I can remember back in my “staunch conservative” days when they were trying to stop logging in the Pacific Northwest because it was endangering the habitat of a certain owl.  I remember thinking how absurd to put the brakes on an important commercial activity just because of this little insignificant creature.  These days my thinking has changed, radically.  Of course we have to take whatever measures possible to prevent any species from disappearing from our planet.  If we don’t, guess who might be next?  Recently, here in Cost Rica, one of our rain forest frog species, the Sapo Holdrige, has been declared extinct. The primary reason is the proliferation of a certain mushroom that exudes a substance that adheres to the frog’s skin, basically suffocating the frog (since the frog actually breathes through its skin).  And why is this mushroom proliferating?  Global warming is the main culprit.  Biologists say that the disappearance of rain forest frog species is a warning sign that something is going wrong with the planet.  For those of you out there who consider yourself Christian and conservative (as the two often go hand in hand) you need only go to the bible and the story of Noah to understand how important biodiversity is.  You see God didn’t instruct Noah to build the ark just to save man.  He also told him to gather every animal on earth, male and female, to preserve the earth’s biodiversity.  Maybe if God recognized the importance of biodiversity preservation, so should we. In the book Hot, Flat and Crowded, Tom Friedman includes a very inspiring chapter entitled, A Million Noahs, A Million Arks.  In it he discusses how government and people, like you and me, can play a vital role in biodiversity preservation.  Basically the idea is that the earth’s biodiversity “hot spots,” such  Costa Rica, should be looked at as arks, or potential arks.  And that we need Noahs or coalitions of Noahs to take action to build and preserve them.  His requisites for ark-building are as follows: (1) set aside of protected areas as being off-limits to development and regulation of development in other areas so as to have minimal impact (2) economic opportunities for local communities to enable them to thrive without harming biodiversity; (3) private sector investors who seek to invest in preserving biodiversity, raise local living standards, and make a profit, all at the same time (what many eco-developers have done here in Costa Rica and what the Certificate for Sustainable Tourism program promotes); (4) local governments that are able and willing to protect diversity while not giving in to corrupt practices (a problem Costa Rica has definitely suffered); (5) biodiversity assessments by local and international experts so that areas that need protection can be accurately delineated; (6) education of young people so that they can acquire the skills that will make it unnecessary to plunder the environment to make a living.  A very challenging list, I would say.  I am proud to say that the government and the private sector in Costa Rica have together taken many of the above steps to create and maintain the country as a biodiversity “ark.”  However, more needs to be done.  As the owner of a travel business, this concept of “ark-building” has got me thinking.  And that is what the world needs right now, more than “stimulus packages” and “government bailouts.”  That is, creative thought towards the end of preserving the planet.  We can all play a role.  We can all be a Noah.  Pretty cool stuff, huh?  Start by refusing to buy into the argument that this is not an important issue, or that it is a political issue, or simply a conservative versus liberal argument.  No, it is a preservation of the planet, and ultimately ourselves, argument.

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