Human health and well being are inextricably linked to nature, but we are living through a mass extinction event because of the pressure that economic life puts on ecosystems.
It is a climate and an ecological emergency. But the economy ultimately depends on nature, and enhancing the conditions for life lends a natural advantage to making transformations happen. Rapid transition to thrive within the biosphere’s thresholds, means creating space for nature with policies to restore habitats in urban, suburban and countryside areas. Not only can this benefit other plants and animals, but through more contact with nature bring greater well being and quality of life for people.
Rapid transition also means practical models for food and farming that will improve human and environmental health, maximise the landscape’s ability to store carbon, promote innovations in land management and ownership, and ease the transition by protecting jobs and creating new green employment opportunities.
In already built-up and industrial areas ‘rewilding’ is an increasingly popular approach. Rewilding is people helping wildlife to recover by changing human behaviours, removing barriers, regenerating ecosystems and restoring species, and then living in harmony with the rest of nature. Doing it rapidly means reconnecting people with nature and realigning how we live, the restoration of endangered or locally-extinct native species, and the regeneration of rural and urban landscapes with abundant wildlife.
Showing page 1 of 2
Story of change
Working with stakeholders essential to Gurugram’s water supplyWater is life, but also the source of conflict and strife in many places. In the Indian state of Haryana, the Gurgaon Water Forum was initiated only in...
Story of change
Transition Towns – the quiet, networked revolutionThe Transition Network began in 2006 in the small rural UK town of Totnes, Devon. It was initially a response to the twin threats of climate change and peak...
Story of change
The wild way to rapid transition – how rewilding can slow climate breakdown, protect from its worst effects and improve biodiversityEven as they fall under increasing pressure from human activity, the restoration of natural habitats like forests, is a key component of rapid transition....
Story of change
The land is ours – movements reversing legacies of inequality and modern land grabsFood security is one of the first victims of the increasingly extreme weather patterns linked to the climate emergency. People face even greater insecurity...
Story of change
The Great Staycation – how the coronavirus pandemic could push a rapid transition to creative domestic holidaysIn the Northern hemisphere, summer is arriving and many families are deciding what to do for their holidays; trying to balance concerns about their finances...
Story of change
The great nature rebound – how nature steps up when people step back and both benefitAs humanity has retreated where possible behind closed doors to wait out the ravages of COVID-19, the rest of the natural world has emerged from the...
Story of change
Space to breathe: From garden cities to cities in gardens – the rise of National Park CitiesOver half of the world’s population (55%) live in urban areas with that share expected to grow to over two thirds by 2050. In North America the figure...
Story of change
Nature and local democracy – how a River Parliament shows what community control can doIt is often said that democracy is too slow to win urgent ecological progress. But when communities in Rajasthan, India, formed a special parliament to...
Commentary
Let’s work with nature and let nature work with usI was reminded by Facebook yesterday that I had posted a picture of my sunglasses 5 years ago. One balmy June evening, I had dug my bike out from the back...
