Australian biologist Sacha Dench has been nicknamed “the Human Swan”, in recognition of her record-breaking, 7,000 kilometre, paramotor (motorized paraglider) flight, tracking Bewick swans across 11 countries, from Arctic Russian to the UK. Ahead of International Day for Biological Diversity, Ms. Dench explains why a drastic shift is needed in the global economy, to save endangered wildlife.
Flying as the lead bird
Time to step up
What really keeps me inspired is the fact that, if you can communicate something in the right way, you can get other people on board and wanting to help as well.
I don’t want people to see the flying expedition and think, well, that’s the stuff of superheroes, but not something I can do: we need more people, not just those in the NGO conservation world, to step up and decide that, actually, this is really important to them as individuals.
For years now, I’ve been focusing on the stories of people that I’ve met along the way, and the things that they’ve offered to do to help because as soon as people hear stories like that, that’s when they start to think, well, maybe I could do something too.
We need to keep showing people examples and stories of the massive impact that individuals, companies and other organisations can have if they get involved.
International Day for Biological Diversity
- International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated on 22 May, celebrates the Convention on Biological Diversity, a UN treaty often seen as a key document regarding sustainable development, which entered into force on 29 December 1993.
- The loss of biodiversity threatens all life. It has been proven that biodiversity loss could expand zoonoses – diseases transmitted from animals to humans – while, on the other hand, if we keep biodiversity intact, it offers excellent tools to fight against pandemics like those caused by coronaviruses.
- The main message from the Convention is that biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis, from nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods.