D.for millennia we humans we relate to nature as true marauders of the planet, forgetting too often that we are just one of the many species that populate the Earth. And that for our survival we are closely connected to other life forms. Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Norwegian University Professor of Conservation Biologyhas as its mission that of convincing people to take care of ecosystems. In his latest book entitled In the hands of nature (Add Editore) reminds us that so far we have classified about one and a half million species that surround us, but in reality the total should be around ten million. They range from the blue whale, which is the largest animal in the world, to microscopic life forms.
Protect biodiversity
The biodiversity on Earth is a treasure trove of wonders: nature is our official supplier of food and raw materials, it oversees the systems that make life possible and gives us knowledge. “For me it represents the place to have new experiences, feel joy and hope, be surprised or contemplate,” she says. “If I don’t have the possibility of contact with nature for days, I feel frustrated.” According to Sverdrup-Thygeson, nature has had millions of years to find solutions to complex problemsso who knows how many discoveries it can reserve for us where we least expect it. Safeguarding biodiversity is therefore in our interest: a plant, an animal, a fungus, a microorganism can offer us substances useful for health, perform an essential task in natural balance, or give us ideas to copy.
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Norwegian conservation biology scholar. (Photo Celina Øier_Copyright Stilton Lit. Agency)
We consume an average of 44 kg of meat per person per year
You write that nature is like a huge supermarket where we can find everything we need, as long as we don’t overdo it. What is happening for example with our demand for meat?
The effects of this demand have accelerated with population growth. Today we consume an average of 44 kg of meat per person per year, equivalent to the weight of four lambs, almost twice what we ate in the 1960s, when I was born. The consequences? Half of the planet’s non-frozen or desert land is destined for agriculturebut only one fifth to produce food for humans, the rest is for fodder or pasture. The mass of our pets today is ten times that of Stone Age wildlife. Our poultry alone weighs three times the total of all wild birds in the world. In addition to ecological challenges, this situation raises a number of ethical and animal welfare questions. The only solution is to reduce the consumption of meat by those who eat the most to contribute to more sustainable food production.
Biodiversity helps us find solutions
Kingfisher (Getty Images)
Water is essential for life, but it must be clean. Why is the pearl river oyster particularly useful?
It is an ally against pollution. It looks like a mussel, it is half-buried on the bottom of the rivers, vertically. This mollusk is part of a natural filtering system: a single specimen can clean 40-50 liters of water in 24 hours. Unfortunately it is in danger of extinction. These oysters, which live up to 300 years, must survive when young attached to the scales of a salmon or trout, before settling on the seabed. This phase is now at risk. Pollution and agricultural erosion mean that there is too little silt and too many nutrients in the river, therefore too little oxygen. Thus the young oysters suffocate.
Aside from bees, many insects play a vital role in ecosystems. Could you give us a case?
The hoverflies! They are yellow and black like wasps. At least half a million of these insects arrive in Britain every spring. And that’s great news: adults carry exotic and local pollen. And the larvae of hoverflies are greedy predators of aphids: they exterminate three to ten billion of them every summer, protecting the crops. They are a natural alternative to pesticides.
Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, In the hands of nature, ADD288 pp, 18 € / 9.99 €
And then there is the male of the Euglossians, the bees of the orchids, who are perfumed. What is its use?
The Euglossians are creatures of an almost otherworldly beauty, with bodies that shimmer with metallic shades of blue, green, purple. The male flies from orchid to orchid to collect aromatic oils which he keeps in a triangular space under the plates that cover his hind legs, like a perfume bottle. He serves to conquer the female: with his special eau de parfum, he ensures mating and offspring. At the same time, flying from flower to flower, he transports the pollen of the orchids, allowing them to produce seeds.
There is a curious marine creature, the limulus, which we humans vampirize by extracting its blue blood. How come?
The limulus has lived on Earth since before the dinosaurs. It mostly stays in the sea, but during the mating period it goes out to go to the beaches. Of the four extant species, one lives on the east coast of the United States and the other three in Asia. It plays a vital role in human health. If you got the Covid vaccine, for example, you owe him a debt of gratitude. Its blue blood congeals when it comes into contact with bacteria. A minimal amount of endotoxins – poisons created by live or dead bacteria – causes it to take on a gel-like consistency. A minimal amount of blood from this living fossil is enough to test a medical device or drug.
Nature is like a good housewife. Nothing is wasted, everything is recycled. What happens, for example, to dead trees?
We humans view dead trees as unsightly, but the recycling process is key to making the nutrients available that feed new life in the forest. There are more living cells in a fallen tree than it had while standing. Wood-devouring fungi extend their hyphae (filaments that form the vegetative body of fungi) through cell structures and gradually their enzymes digest what held the tree. Thus the nutrients become available to the insects, which penetrate by eating into the layers of the wood. If we then add that lichens, mosses and shrews seek refuge in the cavities, it is easy to understand why a large part of species present in the living forest of and in dead trees.
The balances of nature guarantee our health and must not be altered. What happened to the migratory doves in America?
Once these birds were so numerous that they darkened the sky for hours with their flocks. It has been calculated that they made up between 25 and 40 percent of North American birds before human intervention. In the mid-nineteenth century, hunting and deforestation of the trees where they nested extinguished them. The story itself is sad already, but there is an unexpected consequence to add. Without billions of birds foraging on the forest floor for food, the rodent Peromyscus maculatus suddenly there were many more seeds available, and the population probably increased. Peromyscus is full of parasites that generate diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as Lyme disease. According to some, the increase in this pathology is linked to the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
Can nature be copied?
Of course. The kingfisher beak inspired the design of quieter high-speed trains, the metallic blue morpho butterfly made us produce clothing with colors that don’t fade, or the lotus plant taught us how to make self-cleaning windows.
Are we in time to change our relationship with nature?
Yes. We have no alternatives. The paradox is that our ability to exploit what nature offers us risks undermining the very foundations of our life. The good thing is that we humans have the ability to evaluate our actions logically and morally from a broader perspective. This insight carries a great responsibility, and it is time to take it on, because nature is all we have, and all we are.
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