The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : She believes in simple measures to save earth

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Sunday, Apr 26, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

She believes in simple measures to save earth

— Photo: K.V.Srinivasan

Beth Middleton.

US-based ecologist Beth Middleton combines a forward-looking attitude with old school values.

As research ecologist with the National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana, US, she is a key campaigner for the cause of Planet Earth. Dr. Middleton, who was in Chennai as a special invitee to deliver the Earth Day lecture on “Climate Change and the Future of wetlands” at the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, outlines the threat of climate change and vulnerability of wetland ecosystems in a discussion with M. Dinesh Varma.

“People need to rebuild relationships with Nature,” Beth Middleton told the audience during her Earth Day lecture under the auspices of the US Consulate General in Chennai at the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation last week.

Simple measures can often unleash a bandwagon effect, says Dr. Middleton. For persons who share a concern for the environment and yet are confused over whether they can do something about it, she advocates a few eco-friendly practices as a manner of giving back to Nature. For instance, one could tend a garden, stay at a walking distance from the workplace, recycle materials or take out the bicycle more often than the car.

“Perhaps, simple steps such as these might only leave a tiny footprint on the earth…but they could inspire others around you to do the same and develop a critical mass that could not only enlarge the benefit to Nature but also act as a pressure group to influence policy-makers,” said Dr. Middleton.

She used her visit to Chennai to interact with scientists at the Dr. M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to explore potential of partnerships and also experience first-hand the degradation of the bio-diversity-rich Pulicat Lake.

Dr. Middleton, in fact, is no stranger to India. Her doctoral work focused on the monsoonal Bharatpur wetlands in Rajasthan. The Keoladeo Naturalists’ Society she allied with for the project has invited her back to evaluate biodiversity profile changes over the years.

“The plant and animal species inventorised for the doctoral work provides a data baseline to map changes,” she said.

Though she felt that biodiversity in the site had not eroded substantially, she warns that there is no way of knowing for how long certain species would survive in shrinking habitats.

An expert on wetland ecosystems, Dr. Middleton is routinely invited to speak on biodiversity loss in the Bharatpur wetlands and conduct workshops on a host of environmental issues such as climate change, mangrove and wetland eco systems. She also organises workshops for children on writing strategies and teaches ecology through field-based enquiry for young scientists.

In distress

According to Dr. Middleton, eco systems all over the world are in distress owing to human pressures. And, precisely because climate change was one issue that rallied the world as one, she is a staunch advocate of international collaboration to push the conservation agenda.

“As environmental scientists, we need to talk to each other and learn about practices suited for sustainable use of wetland systems.”

Asked whether the conservation agenda might be pushed to the backseat in a recessionary market, Dr. Middleton conceded that people’s issues are certainly high priority. However, there were many ecology preservation interventions that did not require heavy investments, she pointed out.

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