Even for those who don’t regularly engage with or care about so-called ‘green issues’, you’d be hard-pressed to ignore the fact that – according to the newspapers – 2018 was not a good year for our planet. But behind the alarmist headlines and anxiety-driven inertia that the prediction of imminent doom has fuelled, there lies some good news; there is a lot that can be done about climate change, as long as we don’t lose sight of the fact that, even as individuals, the choices that we make really do matter.
In many ways, 2018 was a bad year. We found out that we only have 12 years left to address the climate crisis if we want to recognise the planet that we’ll leave behind to future generations. We also learned that we’ve wiped out <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018">60% of species populations</a> in the past four decades, as well as <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/">half of the world’s shallow coral reefs</a>. We were told that our obsession with (and inability to properly dispose of) plastic has seen it end up in the stomachs of over <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018">90% of the world’s sea birds</a>, and we saw Brazil – the Amazon rainforest’s largest home – release its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/24/brazil-records-worst-annual-deforestation-for-a-decade">worst deforestation figures</a> in a decade. We experienced <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2018/08/14/wake-up-and-smell-the-ashes-climate-change-is-our-problem-now/">heatwaves and freezing cold spells</a>, and saw hurricanes wreak havoc throughout the Atlantic. We watched on as drought drove <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2018/06/20/the-refugee-crisis-and-the-road-to-authoritarianism/">caravans of migrants</a> from their homes – forcing them to risk their lives crossing borders – and stared in horror as devastating wildfires destroyed the livelihoods of people many would have assumed were wealthy enough to lift themselves out of harm’s way.
Fortunately, unless you happen to be the 45th president of the United States, there is some cause for optimism amongst all of this destruction. The events of 2018 have – once and for all &#8211; removed any semblance of credibility from the climate change denial movement. While global warming was once flippantly dismissed as an intangible and distant threat to easily-forgotten, low-lying third world nations, the past year has shown it to be an undeniable reality that is alarmingly relevant, and threatening, to a global audience. The fact that climate change is now tangibly affecting everyone has finally given a sense of urgency to the search for a solution.
Alongside a renewed focus on the need for rapid decarbonisation, emissions reductions and a mass disruption of global supply chains, another simpler solution gained some much-needed traction in 2018: the conservation of biodiversity. It is estimated that <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645">up to 37% of the solutions required</a> to keep global warming below 2 degrees centigrade may lie within nature herself. So-called ‘natural climate solutions’ promote the <a href="http://naturalclimatesolutions.org/">unparalleled potential</a> of forestry and agriculture to accelerate carbon capture, reduce emissions, and improve the resilience and protective capacity of ecosystems around the world. And while they provide a global incentive for the protection of nature, rendering the conservation of biodiversity a necessity rather than a green privilege, they also have the potential to improve the lives of populations around the world. 
It is no secret that climate change predominantly affects the world’s most vulnerable people, from low-lying coastal communities to poor rural populations who depend on the land for their livelihoods. It compounds environmental stress and <a href="https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/climate-change-affects-poverty">undermines development gains</a> by affecting economic, social and political systems. It forces people from their homes, pushes them into poverty, and removes their access to basic necessities. Despite these individuals having contributed little in emissions to the global climate crisis, they have suffered disproportionately as a result of it. For such communities, natural climate solutions hold life-altering potential. Alongside their simplicity, immediacy and relatively low cost, they can – through effective implementation and management – provide much-needed sustainable livelihood opportunities for local and indigenous communities.
The widespread recognition of the importance of local and indigenous communities in implementing conservation initiatives was another significant win for 2018. Though protected area management has historically been characterised by the forced evacuations of locals, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/london-conference-on-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-2018">Illegal Wildlife Trade conference</a> that took place in October of last year demonstrated that this approach is no longer being tolerated by the global community. Placing the implementation of conservation projects firmly in the hands of those who know the land was a central focus of the conference, and is an approach that is being used across the world. While this approach is not yet universal – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/02/brazil-jair-bolsonaro-amazon-rainforest-protections">Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro</a> being the most dangerous example of resistance to it – the progress has been significant. The upgraded status of the Mountain Gorilla from ‘critically endangered’ to ‘endangered’ at the back end of last year is one such example of this.
The year 2018 also had a lot to say to those who have been convinced that, as individuals, they can’t make a difference when it comes to climate change. Whether you look at <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2016/11/27/how-david-attenborough-is-getting-planet-earth-wrong/">Sir David Attenborough</a>, who has been credited for kick-starting what can only be described as a Plastic Revolution, or Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a wave of <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2017/12/11/children-lead-the-fight-against-climate-change/">climate protests</a> across the globe before being invited to speak in front of the United Nations at the end of last year, 2018 taught us not underestimate the power of the individual in driving global action on climate.
But 2018 also showed us the environmental potential in collective action. As businesses around the world responded to consumer pressure to curb their environmental impact (no one ever thought <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mcdonalds-plastic-straws-ban-uk-ireland-pollution-environment-eu-rules-a8399841.html">McDonald’s would ban plastic straws</a>, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46424830">Shell’s move to link executive pay</a> to carbon emissions targets was truly unprecedented), it was supermarket chain <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdpspllWI2o">Iceland’s heartwarming Christmas advert</a> that gave true cause for climate optimism. In the campaign, Iceland partnered with Greenpeace to announce the removal of palm oil from their own-brand products and to expose the devastating impact of palm oil deforestation around the world. It received such widespread support from individuals and businesses that it led <a href="https://www.eco-business.com/news/wilmars-supplier-mapping-plan-could-be-a-breakthrough-for-palm-oil-industry/">Wilmar, the world’s largest palm oil trader</a>, to commit to removing deforestation and ‘dirty palm oil’ from its supply chain.
So while the headlines may remember 2018 as a year of climate disaster, I’ll choose to remember it as the year that gave me hope, put a nail in the coffin of climate change denial, and convinced me that 2019 could be a real turning point for the future of our planet. As long as we recognise that the choices we make as individuals, consumers and citizens really do make a difference.
<pre><a href="https://www.veco.shop/2018/11/17/ditch-and-switch/">Image from here.</a></pre>

Plastic-Bottle

Despite the headlines, the past year was a turning point for climate action.

The Tides Are Turning: Climate Optimism for 2019

<del></del>Guerrilla organisations throughout Africa are funding their activities through the sale of systematically poached ivory from elephants 
&nbsp; 
Leonardo Di Caprio has added his <a href="https://twitter.com/LeoDiCaprio/status/700043939211042816?lang=en-gb">Oscar-winning voice</a> to a host of other celebrities who have vowed to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JoinTheHerd?src=hash&amp;lang=en-gb">#jointheherd</a> in a bid to put an end to the illicit ivory trade. A trade that is ensuring over 33,000 African elephants are brutally slaughtered each year as demand for decadent and ‘medically-enhancing’ ivory spirals out of control in East Asia. 
Although the recent upsurge in focus and weight of support behind the cause of the African elephant is incredibly refreshing, it seems that for many, elephants are just too far away and too far down the list of world-problems-to-be-immediately-addressed for people to care about. People find baby elephants cute, their mourning of their dead is intriguing, and they provide the best example of a successful matriarchal society in the animal kingdom. But it seems that many don’t actually believe, care or feel that they have any capacity to do anything about their impending extinction. 
In a world where the news agenda is peppered with stories of mass beheadings and systematic child abuse conducted by brutal terror organisations – as well as merciless attacks like those conducted in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/mar/22/brussels-airport-explosions-live-updates">Brussels just today</a> – it is understandable that people’s concerns lie outside of what is widely considered to be a ‘<a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2013/06/08/wildlife-conservation-in-cameroon-and-beyond/">conservation’</a> issue. But ironically, it is the activities of these terror organisations that provide the most compelling reason to shine a spotlight on the plight of the African elephant. While excessive demand in East Asia has been widely publicised, the beginning of the supply chain has remained relatively neglected. This is the part where militant terrorist organisations throughout Africa are funding their activities through the sale of systematically poached ivory, or the <a href="http://www.elephantleague.org/project/africas-white-gold-of-jihad-al-shabaab-and-conflict-ivory/">‘White Gold of Jihad’</a>. 
It has long been supposed that the <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2011/11/27/a-dying-species-the-peril-of-the-rhino/">illegal ivory trade</a> is funding terrorism in Africa. The recent surge in activity of religious extremist groups arising in opposition to the actions of government-backed armies in <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/terrorism-rises-in-northern-africa">Somalia, Nigeria and Uganda</a> has been prolific. The basis of this assumption becomes clear where ivory is worth more than gold, corruption is rife, and fighters have been shown to <a href="http://www.elephantleague.org/project/africas-white-gold-of-jihad-al-shabaab-and-conflict-ivory/">earn more</a> working for Islamist groups such as Al-Shabab than as soldiers in the Somalian army. Armed groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabab and Joseph Kony’s <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2011/12/28/central-africa-terror-of-the-lords-resistance-army/">Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)</a> had to be getting their money from somewhere. Ivory-clad elephants seemed like an obvious solution, especially in the years before their protection became so necessary and, in parts of Africa, so successful. 
Bryan Christy’s recent master class in investigative journalism for <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-ivory/article.html">National Geographic</a> finally proved these assumptions to be true. By planting infallibly fake elephant tusks containing minute GPS trackers into the supply chain between Garamba and Sudan, Christy was able to track the tusks as they made their way to Kafia Kingi, widely recognised to be the safe haven hideout of <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2012/03/14/why-stop-at-kony/">Kony and the LRA</a>. Accounts from LRA ‘defectors’ substantiate the claim that this evidence presents; elephants were being slaughtered for their ivory by LRA soldiers and subsequently traded for the food and weapons that keep them afloat. In the words of Kony himself, “it’s only the ivory that will make the LRA strong”. 
It is not just the Christian fundamentalist LRA that is using ivory as currency to fund their campaign of extremist brutality. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229692-700-ivory-poaching-funds-most-war-and-terrorism-in-africa/">Boko Haram</a> and the Janjaweed militia have also been <a href="http://www.lastdaysofivory.com/">implicated</a>, and it has been calculated that approximately <a href="http://www.elephantleague.org/project/africas-white-gold-of-jihad-al-shabaab-and-conflict-ivory/">40 per cent of Al-Shabab’s funding</a> comes from proceeds made from the illegal ivory trade. The trade becomes alarmingly relevant when the Islamist group responsible for the 2013 Westgate Mall bombings and similar attacks on perceived ‘western’ targets are being funded through the brutal mass-murder of elephants and their protectors. The ivory trade is not just fuelling the demise of the African elephant, but also contributing to the murder of thousands of innocent people. 
While terrorism in Africa may still seem far away for many, Boko Haram’s recent rebrand that has given the so-called ‘Islamic State’ a foothold in Africa shatters this illusion. It is hard to ignore the threat that Daesh poses in the west, though many have managed to ignore the destruction they employ elsewhere. The recent Paris attacks were incredibly shocking both in volume and in proximity to British soil. Car bomb <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/15/ankara-turkish-capital-terrorist-bombings-paris">attacks in Ankara</a> are becoming frequent and devastating in their impact. Brussels spent Christmas in lock-down. Beachgoers on ‘western’ resorts on the coast of Africa are being increasingly targeted. London has just raised its terror alert to ‘high’ following a direct threat from Daesh of a ‘Doomsday-style’ attack so terrible that it will ‘turn children’s hair white’. Suddenly terrorism does not seem so far away, but, unfortunately, a solution to its aggressive proliferation does. 
The good news for elephants and those who care about them is that <a href="http://www.lastdaysofivory.com/">ivory-funded terrorism</a> is a form of terrorism we actually can do something about. There are many reasons to be optimistic about our ability to successfully put an end to the illegal ivory trade in Africa. 
Replenishing (or at least stabilising) elephant populations in Kenya in conjunction with flourishing protection and <a href="http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fostering.asp?gclid=CMTPzeeJwMsCFUKZGwodSd4G8Q">rehabilitation projects</a> give great cause for such optimism. So, too, do Air Shepherd’s advances in <a href="http://airshepherd.org/">drone technology</a> that enable them to detect and deter poachers in South Africa before they kill with phenomenal levels of success. But it is the dogmatic application of park rangers to their cause that instils the most confidence; rangers throughout the continent consider themselves to be at war with the poachers. This is especially true of the rangers Bryan Christy encountered during his investigation. They are protecting the elephants to protect Garamba National Park because they know that ‘Garamba’s heart’ gives people something to live for in a region that Christy asserts has ‘almost forgotten peace’. 
High-profile commitments from Hong Kong and New York to put an end to the illegal ivory trade, along with the symbolic burning of ‘blood ivory’ stockpiles throughout Africa give further cause for optimism. But tackling demand in East Asia will require mass education and the ending of centuries-old traditions and beliefs, which clearly cannot happen overnight. Tackling the trade at the source through <a href="http://www.lastdaysofivory.com/fund-the-fight">supporting local-level projects</a> is a more immediate solution that can, and is, having substantial results. Unfortunately, it will only continue to do so if on-going funds and support are provided. 
We need to expose and tackle the beginning of the supply chain by treating the imminent extinction of the African elephant as an issue of terror, rather than one of conservation – as a global issue, rather than one for Africa to deal with alone. It is through tackling the trade at its source – by financing local rangers, charities and rehabilitation projects – that we can ensure that African elephants remain in the wild. Elephants should not be cash-flow opportunities in a chain of corruption and destruction that culminates in the murder of innocent people. As it stands, they will be <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/at-this-rate-elephants-will-be-wiped-out-within-10-years-9012557.html">extinct within ten years</a>, their presence confined not to the wild, but to the pages of storybooks.
<pre>Photo Credits: Hannah Dillon</pre>