Nature Heals !!
In the matter of few months almost all of human lives are in an existential threat. Since past few days the nature and environment around us has dramatically changed and so is the human interaction with it. The largely crowded roads are vacant, people are locked down in their safe spaces i.e. home if they have one, most of the public spaces and services are closed, a large number of migrant populace are finding it worst to get meals for them and families, many of the people have lost their jobs, economy is on a standstill, the services and arrangements being done seems too small to cater to the rise of pandemic COVID-19. Amidst these situations, pollution levels are going down in some places of the planet, Dolphins are returning to their niche in Italy, nitrogen dioxide levels have fallen drastically, nature seems blossoming in quarantine time. We all are experiencing it, irrespective of which country we belong to or which part of the country we are living in.
The unpredictable change in weather conditions, eruption of pandemic etc are all a signal of a larger catastrophe arising out of the exploitative interactions of humans with other species, resources and nature as a whole. The vandalism of nature and its resources being done by a single species is unprecedented in all manners. As a consequence we are facing the present challenge of existence hence we must live in harmony with nature else it’s only nature which will prevail.
The rampant use of fertilizers and chemicals in the field have worsened the situation for a farmer to grow food profitably and meet the rising demands of the world. Once in a village I was walking by a farmer and we conversed about the agriculture and its situation in the village and fertilizers being used there, her remarks were the fertilizers are killing their land, she couldn’t see earthworms in her field now, the soil crust was becoming hard with application of fertilizers every year etc. She could see visible changes in the her land which was bothering her.
The cost of input have increased many folds and people are not getting fair prices at the market. All these lead to a situation where essentials are getting difficult to be produced sustainably as the quantity and prices are increasing year after year and therefore is becoming cost ineffective. This leads to more land requirement for agriculture which in turn raises the cutting down of forest. We are significantly reducing our forest cover area.
The reduced forest cover does play a role in variations in climatic change and hence change in rain pour resulting in distress for farmers and ultimately their migration to cities. Also it increases the interface between wild animals and human keeping both at risk.
I have reflected and thought that all the things being done by us i.e. human race is largely for the benefit of our existence. The increase in water and air pollution is evident of this. The aquatic animals life is at threat and many are on the verge of extinction. We for our benefits have wiped out certain terrestrial animals too. All this because we as a species have become more individualistic. We have lost the value of cohabitation. We are doing very less to revive the nature and millions of species that we are cohabiting with. And over the world this the contemporary consensus that human beings are evolving. Further this is not only harming nature but our existence as a species too which we have not been able to address.
We need to learn from our ancestors and our culture to initiate the transformative restoration process of the nature. We need to come up with a lot of environmental friendly acts and measures that promotes ecological balance on earth. Be it in the field of Agriculture, Forest, Water, Air and environment as a whole.
It’s not nature who is at stake but human existence on the planet. And if we continue living the way we are it’s not very far that nature will find its way of healing self.
So we need to introspect whether it is needed and is judicious to follow the contemporary consensus blindly … “Nature Heals !!”