Hypocrisy is so annoying.
1968 was UN’s International Year of Human Rights. 1975 was International Women’s Year. 1998 was International Year of the Ocean. 2003 was International Year of Freshwater. We’re still struggling to deal with these issues today and will continue doing so for a long time. (Full list of UN’s Years is here.)
This year, 2010, the United Nations proclaimed to be the International Year of Biodiversity, with a slogan Biodiversity is Life. Biodiversity is our life.
To celebrate this great occasion, various events are taking place.
In March, parties to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met in Doha, Qatar, and decided that marine species on the brink of extinction should become extinct.
Atlantic bluefin tuna, red and pink coral and eight species of shark failed to receive the votes necessary for their protection, which would have limited or forbidden their international trade.
Vanity, greed and political interests were put on pedestal to commemorate Biodiversity.
The celebration is fancy, just like it should be. Atlantic bluefin tuna is estimated to be a $ 7.2 billion a year industry. As for corals, Stephen Leahy of the Tierramérica network wrote that “Corals, of course, are beautiful, and there is a multi-billion-dollar international business in extracting some that are 100 years old so they can be worn as a 25,000-dollar necklace or put on display in luxurious mansions.” And sharks? Who cares about them, they’re only good for Jaws.
But there’s more good news to come.
In June, governments will gather at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Agadir, Morocco. They are very likely to legitimize whale hunting of three countries which have carried on regardless the international whaling moratorium, namely Japan, Norway and Iceland.
Japan labeled its whale killing a “scientific research”, which, as the Independent put it, is “a fiction believed by no one”. I heard Japan’s whaling industry tries desperately to attract customers by marketing whale meat as “cool” – making whaleburgers at McWhaler’s.
So, the International Year of Biodiversity is enjoying a great deal of attention. The UN says on average 130 species of life on Earth become extinct every day. Our governments work hard to make sure this number does not shamefully decrease.
A Greenpeace cartoon video:
You are absolutely right. Celebrations are rife and in very few occasions they resulte in something of concrete. Hypocrisy rules on this whole issue. Your post also reminded me of my last posts. If you can, take a look.
Dear Luan, thank you. I have very much enjoyed your posts and I wanted to include a link to your Charisma Iⅈ, but I wasn’t sure if you’d agree with that.
Hey Luan, thanks for your post, it gave me the opportunity to see this issue from a “new” point of view!
‘Raising awareness’ about an urgent problem is not hypocrisy. The United Nations simply cannot do more than organising “various events to take place”, in case the sovereign member-states don’t want to act on an issue.
I’d call hypocrisy in this case rather on the national governments that are pretending they care about the livelihood of their fishermen, all those working in the fishing industries and the consumers by allowing the destruction of the natural base of it all. It’s like saying you care about your tree-house and your friends inside and whistling a song together while sowing off the branch on which it rests.
Anyway, thanks for the Greenpeace video, they are spot on, but I guess those marine reserves will have to be strictly guarded (as it is done by Norway that already has some f.e.).
That tree branch is exactly my point Stefan.
“To celebrate this great occasion, various events are taking place” was intended to be hugely sarcastic: the UN announces the year of biodiversity and at the same time the same members of the UN are destroying the planet without any shame. Like you say, they pretend to care, but in reality allow destruction, and apparently they will get away with that. What a nice commemoration of biodiversity.
Thanks Hussam. That is the change we want to provoke with our posts…we have to get down to looking things differently.
Giedre, I agree with Stephan, the whales don’t vote for politicians, fishermen and fish consumers do. Because of the economic interest of the majority of human, not only politicians and industries, Nature isn’t considered seriously. This is the first direction we’ll have to work.
Some ideas to limit speculation, human depredation and Nature destruction? (?)
or
http://we.thinkaboutit.eu/profiles/blog/show?id=2747074:BlogPost:11636
Thanks for your post!
Giedre, I agree with Stephan, the whales don’t vote for politicians, fishermen and fish consumers do. Because of the economic interest of the majority of human, not only politicians and industries, the Nature isn’t considered seriously. This is the first direction we’ll have to work.
Some ideas to limit speculation, human depredation and Nature destruction?
we.thinkaboutit.eu/profiles/blog/show?id=2747074:BlogPost:11636
Thanks for your post!
...and now they admit that they not only fail to protect species still in existence (not for long though), but actually have made matters worse: “World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss, and have instead overseen alarming biodiversity declines.” UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/latenews/PressRelease.htm
Ahhhh…I have been dissapointed by several UN agencies and well, yes what they want and what they celebrate is amazing but…that’s it!
Just writing about this makes me feel…I can’t do much more about it either :(