Realign with nature

Nature is in crisis. Around 95 per cent of Earth’s land has been altered by human activities, causing plants and animals to lose their habitat and destroying entire ecosystems. Currently, around one million plant and animal species are at risk of going extinct. Populations of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles have declined by around 70 per cent since 1970 and an estimated 45 per cent of all known flowering plants are threatened by extinction. We know that destroying nature destroys some of the most precious resources we need for our own survival, such as clean air and water, the plants we eat or the materials to put roofs over our heads. So, then why do we keep doing it?

For centuries, we have been taught that humans are superior to, and separate from, nature. Rivers have been dammed to power our cities and industries. Entire forests and plains have been cleared to feed growing populations. These achievements are often hailed as triumphs of humanity, enabling remarkable progress and advancements. However, this mindset also prioritizes human needs over the health of the planet. We use nature for our convenience and, by doing so, compromise our planet and the lives it sustains.

One example of the way we reshape nature to suit human needs is through channelization, a process that alters rivers to flow in straight lines, rather than meandering naturally across the landscape. This is often done to improve navigability, create more agricultural land or to protect cities from flooding. For example, in the 1960s, the Kissimmee River in Florida, USA, was channelized – 160 kilometres of winding river were converted into a 9-metre-deep canal. While this did reduce flooding, it also dried out around 160 square kilometres of wetlands, leading to a 90 per cent decline in water bird populations and a 70 per cent drop in bald eagle numbers. Many other fish, bird and mammal species vanished entirely. While channelization is often done to reduce flooding in one area, it often makes flooding worse for downstream communities.

Designing nature to meet human needs is just one example of how we treat nature in a way that ends up being harmful, for both nature and humanity in the long run.

Instead of controlling natural processes, we can learn to coexist with them. For instance, a wandering river that overflows onto a floodplain might currently be seen as an inconvenience for humans, but it is an essential part of a healthy ecosystem and for sustaining our lives. Many communities around the world embrace a flood-tolerant lifestyle and even use floods to their advantage. For instance, in Viet Nam, flooding is often seen as a benefit, as it provides water and nutrients for fields, washes out salts and toxins from the soils and recharges groundwater. Fishermen call the flood season “income season” because it brings more fish; and some even refer to the flood as a friend who has returned to visit.
People in many places in the world are realizing we can coexist with nature and are undoing the channelization. They are allowing the river to flow and bend freely, giving nature room to live and thrive. Even parts of the Kissimmee River have been restored. Habitat was given back to wetland species, providing corridors for panthers and bears to cross the state. The wetlands have the ability to act as a sponge, storing billions of gallons of water to help prevent flooding during storms, especially important as hurricanes become more frequent and severe.
The notion that humans are separate from nature was flawed from the start. Ecosystems are complex, and humans are just one animal species in the vast web of life. We depend on the relationships between and among species and the natural processes in our environment. By reintegrating natural processes into our lives, we can acknowledge our role within ecosystems, ensuring a balanced, resilient future for the planet as a whole.