The extinction of Chinese Sturgeon by Daisy Chiu

by Voice

The Chinese paddlefish is one of the world’s largest freshwater fish species with a length of up to 7 meters. It is endemic to China and is flagship species of the Yangtze River. It was listed as a first-class state protected animal in China in 1989 and was first declared “critically endangered” by the IUCN in 1996. IUCN experts have said there is no image evidence of the species since 2009. It was last seen alive in 2003. On July 21, IUCN announced the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish and the wild Yangtze sturgeon on Thursday in its updated Red List of threatened species.

The reassessment has also confirmed the extinction of the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) and that the Yangtze Sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus) has moved, from critically endangered, to extinct in the wild. Additionally, 17 species are now critically endangered, three are endangered and five are vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Wild populations of the Siberian sturgeon, the third species in Asia mentioned in the assessment and widely used in aquaculture, were also moved to the highest threat category of critically endangered.

 

Causes:

Overfishing: In the past, the Yangtze River has been “closed net” due to overfishing, causing ecological damage and threatening the survival of many fish species, which gradually hurt the white sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon and other rare species of food chain integrity.

Trades: Sturgeons have been overfished for their meat and caviar for centuries, globally.

Dams: Dams affect all sturgeon species migrating to their breeding grounds. Although they are large, they are also more dependent on the Yangtze River and have no other alternative habitat. External sand mining, hydropower stations, dams and other obstacles to swimming, migration, but also hinder species reproduction and communication.

Climate Change : Rivers warming due to climate change further disrupts sturgeon reproduction.

Use of chemicals in agriculture activities by Cephas Amoaior

by Voice

CAUSE/CONCERN:

It is usually a normal human tendency to solve problems  with little or no stress. To satisfy this humanity’s desire, science and technology have been very helpful in proffering such solutions. 


More often than not, we humans are carried away by their immediate benefits (scientific solutions,) and ignore the many potential threats  those discoveries pose on us and the planet. 


In Nigeria, especially in States like Benue, Taraba, Ondo etc where the major occupation of the people is farming, lack of soil education has caused many farmers ( at least 90%) to commit various “soil crimes” out of ignorance.


These group of farmers are mostly peasant farmers who cultivate ostensibly for survival. In order to cultivate a large area of land for bountiful harvest, they use a lot of chemicals on the farm thereby causing harm to the soil;  from spraying herbicides on the green grass, to burning the dead grass before cultivating. 


This crude and dangerous method has threatened the health of the soil in so many ways:

Destruction of some plant species

  • Destruction of microorganisms 
  • Destruction of soil organisms 
  • Destruction of soil nutrients
  • Exposing the soil to natural disasters like erosion and wind etc. 


My family was a good example, we committed these crimes but I want to join in ending it or at least reducing it to the barest minimum. With my present knowledge and passion for climate change


MY SUGGESTION:

I think it is imperative for earth advocates from this clime to launch a campaign to educate the farmers on the right approach to interact with the soil. 


A Vibrant tribute to the indigenous “Pygmy” woman by Vanessa Mavila

by Voice

Pygmy women hold an important role in almost all areas of Pygmy society and culture and they are holders of ancestral knowledge in terms of environmental protection. We talk about them very little but they are courageous and hardened, they give life in the very heart of the forest, far from the medical staff, at the foot of a tree, screaming, biting their lips, and struggling without real assistance. She travels long distances alone to collect her baby’s birth certificate from urban centres. Strong Woman, they provide essential knowledge on the choice of ponds to preserve and the species of fish to reintroduce.


They also play a role of guardians and denounce the illegal cutting of trees, or discourage practices harmful to the environment. At the family level, they are responsible for gathering and fishing to provide daily food, especially during the dry season. The indigenous Pygmy woman is the pillar of her family. She plays a key role since it is often the new husband who moves to live in the camp where the wife is from.


Moreover, since the introduction of money in the life of the Pygmies, it is still she who takes the responsibility of managing the savings of the household, she therefore makes all the decisions of the family. She takes care of the education of the children, the cooking and the care to be given, just as she is responsible for the construction of the huts for the household each time the family changes camp. At the level of the camp, women also have a predominant place. Indeed, unlike men, they spend most of their time in the villages where they take care of agricultural and domestic tasks, so they are easier to reach. This is why they really have a say in Pygmy society, both at home and in community gatherings.


The Aboriginal woman carries a fundamental voice. They are generally counted on to transmit messages, report problems or communicate on prevention, in the context of HIV or hygiene for example, because they are generally more inclined to integrate important aspects for development: they are better students, they learn to cultivate the land, to save, they make plans for the future for themselves and for their children… In traditional Pygmy society, women are synonymous with bringing good luck, especially for hunting. It is therefore important to be at peace with his wife before going hunting. “Women are at the center of society and their influence is great” The Pygmy woman therefore plays a crucial role in the life of the group, and this, at all levels, even if the Pygmy society has the general habit of valuing the individual as an individual in his own right and not according to his sex. Stop discriminating against these people. Let us accompany them in the transmission of their knowledge.


Macro-farming in Spain by Gerrit Joel Grossjohann

by Voice

Macro-farms are the ultimate exponent of industrial livestock farming. They are highly mechanised facilities with a large production capacity in a small space for the number of animals they house. It is  landless livestock farming, highly dependent on external inputs (water and feed) and generates a lot of emissions and waste. In these industrial facilities, the animals do not go out into the fields, and spend their lives cooped up and overcrowded. They are factories of meat, milk and eggs, but also of climate change, pollution and suffering. The aim of the macro-farms is clear: to obtain the highest production of meat, milk and eggs at the lowest possible cost and in the shortest possible time. To achieve this, they cram a huge number of animals into a small space, feed them largely on products from abroad – in many cases associated with deforestation and GMOs – and use all kinds of questionable techniques to maximise profits.

The main problems:

Water pollution by nitrates. 22% of our surface water and 23% of our groundwater are polluted by nitrates, mainly from industrial agriculture and livestock farming. By generating a huge amount of excrement, large-scale farms turn the agricultural fields in their vicinity into dumps for this waste. Animal excrement can be an excellent fertiliser for crops, but in large quantities with potential antibiotic and medicinal residues it becomes a dangerous poison.

Climate change.

 The agricultural sector was the only sector that increased its greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 .This was largely due to emissions from livestock, with methane emissions – the second most emitted greenhouse gas in Spain – being a clear demonstration of the contribution of livestock to the climate crisis: the agricultural sector is responsible for 63% of total methane emissions and livestock for 98% of these. Air pollution. Industrial livestock is responsible for 94% of reported ammonia emissions in 2020, 69% for pigs and 25% for poultry. Curiously and inexplicably, cattle are exempt from reporting their emissions.

Animal suffering. 

Animals on large-scale farms are confined and permanently fed indoors under strictly human-controlled conditions in order to fatten them as quickly as possible or, for example, in the case of some farms, although they can go outside, they do not have access to pasture or sufficient space to express species-specific behaviours. 

Effects on human health.

In addition to the negative consequences of overeating meat, macro-farms pose other dangers to our health due to the practices employed. The abusive use of antibiotics in animals contributes significantly to the development of resistance to these drugs in humans, and Spain is the country in Europe that uses the most antibiotics in livestock farming. The high ammonia emissions from these facilities (in addition to the nitrates in the water) also pose a serious danger to the population.

Loss of biodiversity. 

80% of the world’s agricultural land is already used to produce food for animals and not for people (in Spain the figure is 66%). The production of animal feed for industrial livestock requires large expanses of land, and the agricultural demand for animal feed production fields is causing deforesting of  the most precious forests on the planet, such as the Amazon. In addition, the water pollution resulting from this model is destroying unique ecosystems, an issue for which Spain has been sanctioned by the European Commission on several occasions.

 

Voice of Nature Artivist : Tony Patrick GOUPIL

by Voice
  • Your name

Tony Patrick GOUPIL

 

  • Tell us a little bit about your background…

I studied modern literature and I work now for a French Youth organization.

 

  • Please share one thing you love about the world today …

Take a black coffee and read the newspaper in a nice coffee place on a Sunday morning. 

 

  • Please share one of the things that concern you about the world today…

 Cats and dogs still abandoned on the street.

 

  • How would you describe your art? What is the message you would like people to receive when seeing/hearing/ experiencing your artwork?
Close to naive art.
 

  • What motivates you to use your art on behalf of nature?

I am more confident doing art that going in the street.

 

  • Is there any other area of your life where you are taking action on behalf of our living Earth?

Trying to do my best at least at home and at my job! 

 

  • What brings you joy?

Sometimes video games that lead me in a fantasy world!

Voice of Nature Artivist : Luyolo Barney

by Voice
  • Your name

My name is Luyolo Barney and my surnames are Lengisi Hawule I was born, bred and buttered in Langa, My family is originally from Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

  • Tell us a little bit about your background…

 I am an Activist, Artist, Feminist, Spiritualist, Motivator, Mentor and young vibrant leader. I’m a Cofounder of #Langaformen, Founder of #Emthonjeni Art Production, Siyakhathala Community Kitchen Secretary, IthongolikaNtu Exercutive member, Afrikan Young Indigenous Leader Youth Representative in Western Cape, Lovelife Arts and Culture Role Model In Western Cape, TooMuch Wifi Langa Board member and Organic Humanity Movement National Exercutive Council Member.

  • Please share one thing you love about the world today …

 I love nature for reviving me and giving me hope when no one else was there.

 

  • Please share one of the things that concern you about the world today…

 I am concerned about the people that are destroying the world for their own selfish desires to get richer and richer while the people and nature are marginalised and dying.

 

  • How would you describe your art? What is the message you would like people to receive when seeing/hearing/ experiencing your artwork?
My art is the medicine to those that are in need and those that are eager to change the world to be a better place. My art is the soul healer. When people see, hear, and experience my artwork I want them to feel safe, change and get their healing. 
 
  • What motivates you to use your art on behalf of nature?

Nature is beautiful and it is indeed helping most of us to stay alive and that is one of the things that motivates me to use art on behalf of nature, to get as many people as I can to connect them with nature as I know being disconnected to nature results in disaster and failure in life.

  • Is there any other area of your life where you are taking action on behalf of our living Earth?

I am connecting different people from different places with nature through hosting gatherings around sacred places of our land such as Caves, Oceans, Forests and many more different places. I have a clean up project where we climb the mountains and clean with young boys and men.

 

  • What brings you joy?

Helping people gives me joy. 

Luyolo Barney Lengisi Hawule on Facebook and Instagram Langaformen on Facebook and Instagram 0763529784 on WhatsApp and for calls

Voice of Nature Artivist : Selah Liberty Joy

by Voice

 

  • Your name…

Selah Liberty Joy

  • Tell us a little bit about your background…

I am a bit of a movement junkie. I was originally trained as a classical ballerina, and spent a lot of time in the bright lights and sweat smells of theatre. An injury brought me to yoga and I started to question and explore the spirit of my embodiment. I then flowed into circus and the festival scene and have been working in the entertainment industry since. Through that I got to travel all around South Africa and have performed internationally in Europe, Canada, Namibia, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Azores. I’ve enjoyed pretty much every form of dance from martial arts to bellydance to Flamenco to aerial- and this has enabled me to build a diverse and intimate relationship with my body. Now I love exploring the expression and impact that an emotion, spirit or thought form has on movement, mostly through a deep listening that flows into a creative improvisation.

  • Please share one thing you love about the world today …

Innovation! The melding of polarities to create something new and unique. My personal journey at this time is about this beautiful weaving of the individual within the collective – I feel like I am discovering what inter-dependence is, what collaboration can co-create…its the birthing of a new story like the unfurling of the fern.

  • Please share one of the things that concern you about the world today…

Misdirected energy.

  • How would you describe your art? What is the message you would like people to receive when seeing/hearing/ experiencing your artwork?

The dance is an expression of what is now.

The dance is opening to being fully alive.

The dance is passion and pain and pleasure pouring through.

The dance is a heart song, an offering, a union, a prayer of creation.

The dance is an expression of the joy of being alive, on this Earth, connected to all that is.

  • What motivates you to use your art on behalf of nature?

Communion with Nature has always been present in my life. I feel deeply connected to the land, the soil, the mountains, the trees and plants, the animals and fungi, the waters and oceans, the air and the clouds.I feel deeply connected to my fellow humans. It is through the body that we bridge the gap between human and earth consciousness.

  • Is there any other area of your life where you are taking action on behalf of our living Earth?

I work with the garden, am conscious of which farmers I am supporting and where my food comes from, plant trees when I can and every day I give gratitude!

  • What brings you joy?

Wow, way too many things to mention! Id say its in the small things 🙂

Instagram @selahliberty joy

Website www.selahlibertyjoy.com

To watch Earth Stories, Selah’s short film of dances for Nature:

https://selahlibertyjoy.com/performance/online/earth-stories/

Voice of Nature Artivist : Khandiz Joni

by Voice

         The I AM IMPACT Project by Khandiz Joni

  • Your name

Khandiz Joni

  • Tell us a little bit about your background…

I am a Chartered Environmentalist, independent sustainability professional and multidisciplinary artist, but I call myself a Creative Sustainableist.

I work with both businesses and individuals to transform their vision into one that stimulates social, environmental and economic cohesion. My approach is to design creative solutions that are ‘conducive to happiness’ and have a positive impact on all Life.

I have been a hair and makeup artist for two decades. Before studying makeup, I attended art school. My work marries conceptual art and thought-provoking narratives using eco-beauty alternatives. My entry into conscious beauty stems from a life-long interest in environmentalism.

I have been experimenting with natural beauty brands since 2006. In 2012 I moved to London from my native Cape Town and actively switched out my professional kit. My editorial and commercial clients include Harpers Bazaar Japan, Fashion Revolution, Absolution Cosmetics, Twelve Beauty and Hunger Magazine.

I have been working with an exclusively green, conscious kit since 2014 after systematically replacing mainstream and conventional brands. I have committed to finishing my kit, at which time I will no longer be a commercial makeup artist and will instead focus on sustainability consultancy work.

Khandiz is a registered Chartered Environmentalist. She holds a certificate from Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership, is certified by the Carbon Literacy Project as ‘Carbon Literate’, and has a Diploma SBP qualification from IEMA.

Passionate about storytelling, creative thinking and systems change, culminating in her entrepreneurial spirit. She was a founding member of A Novel Approach, an award-winning creative consultancy for eco-ethical fashion and beauty brands, was the Editor of Untainted Magazine and guest-writes about sustainable beauty for WGSN and other publications.

You can read more about Khandiz´s life journey here https://vujadecreative.solutions/about-khandiz/

  • Please share one thing you love about the world today …

Possibility

 

  • Please share one of the things that concern you about the world today…

Divisiveness; as it limits our collective opportunity to make meaningful change for every living thing on this planet.

 

  • How would you describe your art? What is the message you would like people to receive when seeing/hearing/ experiencing your artwork?

My art – regardless of the medium – is always an invitation to be inquisitive. To me, one of the great advantages of art is that it is subjective, and in being subjective, it offers the viewer an opinion. But it also offers them an opportunity to sit with their opinion and question why it makes them feel a certain way. Which in turn allows them to question and challenge long-held beliefs, and the possibility of seeing things from a new perspective.

  • What motivates you to use your art on behalf of nature?

My art is rooted in humanity. Humanity – and all life – depends on nature. We are of it. We are in it. How can I create art that depicts humanity if I am not examining our very reliance on nature?

  • Is there any other area of your life where you are taking action on behalf of our living Earth?

Everything I do, in every aspect of my life and work is dedicated to serving to regenerate living systems, and making this planet we share a happier – eudemonic – place to be. It’s a vocation. I can’t help myself.

 

  • What brings you joy?

Seeing people’s expressions when they learn, and understand, a new concept, idea or opportunity. The journeying towards simplicity and clarity (in all contexts) also brings me joy.

Links to website/social media/contact:

www.iamimpactproject.org / IG:  @iamimpactproject

www.vujadecreatives.solutions / IG @khandiz

 

The I AM IMPACT Project_Biodiversity: Bees & Buildings

Photography: Aks Hucklberry 

Global Citizen: Liz Bigonova

Bodypainting & Concept: Khandiz Joni

 

The I AM IMPACT Project_Biodiversity:Fisheries

Photography: @planetaks

Global Citizen: @elliottlevrai  

Bodypainting & Concept: Khandiz Joni

 

The I AM IMPACT Project_Water Security: Body of Water

Global Citizen: @planetaks

Photorgraphy, Bodypainting & Concept: Khandiz Joni

 

Land-systems Change: Lungs

Global Citizen: Ethan Samuel Jacobs

Photorgraphy, Bodypainting & Concept: Khandiz Joni