Manage Wild Species Sustainably
Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.
Does caring for nature mean leaving it alone?
The planet’s biodiversity would be fine without us. Really. Do we even have a constructive role in the biodiversity equation? Actually, having a small role isn’t unique to humans; the same thing could be said for many primates. We pollinate, sure, but besides that, what good are we to our planet?
Perhaps humans are too focused on purpose. We didn’t choose to be here, we only exist because we can. The same thing is true for all life. Let it sink in, it’s an attractive thought: we exist because we can. That’s all. But since we do exist, let’s make the best of it. Life is a wonderful gift, but it is only ours if we appreciate and sustain it.
Like this: We are part of the Earth’s ecosystem, and like everyone in it, we use it to our benefit. But with so many people to feed, how do we find a balance? It may not be about giving back exactly as much as we take—even if that sounds really good. The only rule to survival is to use biodiversity’s natural dynamics to our advantage without threatening the regrowth of the resources we use.
Thus, it’s ok to use nature for food. The culprit, once again, is exploitation. Much of it comes from having a very large population, but even more from the careless way we use the resources. If we start using all natural resources wisely, it will be fine. Indigenous peoples have done this since the very beginning. They should be our teachers in this; they understand Earth’s kindness and limits better than anyone.
If we don’t play within the rules of biodiversity, it’s not hard to figure out what will happen. We’ll be gone, and the planet will go on, continuing to convert the sun’s radiation into the tiny, small packages of energy that is life. All life is working hard to raise the entropy of the universe, and it will not end with us.So, let’s keep hunting for food. But chill out with it, really. We are driving many species in our food chains to the level of extinction. That’s neither nice nor smart. When a species is gone, it’s gone.
Forever.
Sustainable use isn’t optional. It’s how we honour the gift of life and how we keep ours going.
As you may have noticed, this target is closely related to targets 4, 5, and 11. These targets speak to the heart of sustainability: not whether we use nature, but how.