Planet Earth, the only planet that has life is being threatened by severe climate changes partly due to human activities. The global temperature has continued to rise unchecked. The sea level continues to rise and is responsible for the flooding, mould slides that have destroyed homes, properties and taken lives.

In my present abode, a wilderness type of resort, I share my time with over a thousand types of animals and creations, some of have no name that I am aware of. The friendship I share with these different creatures has made me realize the wonders of nature and creation. It has also made me realize how related we humans are to the other creatures that inhabit the planet with us. Understanding these creatures becomes very important towards creating a balance between what we take from nature and what we must give back. A few hard truths about our neighbours:

• Many other living things are more in number, three or four times more, than humans.

• They have interesting family planning dictated by climate change, weather changes or migration.

• They protect their families and territories very seriously and can sometimes give their lives to do so.

• Most are very intelligent with some even more intelligent than we humans.

• They are very peaceful and existed long before us, the humans. The deadliest, with a poisonous arsenal that is the snake does not attack, only when it feels threatened or in self-defence. Most live in the wild and are vegetarians.

Can most exist without us humans? YES.

Can we humans exist without them? NO.

Over centuries, we humans have so much depended on some creatures for livelihood for games & for some comfort; especially those creatures that contribute immensely to the air we breathe, the food we eat. Therefore, when we compare with what we give, the end result comes down to creatures and nature fighting back with what we now know as climate change because we cannot keep taking without replenishing. 

Now living in a wilderness and having lived as a nomad in different deserts of the world, I have come to realize that nature can no longer accept the abuse and neglect that we humans have subjected the planet earth to. Turning wonderful forests with all its biodiversity to plain savannah and desert, building on flood plains that have affected the lakes, building on rivers and oceans that have affected marine lives, and making the sea-level rise.

Now rather than mitigating and learning from the science of climate change, we are looking for life on other planets without rebuilding the damage we have inflicted on planet earth. Nature may not allow that which is why we now have the following phenomenon that has continued to threaten our planet. Phenomenon such as:

THE TSUNAMI

This is a disastrous ocean wave resulting from an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. When this happens, a large amount of water gets displaced from a water source. Tsunamis have devastating effects on nature and human life. Some of it could be death, disease, and environmental impacts on humans and animals. Hundreds of people have been affected and killed by the tsunami. Many people have been displaced and many lost their lives having been affected by this. Lots of sea and land animals lost their lives and habitats. An example of a deadly tsunami that happened in 1883 claimed 36,417 lives. This was a result of a volcanic explosion in Krakatau in Indonesia.

HURRICANES/TORNADOES

Hurricane winds can cause a whole lot of destruction. Waves storm surges, rain, and river floods can also contribute to a lot of destruction. The amount of damage caused is mainly determined by the size of the storm and its angle of approach. Collapsing buildings can lead to injury and death, but the biggest impacts of hurricanes occur after the storm. Destroyed property and infrastructure often take years to restore, and this impacts individuals’ economic status.

Tornadoes affect the environment by destroying buildings, trees, and animals. Tornadoes kill animals, which affects the food chain and disrupts the whole environment. Tornadoes destroy our farms, which means there will be food shortages around the surrounding area. After everything is destroyed, humans have to rebuild. Taking actions now to secure a better future and environment for the nearest future should be of great concern and necessity.

DESERTIFICATION

This is the persistent degradation of dry land ecosystems which threatens the livelihoods of some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations on the planet that inhabit the fringes of the desert resulting in the worst migration drift the likes that have occurred in our country in the last 25 years.

The causes of desertification are not far-fetched as it is majorly caused by man. For instance, one of the main causes of desertification is unsustainable agricultural practices where people cut down trees and never plant one. Humans’ daily activities do not affect the soil alone but also water supply and biodiversity.  When we cut down trees, it reduces the habitable place for animals and insects which in some cases makes some animals and insects go extinct due to lack of a habitable environment, reduction in many different creatures on our planet will lead to the change in farming practices and overgrazing, deforestation, excessive use of Fertilizers and Pesticides and Over drafting of groundwater.

Not only that I have had some life in the wilderness over the years, but I have also visited almost all the deserts in the world, the Gobi desert in China, the Negev desert in Israel, the Nevada and Arizona deserts in the USA, and Sahara and Kalahari in Africa, In fact, I have a home in the desert, “the desert home town of Makoda” in the desert area of Kano State where I started a pilot project and was able to recover lands that were taken over by the encroaching desert. The community in appreciation built me a house in the process for returning greenery to the community, bringing back grazing fields over a period of six years.

Therefore, having had all these opportunities, a life of a nomad, explorer, and adventurer, and to have studied the science of desertification in Israel, and understanding the creatures that inhabit the planet earth with us, I have come to the conclusion that we humans must create a balance and find a better way of relating with other creatures and that must be done NOW. Because, in the event of we humans perishing in any of the catastrophes mentioned above, most of the creatures will easily survive and regenerate themselves. Also bear in mind that the water we mismanage or treat with little or no respect occupies more than two-thirds of the global land surface.