Environmental brief at Davos

Bay’s Muir ‘speaks for unheard’ at Economic Forum

PORT Elizabethbased Wilderness Foundation director Andrew Muir was the only environmental representative in the 55member South African delegation to the World Economic Forum – dominated by political and business leaders

At the forum, Muir – who was invited to participate as a fellow of the foundation formed by WEF founder Klaus Schwab – emphasised human reliance on nature.

Muir said that in one of his two formal presentations he had responded to the possibility of using technology to bring wild species back from extinction, a project being driven globally by top geneclone scientists.

“I told them it would be of no use doing so if we had no habitat left to sustain them.

“Even if they were successful with individual species, the possibility of reproducing highly complex habitats was unlikely,” he said.

Muir told the forum that protecting habitat was key to the survival of wild species which are becoming extinct at an unparalleled rate – and in turn to humankind’s wellbeing.

“I said we’re all connected on one earth that sustains us and our only hope is to step lighter, to give back as a species, and to work to recreate nature’s resilience.”

Muir said he had attended about 60 sessions in four days, coming away from the forum tired but stimulated and satisfied that he had spoken up for the unheard – and with a treasure trove of new information.

On climate change, the recognition now is that the main catalyst is deforestation, with four human activities heading the list of culprits. These are: ý Cattle farming (carbonheavy emissions from cattle plus deforestation to create pastures);

ý Soya farming (a major component in animal feed plus deforestation for agrifields;

ý Palm oil plantations (deforestation); and

ý Commercial timber plantations (deforestation).

With carbon emissions still rising, the consensus is that they must start dropping by 2020 at the latest to make possible a maximum 2% global temperature rise over the pre-industrial level.

A carbon-neutral economy, where more carbon is being sequestrated than emitted, must then be achieved by 2030.

With infrastructure set to double in the next 30 years, a huge challenge lies ahead, Muir said.

“It means all that new infrastructure needs to be carbon-neutral and at the same time we need a massive push towards building green towns and investing in renewable energy and sustainable commodities with cradle-to-grave recycling and consideration of upstream and downstream links.”

Muir said Davos delegates had come away with the realisation that, climatically speaking, for most of the world “dry is the new norm, interspersed with short, intense periods of wet”.

“Headed by Hollywood star and water activist Matt Damon, the message was – we better catch it [rain] while we can,” he said.

‘ We’re all connected on one earth that sustains us – Andrew Muir