La Jornada: “Human beings accelerate the disappearance of species on a disproportionate scale”

How to explain to a child that an animal can disappear forever? That question accompanied Clementina Equihua and Alejandra Medellín during the creation of the book Learn about some endangered Mexican species and how we can help them!

Instead of resorting to an alarmist tone, the authors opted for games: an axolotl appears when connecting dots, a tapir mother and her baby seek to reach the jungle through spaces dominated by humans, and the vaquita porpoise invites us to reflect on the different forms of fishing.

“Human activities are currently accelerating the disappearance of species on a disproportionate scale,” explained Clementina Equihua, scientific communicator at the UNAM Institute of Ecology, in an interview with The Day. “The loss of biodiversity affects us all and damages our health and our future.”

Published by Alfaguara and illustrated by Mariana Aguila, the book brings together nearly 30 activities aimed at readers ages 10 and up. Crossword puzzles, maps, word searches and observation exercises bring children closer to Mexican biological diversity.

For Medellín, a filmmaker and visual journalist specialized in scientific dissemination, the first step to protecting the environment is to talk about it. It all starts with “starting to talk.” From these conversations, questions, observations and small actions can arise that can become lasting habits.

Equihua brought this reflection to the daily sphere. Biodiversity, he pointed out, does not only live in distant forests or nature reserves. It is also present in food, in plants that grow in a pot and in the animals we live with every day. “There are thousands of surprising things that if you spend a little time you will surely notice them.”

Rather than focusing on isolated organisms, the researcher directed attention to the ecosystems that support life: tropical forests affected by logging and land transformation, coral reefs threatened by global warming, and soils, a component of nature that often goes unnoticed despite the fact that it supports crops, forests, and entire communities.

“If we don’t have healthy soils, we can’t have healthy crops or ecosystems.”

Species selection represented one of the main challenges. The project began with a much broader list of organisms at risk and then those capable of telling stories and transforming into playful experiences were chosen. “Obviously, we have to talk about pollinators, fungi and the soil,” Medellín recalled.

The game can also become a scientific dissemination tool. Among the proposals is a labyrinth inspired by the difficulties that the tapir faces in moving through territories increasingly occupied by people.

The publication includes activities on pollinators, fungi, felines and migratory species, as well as exercises to observe the environment and participate in its conservation.

Faced with a challenge that may seem immense, Clementina Equihua insisted on the need to maintain an active attitude. In his opinion, humanity has found solutions to enormous problems throughout history. The emergence of agriculture is one of the changes that modified the destiny of our species.

“Thousands or millions of heads at this time can have ideas from different perspectives to transform the negative future that is being seen,” he considered.

This idea also appears in the last pages of the publication, where readers are invited to imagine concrete actions to improve the planet. Medellín hopes that the children close the tour with hope and the desire to participate.

“We hope you really enjoy it and it is an opportunity to reconnect with adults and to find a solution together because, at the end of the day, we are all on this planet and the future belongs to everyone,” concluded Equihua.