Africa Geographic August 2005 [antikvár]

editorial The idea that you need to get rich first and then worry about your environment is not only untrue, it is dangerous ^ ^ I was intrigued, as I am sure most readers will be, to read Tim Davenport's account of seeing a hitherto 'unknown' species of monkey in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. It seems almost inconceivable, in the early 2000s, that we are still discovering new mammals, especially relatively large ones such as this mangabey. As exciting as such rare events are, however, one can't help feeling some anxiety that the discovery comes at a time when no more than 500-1 000 individuals exist. The highland forest area being surveyed by Davenport and his team is rich in biodiversity exhibiting a high degree of endemism, but it faces great threats from logging, subsistence hunting and the unmanaged harvesting of other natural resources. The region has received virtually no investment for decades, poverty haunts local communities, and as much as SO per cent of the forest has already been lost. If this 'God's Garden', as the area is known to local Tanzanlans, is to survive, some heroic conservation efforts will be needed. Maybe the 'new' mangabey can play a part in its own future by becoming a PR ralljang point for woridwide awareness of yet another of Africa's treasures that could be so easily lost without appropriate investment? And by investment, I don't just mean the conventional kind that demands a financial return on capital within a few years (although in terms of responsible tourism and other economic activities these would be an Important part of the mix), but a trae investment m the future of our planet. Valli Moosa, South Africa's previous minister for environmental affairs and now head of the lUCN, referred to this concept of investment most eloquently in an article directed at the G8 heads of state who met recently in Scotland. Moosa's article, aptly titled 'The Nature of Poverty, and the Wealth of Nature'*, appeared in the Herald Tribune and focused on the stmggle for survival, at the most basic level, amongst the world's poorest people, many millions of whom eke out their existence in Africa. Appropriately, Moosa points to the links between economic prosperity and that of the natural environment: 'Nature provides us all with the basics of life: food, water, shelter, clothing and clean air It regulates our climate, fertilises our soil, pollinates our crops, moderates natural hazards, and inspires our societies and cultures If the planet's nature was a company, the annual value of these [resources] to all humans would be worth, by some estimates, more than 30 trillion dollars: significantly more than the combined GDP of the G8.' Degradation of natural environments and the loss of biodiversity have the most serious effect on the world's poor in terms of declining health, food shortages, vulnerability to natural disasters, and general security. It makes sense, therefore, that 'investing in better management of ecosystems will help reduce poverty'. 'There is,' says Moosa, 'a common misconception that to invest in conservation is somehow contrary to investing in peoples' livelihoods. However, the idea that you need to get rich first and then worry about your environment is not only untrue, it is dangerous.' Wise words indeed. /^y /7 y .