Today’s insights are brought to you by my colleague and founder of the Future Smart Parent club, Jude Foulston.
Did you know that there are 36 places on Earth that have been identified as biodiversity hotspots?
Conservation International defines a biodiversity hotspot as a geographic location that is both biologically rich and under significant threat. It must contain a minimum of 1500 plants not found anywhere else on earth and have less than a third of its indigenous/natural vegetation intact.
According to the World Economic Forum Risk Report 2023, biodiversity hotspots account for 2.5% of the earth’s surface but contribute 35% of the ‘Ecosystem services’ needed for human survival. One of these ecosystem services is the regulation of climate change.
So, these are the most important locations on our planet to protect and conserve and Kariega Game Reserve is located at the convergence point of 2 out of the 36 biodiversity hotspots: the Cape Floristic Region and the Maputuland-Pondoland-Albany biosphere.
TomorrowToday Global Joins Kariega’s Conservation Community.
The Kariega Foundation works in partnership with the Kariega Game Reserve with the purpose of ensuring the sustainable conservation and protection of this critically important landscape.
By harnessing the influence of eco-tourism, both awareness and funds are raised to support habitat and wildlife conservation; wildlife protection and to advance the well-being of communities that live within and around the expanding borders of the protected area – uniting a conservation community with the collective will to protect and preserve this biodiverse landscape forever.
The Kariega Foundation calls this pioneering approach: conservation through community.
TomorrowToday Global has recently partnered with Kariega Foundation, as part of our commitment to giving back 1% for the Planet, and we have joined the Kariega conservation community.
This inspiring organisation is focused on supporting businesses navigating a constantly changing world. They have identified seven ‘grey elephants’ which are significant yet often overlooked forces of change that have far-reaching implications. They represent major socio-economic, environmental, and technological trends that are visible but often ignored by businesses and society.
One of the ‘grey elephants’ is referred to as ‘Angry Planet’ – a powerful metaphor for the impacts of climate change we are currently experiencing and the anticipated escalation of destruction that will unfold unless we work rapidly and intentionally to tackle climate change head-on.
Through our 1% for the Planet commitment, TomorrowToday chooses to partner with organisations pioneering innovative and sustainable solutions that address the seven grey elephants.
The Kariega Foundation’s work in conserving one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world, via the unique approach of building conservation through community, fits the bill.
How Biodiversity Helps Regulate Climate Change.
The ‘ecosystem services’ that nature provides for humans include the provision of food and water; well-being benefits such as recreational activities that reduce stress and the regulation of climate.
The world’s biodiverse, natural landscapes offer a nature-based solution to climate change through their ability to absorb around half of the greenhouse gases produced through human activities. Over the last 150 years, we have destroyed most of these biodiverse ‘carbon sinks’ causing a climate crisis with the risk of the extinction of many species of animals and plants.
According to the United Nations, conserving and restoring natural, biodiverse spaces, both on land and in the water, is essential for limiting carbon emissions and adapting to an already changing climate. About one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed in the next decade could be achieved by improving nature’s ability to absorb emissions.
One of the ways the Kariega Foundation is improving the efficiency of the landscape under their protection is through Alien Plant Control.
Tomorrow Today is one of the Kariega Foundation’s partners in the conservation of biodiversity through Alien Plant Control.
Read the full article from the Kariega Foundation about how they’re working on Alien Plant Control at Kariega Game Reserve to preserve the biodiversity of the landscape and the community they are building and supporting.
It is just one of the many ways the Kariega Foundation is actualising its vision of building a conservation community that works collectively to rejuvenate our planet, people and wildlife.
Our team at TomorrowToday is very proud to be partnering with the Kariega Foundation and look forward to supporting their conservation community in their work going forward.
The Kariega Foundation is actively engaged in a wide range of projects across habitat management, wildlife management, wildlife protection and community education, welfare and development. Please read their 2023 report.
In the words of the great Sir David Attenborough:
“It is surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on earth. If working apart we’re a force powerful enough to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it.”
Through this unique platform, she brings together parents and teachers from all walks of life, fostering a nurturing environment where knowledge, experiences, and innovative ideas are shared, enabling families to embrace the challenges of the digital age and prepare for the uncharted territories of tomorrow.