Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: It is becoming apparent that we are treating the natural world with an increasing amount of contempt and then we wonder why natural events begin to affect us more and more.
A recent article by Prince Charles, printed in the Daily Telegraph, illustrates that as the economic situation continues to be problematic, the importance of looking after nature seems to be pushed down the list of things to do. It is estimated that the benefits and services that we receive from nature are about double the Gross Domestic Product of the world! Yet we continue to ignore these benefits.
The 'Green Revolution' which came into being in agriculture in the 1960s, while enabling food production to expand dramatically also damaged soils worldwide, caused huge losses of biodiversity, depleted fresh water supplies and has made a huge contribution to climate change. Every part of nature is interdependent; it is impossible to change one aspect without this change reflecting on another.
There are many examples of how nature is essential to our lives; from the rain forests that give us water for our crops and oxygen to breathe, to the pollinating insects that are vital to our food production and the scavengers that clear up waste and help to prevent disease.
But we continue to destroy green spaces as if they are of no account and pollute our water courses with fertiliser run-off from the fields, destroying habitats for both plants and animals. We must respect the natural world and its wonders.
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