When my great grandfather, Sid, was called up to the Navy in WW2, he had never left London. Yet in the midst of war, he was granted the opportunities to see the world, including Argentina.
In the 1940s, Argentina had a significant red howler monkey population. Today, this monkey is considered one of the most endangered primate species in the world. (https://neoprimate.org/argentina/wildlife-trafficking-argentina/). Yet during Sid’s trip, terms like endangered or sustainability weren’t part of our cultural understanding, with the UN only recognising environment issues as global importance in 1972 (https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/stockholm1972#:~:text=The%201972%20United%20Nations%20Conference,the%20environment%20a%20major%20issue.) Therefore, while in Argentina, when encountering a friendly red howler Sid, unaware of any potential negative repercussions, he smuggled the primate onto the ship and hid him in his room.
Unsurprisingly, the monkey died.
Like Sid, I have also experienced wild howler monkeys. Last year I volunteered on a sustainability project in Costa Rica, focused on Goals 5,12&15 through teaching sustainable methods and conserving local biodiversity(https://sdgs.un.org/goals).
The difference between our exposure to the howler monkey demonstrates recent global changes towards responsible eco-travel. My first contact with the monkey was through a tour guide within a national park. Throughout the guide reminded us that we’re imposters to in their home; reproducing the belief system of the new ecological paradigm( https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2) suggesting humans must see ourselves as equal to the environment, not above it. Such mentality differs from the human exceptionalism paradigm (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tops.12653)which places human needs over the environment, a view I expect Sid held while capturing the monkey for his own desire.
With my second encounter of the howler monkey ( https://www.jaguarrescue.foundation/en-us/) I learnt of laws which aim to prevent the belief system that humans have a right to access wildlife as if it’s ours. For example, in hopes to stop the exploitation of animals as tourist attractions it is illegal to take selfies or touch wildlife ( https://stopanimalselfies.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AF-codigo-etico-ingles.pdf). The sanctuary also spoke of the severe repercussions individuals face when capturing and trading wildlife like the howler monkey (https://awionline.org/awi-quarterly/spring-2018/costa-rica-adopts-enlightened-wildlife-rules ). Hearing these laws immediately led me to appreciate the changes since Sid’s travels and demonstrates the impact of Goal 16 in promoting justice and reducing exploitation (https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16 )
While Costa Rica made me hopeful for a future where animals and their freedoms are as central to our belief systems as the human freedoms that Sid was fighting for, I also recognise that Costa Rica is an exceptional case of biodiversity, having 51% of landmass covered by natural forests. Therefore, I’m eager to see how sustainability can be present in my summer school country Denmark where wild forests cover less than 1% of its landmass. Yet, Denmark has been recognised by the UN as a global leader in sustainability (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/denmark ). Their commitment to Goal 7 is clear in how they aim to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 70% in 2030 (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/denmark) suggests that like Costa Rica, its ambitious targets serve as vital inspiration to the rest of the world in how we can protect, respect and restore our environment.
