Feature image: A guava is not just for human consumption but also food for the rose-ringed parakeet
We all have good reasons to fight for safeguarding the natural world. As an ecologist, I have been fortunate to observe, learn, and study various organisms, from monkeys and jungle cats to birds, bats, butterflies, crickets, and most recently, ghost crabs. This unique experience, coupled with teaching and interacting with undergraduates, has led me to introspect on whether facts and figures about deteriorating air, water, and soil conditions, the rise in carbon dioxide emissions, and the extinction of species, necessarily inspire action. Instead, I argue for individuals to develop a deeper connection with nature that will eventually promote understanding, care, and ultimately policy change. Such connections will not only be for the betterment of humans, but also non-humans with whom we share the planet.
We live in unprecedented times, more popularly referred to as the Anthropocene. Unfortunately, the name does not stand as an achievement of humankind, but rather for its dubious distinction of how we are altering the environment. The United Nations states that our population is set to hit 10 billion in the 2050s. The exponential rise in human numbers over the past 500 years is set to further deteriorate the natural environment. According to the World Resources Institute, by 2050, there will be a great mismatch in the demand for water and its availability in many countries, including India. Furthermore, between 2017 and 2024, six Indian cities were listed among the top 10 polluted cities in terms of air quality, according to IQAir. In many regions of India, agriculture and food production are already taking a toll due to the increasing extent of soil degradation. This continuous decline in air, water, and soil quality will impact human well-being and survival, especially marginalised communities. Protecting nature is therefore essential for the well-being of humanity.
However, nature must also be preserved for the countless non-human species who bear the brunt of our destructive tendencies. How then must we fight for non-humans?
Some of the solutions lie in the environmental ideologies that shape our position in relation to non-humans. The anthropocentric view is hierarchical—‘Man’ is considered above all or at the centre of the universe. The ecocentric view, however, has no clear hierarchy and is egalitarian. ‘Man’ is not above woman and other non-humans. Therefore, holding an ecocentric point of view is ideal for saving nature, as it places all living forms, including humans, on the same pedestal.
Environmental ideologies also determine the value we assign to nature. The instrumental value of nature involves extracting and selling resources for direct economic benefits, such as the berries we collect, package, and sell in our supermarkets. Unfortunately, this instrumental value results in the overexploitation of nature, and is unsustainable in the long run. On the other hand, the relational value refers to the time we spend with nature and how we relate to it, beyond economics. For example, the act of gathering wild berries involves identifying the ones that are edible, observing when and where they grow, and collecting them for personal consumption. Thus, the relational value of humans and nature has both holistic and socio-cultural benefits.
However, it is the intrinsic value of nature that we should aspire to. It involves going beyond immediate monetary gains and the instrumental and relational values we attribute to nature. It emphasises the value that has no direct benefit for humans, but still calls for the admiration, respect, and preservation of nature. It is the realisation that wild berries are reproductive parts of trees, and also food for birds. This brings me to the first solution to fighting for nature—understanding that nature has an intrinsic value that goes beyond the value humans assign to it.
The second solution is one of awe and wonder. It requires a child-like curiosity to be kept alive, irrespective of one’s age—an attention to all creatures, great and small. One way to do this is to be outdoors as often as we can and develop a keen sense of observation of the creatures around us. Identifying, observing, and recording creatures is a great way to connect with and understand nature. The mobile phone—a tool that is now an extended part of our limb—can be handy for this purpose. Various apps, such as iNaturalist, eBird, and SeasonWatch, allow citizens to record and keep track of their observations. This citizen science data is also used by scientists globally to understand trends in the environment. The data from eBird, for instance, was used to produce the State of India’s Birds—a comprehensive report with insights into how bird populations are doing in the country.
Finally, I would like to emphasise our evolutionary history with other life forms. This history can be represented using a leafless, branched tree. Every species on Earth sits on the tip of a branch, and all species are connected to the tree’s trunk. Species seated next to each other on a branch suggest close relatedness. As humans sit next to chimpanzees on this phylogenetic tree, it indicates that we share a common ancestor with them, as illustrated by the node of the branch. Most importantly, the tree does not suggest that humans are in any way the pinnacle of evolution. Rather, we are as evolved as a sea urchin, a frog, a crow, or a banyan tree.
All three ways to connect with nature—realising nature’s intrinsic value, paying attention to it, and understanding its evolutionary history. But they are in no way exhaustive or the only way forward. It is important that each of us find our own way to foster a connection with nature. As long as we realise that our health is intricately linked with the planet’s health, we stand a chance in the future. Yet it is heart-wrenching to know that many non-human species that have evolved alongside us and shared this world with us for millions of years, are now walking into the darkness. Hopefully, that knowledge alone should prompt moral responsibility and inspire us to action.
Further Reading
Lupinacci, J. J. 2017. Addressing 21st century challenges in education: An ecocritical conceptual framework toward an ecotistical leadership in education. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice 2: 20–27. https://doi.org/10.5195/IE.2017.31.
Martín-López, B. 2021. Plural valuation of nature matters for environmental sustainability and justice. The Royal Society. https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/biodiversity/plural-valuation-of-nature-matters-for-environmental-sustainability-and-justice/. Accessed on July 20, 2025.
