(The Hoffnungsquickie: Good News Brief – N.d.T.)
The world is a bad place. This is at least the impression you get when you look through the burning glass of the media. Catastrophes, wars, lies, hypocrisy and destruction determine the reality that is transmitted. Although everyone knows that this is only a very broad part of reality, many too often adopt it as the only possible view of the world.
Therefore, Mutmach’s editorial team has decided to regularly add good news to the doomsday scenarios. Because: miracles, successes and pleasant events also happen, they don’t sell as well as the catastrophe presented under a sensational title. Good news does not require in-depth analysis, so we keep it short and concise. They serve as a brief respite to put the one-sided, distorted view of the world back into perspective.
One man, one forest
The Indian Jadav Payeng demonstrates what each individual can achieve. When at the age of 16 he discovered hundreds of dead reptiles on a sandbank in northeastern India, he was surprised. The animals had been victims of heat death due to falling water levels and a lack of shade trees. Payeng recognized the danger that one day a man could die like this.
Although his companions and village elders laughed at him, the then 16-year-old began bringing trees and other plants to the sandbank every day and planting them there. No one could have imagined then that something could grow in this barren soil, but now, 40 years later, there is a 1,200-hectare secondary forest, the work of a single man who still plants trees every day. The forest is home to reptiles, insects, birds and mammals. Now you can see the history of this forest in a short documentary.
XXL Mallorca National Park
In the south of Mallorca is the small island of Cabrera. This island has been protected since 1991. As a result, the fish stocks around Cabrera have recovered in record time. On 1 February 2019, the Spanish Parliament continued the success story of this natural park and enlarged its surface area by a factor of nine (!), as explained to us by the marine scientist from the nature conservation organisation Oceana and collaborator of Rubikon writer Elisa Gratias, Marta Carreras. Cabrera is now the largest national park in the western Mediterranean (1).
It is an international milestone, both for its incredible biodiversity and for the depth reached of 2,000 metres. With an area of 90,794 hectares, the park’s Mediterranean Sea now offers the greatest legal protection to endangered species such as corals, dolphins and whales. Since 2007, the international marine conservation organization Oceana has participated in numerous campaigns and six research expeditions for this expansion (2).
“Today is a great day for the Mediterranean, one of the most affected seas on the planet. The Cabrera National Park (…) is an emblem of the underwater natural heritage that we must bequeath to future generations. Cabrera is a true miniature Mediterranean,” said Ricardo Aguilar, head of research at Oceana Europe, in a press release. “It is the first time that Spain has granted maximum legal protection to areas of whales and large migratory fish species, such as dolphins, sperm whales, fin whales and red tuna. In addition, deep coral reefs with endangered species (…) will be included in the reserve,” said Marta Carreras.
Of course, marine conservation is a long process and far from complete. Oceana continues its important work, reinforced by this success, to initiate a fundamental change for the conservation of biodiversity in the oceans and on land. Achievements like these show us that the tireless efforts of many individuals are worthwhile and that small steps eventually become big steps.
Ricardo Aguilar congratulated the Ministry of Ecological Change and the Balearic Government for this enormous advance and hopes that it will pave the way for the creation of more National Marine Parks (2) so that our seas can recover as soon as possible.
Protected tropical rainforest
The Peruvian government has also recognized the value of the ecosystem and has now conserved an 8,700-square-kilometer rainforest (3). It has worked closely with the indigenous tribes that live there and depend on this forest.
The new Yaguas National Park is now the largest in Peru. Many unique species of animals and plants are found here at home. The forest is so large that the fog that rises there can even cause rain in the United States. Therefore, it is an important factor for the local and national climate and helps to stabilize the climate.
The jungle of Yaguas is one of the last virgin forests on earth. However, like all tropical rainforests, it was threatened by illegal logging. The government has put an end to this and in this way preserves this unique ecosystem. The rainforest is part of a network of countries such as Ecuador, Chile and Colombia. Thanks to a strong civil society, politicians in these countries are changing their views on climate change and are conserving large interconnected areas (4).
This article by Felix Feistel was first published by Rubikon – Magazine for Critical Mass under CC BY 4.0.
Good News, Part 1 – The Hoffnungsquickie (Spanish)
Sources and Comments:
The largest Marine National Park in the Mediterranean is Alonnisos Northern Sporades in Greece with an area of 160,000 hectares. The Cabrera Natural Park has the second largest area of the entire Mediterranean Sea.
https://eu.oceana.org/es/prensa-e-informes/comunicados-de-prensa/espana-crea-en-cabrera-el-mayor-parque-nacional-marino-del#_edn1_edn1; https://oceana.org/press-center/press-releases/spain-create-second-largest-marine-national-park-mediterranean-south
https://nur-positive-nachrichten.de/positive-nachrichten/peru-schuetzt-einen-der-groessten-unberuehrten-regenwaelder-der-welt
Felix Feistel, born in 1992, writes in many ways about the idiocy of this world and also against it. In a world reduced to numbers and dates, which has always been alien to him, he seeks humanity and the meaning of life. He tries to use his powers and talents to create a world worth living in, opposing injustice and destruction. Despite the madness that reigns everywhere, he is unwilling to give up his belief in the good of man and his potential to transform the planet into a paradise. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Rubikon Youth and writes for the column “Jungen Federn”.
Translation Pressenza London
