Chainsaw Used to Hack Down Trees at Geothermal Reserve - Essay Example

The rural Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: Date: The rural Introduction It is no doubt that rural space is deemed or seen to be distinct from urban space. There are two major characteristic that help individuals differentiate rural from urban space. Ideally rural space is it characterized by the concept of strong sense of community where very individual know each other. Secondly life in rural space is closer to nature. It is thus prudent to say that it is the rural space that offers suitable habitants not only for mankind but also other living organisms. It is from this background that man should endeavor in protecting as well as conserving the environment. The task of this paper is to search for a minimum of three articles either magazines or newspaper from where I will write a commentary that explains what the disputes or issues about or who the protagonists are. In doing so I will critically examine how journalists as well s those quoted in the stories mobilize various discourse about nature to make their case. Article 1: Armed groups take over rare animal sanctuary The article was published on 25th September 2012 by the New Zealand Herald. The article gives more details about the current happenings in Democratic Republic of Congo and the effect of the political unrest to the wildlife particularly the endangered gorilla. From the introduction it is evident that the reporter makes it very clear what readers expect from the articles. He starts by pointing out that the oldest national park in Africa in DRC is under the mercy of armed group who are killing wildlife as well as scaring tourists (APNZ, 2012a). It is no doubt that wildlife directly attracts tourist who later bring foreign exchange to the recipient country which later create employment as well as reducing poverty. However due to war the director of the park and his staff are not sure of the future as they were forced to spend a whole day in the cellar following fire attacks and fighting. According to APNZ, 2012a the national park is a habitant to approximately 480 gorillas which is slightly above half of the total mountain gorillas remaining. The article argues that the killing of wildlife by armed groups seem to be orders from officers who benefits directly from such acts. According to the director, it is usually very difficult to bring things to normalcy after a few months of destruction. To put records straight, the armed group is accused of killing a number of wildlife including a lion, birds, antelopes, elephants, hippos as well as chimpanzees. A brief history of the park is given as being home to close to 30,000 hippos but the number has drastically decline to 300. In the month of July it is important to mention that the rangers sought to find the whereabouts of 6 families of mountain gorillas that has disappeared since April. To initiate the search the protagonist says that he had to make an agreement with the two worrying parties (APNZ, 2012a). The seriousness of the problem can be seen through a number of ways. First it has deprived the organization income that helped it meet its financial requirements such as paying salaries. On the same note the number of tourism has gone down hampering the efforts of construction of social amenities from money generated from tourism. Lastly the director states that at such times employees of the park are in danger and it is difficult to curb illegal animal trafficking opportunistic poaching among others. It is important to note that the beauty of nature can be destroyed completely by acts of war and civil unrest (APNZ, 2012a). In countries where heavy machines and destructive weapons were used, the landscape as well as wildlife has been destroyed either deliberately or otherwise. All these result in a landscape that is undesirable hence not attractive to tourism. Article 2: Chainsaw used to 'hack down' trees at geothermal reserve The second article was published on 26th September 2012 in the same herald. It talks about how a protected area full of threaten tree species at a protected geothermal was vandalized. Just like the first article the journalists makes the point and theme of the article very clear from the first paragraph. He damage was done at around the Waiotapu Hot and Cool Pools. It is worth noting that the act destroyed plans as well as the bank. The fence protecting the threatened kanuka tree was cut. After gaining access a total of 10 trees were destroyed. According to an environmental office, Forrest Evelyn, it is indeed a privilege to have land that is dedicated to protecting as well as conserving endangered species of plants as well as animals (APNZ, 2012b). However it disheartening that despite such efforts there are individuals who still have the guts to destroy the little that is remaining. This thwarts the efforts directed towards protecting the environment as well as associated plants and animals. From the article readers are made to understand that the initiative is part of a plan in the region to protect as well as restore nature as well as cultural values of a country lands. The dispute here is about destruction of protected endangered tree species and the protagonists are individuals in the conservation sector. They feel that by destroying critically endangered tree species, the efforts to bring their population to stability is serious being hampered by such selfish acts (APNZ, 2012b). As note in earlier sections, a natural environment coupled with cultural values make rural space very attractive to mankind. It is from this background that it is important to conserve and protect the environment for the use of not only the present generation but also the future generation APNZ, (2012b). This then brings in the concept of sustainable development where care should be taken when present generations are utilizing existing resources. Since the rural environment is a leisure or consumption space offering everything ranging from opportunity to enjoy the scenery to participatory outdoor activities, destruction of trees may in one way or the other hamper such enjoyment. This is the message that seems to come from protagonists. Conservationists have called upon the police to launch an investigation so that the culprit can be brought to book. Article 3: Hauraki Gulf: Planning for the future Hauraki Gulf: Planning for the future was written by Cumming Geoff in August 25 2012 a publication of the New Zealand herald. The author acknowledges that although the Hauraki Gulf is one of the spectacular natural resources in the region, it is declining at an alarming rate. However there are strategies or plans in place to deal with the problem, nonetheless there is room to allow collaboration. It is proposed in the article that farmers or volunteer divers as well as boaties can initiate the planned change. For instance when farmers use fewer fertilizers as plant trees may help in curbing destruction of the gulf. The author concludes that the desire to safe the feature from the effect of increased human activities is undeniable. Although report indicated that the gulf was under serious destruction people did not give the report a serious thought. It is usually human neglect that leads to more serious environmental problem that may take hundreds of years to rectify. The importance of the ecosystem is brought to light. Indeed it is in line with the benefits associated with major rural space (Cumming, 2012). The gulf is presented as being of significance in supporting fishing, recreation, offering a scenic beauty; it is a sanctuary to the migratory birds’ species, a nursery habitat for a number of plants and animals including whales. As a result of anthropogenic effect, the author posits that the current state of the gulf is a threat to tourism and aquaculture. Scientific reports indicate that the gulf has lost close to 80.0% of its natural abundance as such a forum known as Hauraki Gulf Forum is seeking to come up with was to reverse the trend. However a number of issues stand on the way and these include introduction of invasive species which threaten the existence of existing species, sedimentation, eutrophication, over-fishing, sewage, industrial wastes to mention but a few (Cumming, 2012). The efforts to deal with the problem can also be thwarted by conflicting legislations, for instance a local council might be more interested in revenue generation and less involved on environmental conservation. As such there is need to harmonize such issues before the problem is solved. Additionally the manner with which the ecosystem is deteriorating does not allow individuals to have a faster glimpse of what has happened (Cumming, 2012). It is acknowledged that tackling these problems singly will be a daunting task, hence the need to collaborate with relevant stakeholders such as farmers, scientist, individuals in the legislation sector among others. among the initiatives or approaches that helped in curing the problem included restoring and controlling pets, fencing streams and other water to avoid sedimentation to mention but a few. The initiative resulted to other unexpected happenings such as the return of storm petrel which had disappeared almost a decade ago. The effort towards collaboration led to a plan to develop a marine spatial plan which involved all relevant stakeholders in a participatory and collaborative approached aimed at identifying habitats to be protected, initiatives and possible areas for economic benefits among others. Nonetheless there are some who think that the plan is aimed at privatizing some section of the gulf. Despite all the strategies adopted to restore the gulf as well as replenishing with enough fish stocks, the bottom line to succeed is forcing collaboration (Cumming, 2012). Through the numerous mouth pieces in form of scientist, policy advocates among others who have been used by the author, indeed nothing can be accomplished in the field of ecosystem conservation as well as protection if all relevant stakeholders are not brought on board. References APNZ, (2012a). Armed groups take over rare animal sanctuary. Retrieved on 19 October 2012 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10836455 APNZ, (2012b). Chainsaw used to 'hack down' trees at geothermal reserve. Retrieved on 18 October 2012 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10836735 Cumming, G. (2012). Hauraki Gulf: Planning for the future. Retrieved on 18th October 2012 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10829311 Read More