you invite to contribute? Can you grow a local network of flourishers? Vision the world you wish to create for yourself and the generations to come. Reinforce that vision every day and let it lead you! Make it a heart project – something that you do to enjoy the flourishing for its own sake. Invite others to join you. Enjoy the companionship of the other species and people that you share your space with, watch them grow and get to know them. Attend to the small details, enjoy the tiny as well as the large and flamboyant. Maybe your network can become a ‘Territory of Life’?" Flourishing Diversity: Learning from Indigenous Wisdom Traditions. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

September

"(...) selective tree breeding to enhance genetic diversity in forests and protect endangered genetic resources increases disease resistance, drought tolerance, and the ability to cope with more frequent and more destructive storms and fires; management practices that focus on mixtures instead of monocultures make forests more resilient, enhance energy and resource efficiency, protect forestry related jobs, increase competitiveness and expand business opportunities within the bio-based industries;" in European Union LIFE Programm Publications (2019). Ready, steady, green! LIFE helps farming and forestry adapt to climate change. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Biodiversity-rich areas

"Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) refers to the strategically managed network of urban green spaces and natural and semi-natural ecosystems situated within the boundary of an urban ecosystem. These high-quality, biodiversity-rich areas can help make cities more sustainable and contribute to solve many challenges, such as air pollution, noise, climate change impacts, heat waves, floods and public health concerns. As cities grow and develop, it is vital to improve the availability, quality and accessibility of UGI." MAES Joachim, ZULIAN Grazia, GUENTHER Susann,THIJSSEN Martijn, RAYNAL Julie, 2019. Enhancing Resilience Of Urban Ecosystems through Green Infrastructure (EnRoute). Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

November

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

September

"And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be
Are full of trees and changing leaves."
in To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf.

 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

August

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)