The major symbols of planetary balance

Life on our planet developed thanks to many naturally balanced systems: water cycles, ecosystems, thermal equilibrium... Several elements of nature symbolise the fragility of this balance. Preview…

Poles and deserts: extreme environments under pressure

Poles and glaciers are the earth's main sources of fresh water. In the south, Antarctica accounts for 70% of this water ⁽¹⁾. The white continent is under close scrutiny: as rainfall decreases, giant icebergs detach themselves more and more often. In the north, the Arctic sea ice has decreased by 15% in 20 years. Temperatures are rising twice as fast in this region of the globe ⁽²⁾. The icecap is shrinking and it reflects a decreasing amount sunlight, which accelerates global warming. Lastly, the glaciers have lost 50% of their volume in 150 years ⁽²⁾. This can potentially upset the water balance of many countries: depending on the seasons, there are risks of floods and water shortages. Now, more than ever before, the melting ice symbolises our vulnerability to the global warming of the planet.

As water flows to the poles, 20% of the land areas are threatened by desertification ⁽³⁾. This danger was originally known as a by product of poverty: people in semi-arid regions, dependent on timber resources, eventually exploited the latest patches of vegetation that protected them from the desert. But Western countries are also heavily at risk. The cause? Intensive agriculture, which has sterilised America's western region on an area equivalent to two times that of France ⁽²⁾. Not to mention deforestation and intensive irrigation, which have salinised Australia's soil. Desertification shows the need to return to a reasonable use of land: vegetation and irrigation methods should be adapted to local conditions. A genuine revolution in a world dominated by intensive agriculture...

Forests and oceans: cradles of life at risk

While western forests are being rebuilt - in France, their surface has doubled since the late 18^th century ⁽²⁾ - southern forests remain are still subject to intense pressure. Their predators? Agriculture and farming, which primarily serve rich countries; timber trade; mining. Yet, forests are huge sources of carbon: approximately 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to deforestation ⁽⁴⁾. They also participate in the regulation of climate by maintaining ambient humidity. In addition, they are also biodiversity reserves, which are crucial for many economic sectors (pharmaceuticals...). Forest management illustrates the difficulty for mankind to find a sustainable balance with its environment. A job that is just beginning: the Amazon has decreased in size by 17% since 1970, and only 2% of the world's forests are currently certified as being sustainable...

The oceans are necessary for the earth's balance. They regulate the climate, especially the ocean's currents (Gulf Stream...). They participate in the recycling of water. They store CO₂, either in a dissolved form in deep waters or through the plant plankton that deposits sediment toward the end of its lifecycle ⁽⁵⁾. Lastly, they are cradles of biodiversity. Coral, an animal species which covers just 2% of the ocean floor, notably shelters 25% of marine species ⁽²⁾. Yet we dump hydrocarbons, chemicals and detergents into the oceans... Fauna and flora perish, green algae thrive, and 30% of coral will be at risk by 2040. While three out of five people on the planet live less than 80 km. away from the coastline ⁽¹⁾, the oceans remind us of our ability to destroy areas that are crucial for our survival.

Biodiversity: symbolic sites and species

In order to fight against the erosion of biodiversity, ecologists have sought to highlight unifying symbols. As early as 1988, British ecologist Norman Myers developed the concept of "biodiversity hot spots", which are like sanctuaries rich in flora and fauna whose preservation is a priority. These 34 sites cover less than 2% of all land areas but they account for over half of the world's species ⁽²⁾. France is the only country that is present in five of these hot spots: the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, Polynesia and New Caledonia.

Awareness campaigns have also often used symbolic species to support their messages: pandas, polar foxes, lute turtles... This technique has a genuine environmental interest: protecting a species requires that one preserve its habitat as well as the other creatures that live there. By highlighting a given species, we are able to protect entire ecosystems. In addition, these campaigns, which take advantage of the general public's sensitivity, are usually effective. A polar bear exhausted on a drifting iceberg... A gorilla threatened by deforestation... Who can forget these shocking images, which are often necessary for us to respond to environmental emergencies?

Written by Florent Planas for "One year for the Planet" (translated by Anyword).

Find out more…

1. Fondation Nicolas Hulot, Ecologuide de A à Z (Le Cherche Midi, 2004)
2. Michel Barnier, Atlas pour un monde durable (Acropole, 2007)
3. CNRS
4. R.A. Houghton (Woods Hole Research Center)
5. L. Spokes, How oceans take up carbon dioxide (Environmental Science Published for Everybody Round the Earth, www.espere.net, 2003)
6. To learn more about the polar regions, visit the French Polar Institute's website, www.institut-polaire.fr.