"Thomas Savage's vision finally became reality. We gave up control, the forest could expand. Other plants would be planted into the earth, and big areas should grow wild." (Maja Lunde, The History of the Bees)

What kind of enrichment does nature represent for man? What can one do to protect nature?

Hermann Hausmann - 21.02.2019 @ 21:49

​​​​Man in Line with Nature

by Nicolas Löwe, VKS Växjö/Sweden, translated from German

What kind of enrichment does nature provide for man? This is a question one may ask themselves in this modern world. Where the only encounter with nature is provided from the trees in the city park. This often makes it difficult to realize how much of our daily lives are dependent on nature.

One of the books that shines a light on this topic is the book “The History of the Bees” by the Norwegian writer Maja Lunde. The book describes the coexistence between mankind and bees as well as our dependence on the bees. The book contains three different stories that are separate but still linked together. The first one takes place in the 19th century. It tells the story of how the first man-made beehives were built and the start of bee domestication. The second story is set in the present and describes modern beekeeping. It also discusses the beginning and reasons for the extinction of the bees that is currently happening. The last story takes place in a future where all bees have gone extinct. In this description of the future all plants have to be manually pollinated as there aren't any bees that can do so. This leads to a famine and the people have to start working at a very young age with pollinating the plants to be able to sustain themselves and their community. Several of the foods and drinks we today consume on a regular basis are dependent on the pollination of the bees: Potatoes, fruits, tea and coffee all need bees to exist. If there were fewer bees there would also be less beef. At first this might sound a bit strange but without the bees there would also be less of the feed crops that are commonly used in cattle farming (1).

Nowadays there is talk of a bee extinction. A large number of beehives are becoming infested with mites that kill the bees and they can spread quickly since a lot of the bee colonies are already weakened. There is also a phenomenon occurring called “Colony Collapse Disorder” or CCD. CCD is the phenomenon that entire bee colonies are leaving their hives and queen for seemingly no reason and thus killing the entire colony. The scientific community hasn't been able to explain the cause of this behaviour yet.  One theory is that it correlates with the large amounts of pesticides used in modern farming. Another theory is that it occurs because the bees no longer get all the nutrients they need since farming has changed into a monoculture.

However, nature doesn't just bring us sustenance but also the oxygen we need to survive. About 80% of the world's produced oxygen originates from microorganisms in the oceans. Nevertheless, we still continue to pollute the ocean more and more by thus damaging the existing biotopes. Whilst this is happening we are destroying the rainforest which also contributes to a large amount of oxygen production (1). The rainforest isn't just beneficial to humanity because of its oxygen production. It also absorbs and stores large amounts of carbon dioxide. This counteracts our carbon dioxide emission and stabilizes the climate (3). Despite this 70 000 square kilometers of the rainforest are destroyed each year. The paradoxical thing is that at the same time as mankind is destroying the rainforest and the natural resources and benefits it gives us we are trying to recreate these effects in an artificial manner.

But how can man live in line with nature and what can be done to protect it? The book “The History of the Bees” shows a possible solution. Which is to stop trying to control and form nature after the will of man and let it grow freely.  One first step would be to stop destroying further natural resources such as the rainforest and to not take more from nature than necessary.  The modern mass production also results in a large amount of food waste. As a third action mankind must refrain from using pesticides and return to the polycultural agriculture we used to have. It won't be easy as this means that we have to refrain from some of our comforts that we have grown accustomed to. We will have to refrain from comforts such as meat for every meal or strawberries in winter. However, the other alternative would be a collapse of the climate which is even less desirable.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

(1) Pollinator Partnership. “List of Pollinated Food”. https://pollinator.org/list-of-pollinated-food. (Abgerufen am 17-03-2019)

(2) Rainforest Foundation US. “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND RAINFOREST FACTS”. https://rainforestfoundation.org/commonly-asked-questions-and-facts/. (Abgerufen am 17-03-2019)

(3) Rainforest alliance. “Tropical Forests in Our Daily Lives”. Publiziert am 5-12-2017. https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/tropical-forests-in-our-daily-lives. (Abgerufen am 17-03-2019)

Hello,

I read your article and I think you described the facts very well. There really must be a way to live with nature and not to destroy it. Nature gives us so many beautiful things such as trees, flowers, and also animals. But we don’t only need nature to consume food. It also gives us many other positive things. In the book “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett nature influences the children positively so that they learn how to treat each other and get rid of their sicknesses. I think it’s important to see nature as an important part of our lives and not only as a way to grow food. Nature also needs to be protected and cared for.

Johanna Holaubek - 19.05.2019 @ 22:45

We cannot deny that our lives are closely linked to our surroundings.  In nature, every little group of organisms coexists with many others. When one species becomes extinct the others may follow in its footsteps or, on the other side of the spectrum, take over the habitat. Either way, nature loses its balance and may start falling apart. "The History of the Bees" shows exactly why we need to protect our environment and what may happen if we don't.  We often don't see the importance of things, such as bees pollinating flowers, until we lose them.  The care that the people in the future take of the bees that came back really makes you see how important they are for mankind.  The amount of pesticides used nowadays to provide the world with food is enormous. It is obvious that we can’t just give them up completely at the moment, but this is definitely one of the things worth researching in order to give a chance to our descendants to live in a world more as we know it than Tao’s version of reality.
Your article was a pleasure to read. I feel like you clearly explained the book’s plot as well as gave some scientific context.

Martyna Kołek - 07.06.2019 @ 21:22