In April 2016, I wrote an article titled, Want To Know Why Conservation Is Failing? Read On…. In the article, I spoke about the negative implications of the specialist-expert mindset. Over decades, people working in conservation (and beyond) have been supported to hone their specialist expertise through research but the professional development needed to evolve a more strategic way of thinking is lacking in the sector. Yet specialists rarely make good problem solvers when dealing with complexity. Too many become perfectionists in their field but are unable to make links, unable to consider the consequences of their proposed solutions outside their immediate field of expertise. In short, they do depth but don’t exhibit a breadth of perspective. To [...]

What is the purpose of zoos? And, are they fulfilling their primary objective? I have been mulling over these questions for several years now. The first ‘modern’ zoo opened in Paris in 1793. The idea quickly spread to cities throughout Europe and beyond. The question which I have found myself reflecting on more-and-more, after reading the IPBES report into the extinction crisis is, “Given zoos have had over 200 years to enlighten us to the importance of non-human animals, how come so few people care about wildlife and the natural world?” In this task, zoos have obviously failed, as it is our purchasing behaviour that is driving the extinction crisis. The May 2019 IPBES report into global biodiversity [...]

Apex predators and iconic species decimated by a handful of men who can’t control their urge to kill. It is far too easy to find examples of bloodlust. Spanish trophy hunter, Marcial Gómez Sequeira, who said in a news article, “Three years ago I tried to calculate the time I have spent hunting. I worked out that I had been shooting for 24 hours a day over the course of 11 years and three months of my life. Firing bullets non-stop.” Wisconsin hunters killing 216 wolves in less than 60 hours, exceeding the state quota of 119 and prompting Wisconsin to end a one-week hunt four days early. Wildlife killing competitions, where the level of slaughter is too [...]

Not Dealing With Climate Change Is Dumb, Not Dealing With Biodiversity Loss Is Even Dumber.  In watching the run up to CoP26, what has been very apparent is the pressure put on world leaders to attend. Together with the host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the other world leaders confirmed as going include Prime Minister Mario Draghi (Italy), President Joe Biden (United States), First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Scotland), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Canada), President Emmanuel Macron (France), President Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana), President Alberto Fernandez (Argentina), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Israel), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey), Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (Sweden), President Guy Parmelin (Switzerland), President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), President Ivan Duque (Colombia), Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Australia). Notable [...]

A map went up on the CITES website recently; it shows which of the 183 CITES signatory parties have some form of electronic permitting already in place (14 signatories, colour amber) and how many parties are developing/planning an electronic CITES permit system (30 parties, colour green). Maybe the first thing to mention is, why would CITES invert the normal project management ‘traffic light colour’ convention, making amber ‘implemented’ and green ‘in progress’. Cynically, I would say that at a glance this makes the project’s progress look better than it truly is. The map shows there has been a small increase in the number of countries who have upgraded their permit system, compared to when we [...]

Countries worldwide are easing their COVID lockdowns or outlining the road map to reopening social contact and the economy. All of this is possible because of the humble QR Code, which enables people to demonstrate their vaccine or COVID status. First introduced by Israel, Covid passports go by a variety of names, including COVID Certificate, health pass and green pass. Our smart phone carries our personal QR code, providing proof we are fully vaccinated against Covid, have recovered from the virus, or have recently tested negative. Within the EU for instance, some countries have developed national Covid passes compatible with the European digital Covid certificate, which is designed to facilitate travel throughout [...]