Written by Emma Byrne, Transforming Lives Trainee.
As human beings, we are constantly liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The Global Footprint Network is an international organisation that decided to mark the day human consumption of ecological resources exceeds the Earth’s capacity to regenerate said resources each year. They work this out by calculating the number of days that year, the Earth’s biocapacity, (the amount of natural resources regenerated by Earth that year) and suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s consumption of Earth’s natural resources for that year). This year the date for Earth Overshoot Day will be 1st August.
Wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather are all symptoms of too much carbon in the atmosphere. To tackle the climate emergency, it is vital that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and absorb excess carbon already in the atmosphere to avoid further warming of the planet. This begs the question…what can we do to help?
Here at Froglife, one way we are working towards reducing the effects of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is by managing and preserving nature reserves.
Nature reserves help towards climate change reduction through carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions are captured by woodland, peatlands, heaths, and species-rich grasslands. Trees, wetlands, and other ecosystems are perfectly adapted to soak carbon dioxide and store it. Natural England states that their 141 nature reserves remove up to 185,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year from our atmosphere!
Nature reserves are like intensive care units for wildlife where conservation teams create, manage, and protect habitats for flora and fauna. Not only do they help with carbon sequestration, but also water quality, pollination, and species loss/extinction. At Froglife, we currently manage three nature reserves on behalf of the landowners, each located near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
Follow this link for further information on what each reserve has to offer.
References
Earth Overshoot Day (2024) Earth Overshoot Day. Available at: https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/ (Accessed 02/07/2024).
Global Footprint Network (2024), Footprint Network. Available at: www.overshootday.org (Accessed 08/07/2024), illus.
Global Footprint Network (2024) Global Footprint Network. Available at: https://www.footprintnetwork.org/about-us/ (Accessed 02/07/2024).
Gov.UK (2023) Gov.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-nature-reserves-offer-36-million-of-benefits-to-society#:~:text=The%20report%20estimates%20that%20the,5.5%20million%20visits%20a%20year (Accessed 02/07/2024).