If you believe the Covid-19 pandemic is an illuminating lesson for humanity, if you find solidarity in the just released “São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health” in the Lancet, one of world’s oldest medical journals, congratulations! You’ve progressed. Your responsible consumer behavior change to embrace “Mother Nature First, Self Second” will likely be remembered by future generations as one of the best case studies for evolutionary anthropology 2.0 in the Anthropocene, the age of mankind. For example, I am working my way to add the prefix “eco-” to many English words that I know. I remember nearly two years ago in my op-ed piece “Unintended Rewilding” I had written this foresight:
“COVID-19 is a test run for humanity to survive in a virtual-dependent world, e-clinic, e-grocer, e-library, e-market, e-school, e-office, e-recital, e-trade, e-cinema, as many e- affixes you can think of.”
Now, I would suggest every human being who can read and write put the prefix “eco-” before every noun or gerund that you deem you cannot live without. I begin to think about eco-reading, eco-travel, eco-clothing, eco-banking, eco-produce, eco-dairy, eco-kitchen, eco-shampoo, eco-municipal waste, eco-electronic waste, and my vocabulary goes on and on. While the world is anticipating COP26 in Glasgow (Oct 31-Nov 12) to tackle climate crisis and scale up finance and international regulatory cooperation, another COP (short for Conference of the Parties) may require more urgent attention from humanity.
This fall (Oct 11-15), Kunming, China, hosts the COP15 on biological diversity. This major United Nations biodiversity summit has been delayed three times due to the pandemic, and it will be held in two phases. Governments will meet face-to-face in the second session between April 25-May 8, 2022 in Kunming to set this decade’s targets for the global biodiversity framework. Why not go bolder? How about a 450-year plan?
A study shows an estimated 1.6 billion disposable face masks, which is equivalent to roughly 5,500 tons of plastic pollution, ended up in our oceans in 2020. It will take more than four centuries for the single-use plastic to decompose in the ocean, hence the need for a very long-term strategic plan. The Covid pandemic has not ended yet. We are still wearing masks. Machines on the mask production lines are still churning. That means, we will continue to produce more disposable face masks on a daily basis. For the sake of building a sustainable future for humans and non-human species, why not start making a 450-year strategic plan for your bloodline, philanthropic foundations, small and medium enterprises, supply chains, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics, public policies, and even diplomatic ties? (My fingers are crossed for Kiribati and other low-lying island countries alike to remain on the satellite map four centuries later!)
When we talk about diversity in 2021, especially in the U.S., we immediately associate the word with race and ethnicity. But to this amateur linguist, diversity means more than that. As a legal immigrant, I’m still learning American culture every day. I don’t understand why institutions and companies to which I submitted my resume have updated their official websites these months with images of African American professionals to highlight workplace diversity, but there is little change, to my knowledge, in terms of their hiring process and business practices. Even under the big racial pool of African Americans, there are mixed-races, first-generation immigrants, and U.S. nationals whose ancestors come from different parts of the world. Where is the representation of other minority groups on these websites? In environmental sustainability, we have a word called “greenwashing,” meaning disinformation and misinterpretation by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. When the word “diversity” is misused and abused by apathetic organizations, may I use “Diversity Washing” to label these organizations?
When we talk about biological diversity, we must integrate the long-standing experience from the indigenous peoples in humanity-centered design. This is my rationale open for discussion, and perhaps criticism, too. First and foremost, comprising less than 5% of the world’s population, indigenous people protect 80% of global biodiversity. Unfortunately, they’re also one of the most vulnerable groups to the adverse effects of climate crisis. They need new technologies and public and private investments in nature-based solutions and education so as to help them get out of poverty and restore biodiversity in order to live more sustainably. They have beautiful folk tales about Mother Nature to mobilize and incentivize urbanites from a-tale-of-two-cities-like municipalities and forgetful suburbanites like me to build community-based climate resilience.
Science tells us what to do, but arts make us want to do. The power of storytelling—you can’t ignore the significance of the humanities and yet craftspeople are often given cold shoulder by STEM-focused employers. Perhaps that explains why we rely on AI to communicate with us for we’re losing our linguistic intelligence and free will. I have plenty of firsthand experience on this topic that I’m afraid I won’t go deep dive here. (Reading Recommendation: “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (2010)” by Nicholas Carr.)
Second, we have plenty of unsustainable e-waste. I’d suggest new technologies or ESG disclosure standards to include a criterion of managing the existing and future electronic waste. As for creating technological design specialized for biodiversity conservation and engagement, why not consult the indigenous peoples and bring their expertise into innovation labs? Why not scale up ecomimicry in indigenous resource management?
We’re in a data economy as if we’ve already drowned in a pool of data, and we’re still insatiable for more data to persuade ourselves to act or not. Although I’m a techno skeptic, I’m not against technocrats like Bill Gates who propels industries and markets to pivot to net zero emissions by 2050. The alignment of global climate action and leadership is what COP26 has a high hope to tackle. It’s also a reason that I think ordinary folks like you and I will benefit from having an individual sustainability plan for a longer term. A 450-Year Strategic Plan for biodiversity conservation and waste management is a necessity, given the fact that we can’t wean away completely from fossil fuels for a while. (Reading Recommendation: “How to Avoid A Climate Disaster (2021)” by Bill Gates.)
Gates encourages us to use more clean energy-produced goods and services to drive down research and development costs for clean energy innovation. However, as much as we have high hopes for new technologies, if we don’t manage our electronic waste more responsibly, our climate action is counter-productive. We’re living in a finite world. Water and energy are intertwined. Energy innovation can’t develop without the use of water. Even the process of recycling needs energy and water. Don’t you see why indigenous peoples are fighting for their arable land and pristine water? Do you know Singapore has launched the world’s first nationwide e-waste management system?
Gates used simple language in his book to explain climate solutions and challenges ahead. I applaud his visionary leadership and lifelong passion for charity. My study of indigenous peoples in sustainable living led me to Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, a leading indigenous environmental scientist. I find Gates’ focus on philanthropy represents, in a broad sense, Dr. Kimmerer’s “Gift Economy,” in which “gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy.”
If my proposed principle of “Mother Nature First, Self Second” is applicable, if we accept the concepts (rewiring our hardwiring brains is needed!) that by doing more “eco-” consumer behavior changes, we add value to the goods and services in basic economics, perhaps restoring the loss of biodiversity is truly an opportunity to create a love-based economic mechanism, as opposed to the scarcity-based thinking derived from basic economics. If we embrace diversity, why not adopt Dr. Kimmerer’s gift economy alongside with the entrenched practices of free market economy? They serve two different purposes of reinforcing feedback loops. For rich countries and advanced developing countries like China, it’s about time to embrace love-based gift economy and eco-friendly foreign investments. China’s pledge to stop funding the construction of new coal-fired power projects overseas definitely is a “game-changer.”
If humanity can come to terms with our own devil of greed and dominance exacerbated by irreversible biodiversity loss, COP15 could be another game-changer for international cooperation and making amends for the “tragedy of commons,” an economic term to describe individuals with access to a shared resource (also called “a common”) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource. Indigenous peoples have taught me the seven-generation stewardship which urges the current generation of humans to live and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future. A 450-Year Strategic Plan is no longer a topic for science fiction writers. It’s also for you and me to plan, act and achieve self-efficacy. A Spanish company, Bionicia, has found a sustainable solution to address the face masks disposal problem that will take 450 years for the ocean to decompose. Welcome aboard to a diverse world that embraces love-based diversity but not washing it away with lip service.
“Everything that we have now is the result of our ancestors who handed forth to us our language, the preservation of the land, our way of life and the songs and dances. So now we will maintain those and carry those on for future generations.”
—G. Peter Jemison, Faithkeeper, Seneca Nation
(To be continued)
COP15 Series: China Leadership in Sustainability
COP15 Series: Behave And Act Responsibly To Be A BETTER HUMAN