Lieve Aarde Soms ben ik bang dat ik te diep in je glas kijk Soms ben ik bang dat ik te ondiep kijk Soms zit ik met gesloten ogen op je oppervlak wil ik je met zoete tong bezingen zachte briesjes in je oren fluisteren regendruppels in je nek sprenkelen Soms wil ik zonnestralen voor […]
P.S. We onthouden geen dagen, we onthouden momenten Read More »
“This is the economic salvation of Indonesia,” he shouted. We drove through Central Kalimantan and where once stood the wet peatlands and biodiverse tropical forests, home to the orangutan, I saw only oil palms and oil palms, as far as the eye could see, in every direction, to the horizon. As there are millions of
Between hope and despair Read More »
Wat een regen hebben we de afgelopen maanden gehad. Ik krijg regelmatig de opmerking dat het neerslagtekort nu inmiddels toch wel weer aangevuld moet zijn. Daarin spreekt de hoop dat daarmee het effect van de extreem droge en warme periodes in voorgaande jaren weer teniet is gedaan. Helaas. Massale sterfte door extreme weersomstandigheden compenseer je
Massale sterfte door droogte doe je niet teniet met veel regen Read More »
Nature is not a choice, we are nature Nature is amazing and in all the countries I visit it keeps surprising me in all its diversity and beauty. Additionally, it is the one thing that always makes me feel better when I am having a bad day. Ever since I was a child nature has
Nature is not a choice, we are nature Read More »
One of the most compelling figures I saw over the last few years is the one where the total weight of all mammals on earth, so all elephants, whales, rhinos, deer, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, humans, and the rest are compared to the weight of the separate categories. The outcome (see https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass): Livestock make up
Red Alert: wild mammals make up only a few percent of the world’s mammals! Read More »
You can often find me in wet, muddy and beautiful ecosystems: wetlands! I work in peatlands, fresh and salt marshes, mangroves, seagrass meadows and bivalve reefs. Such wetlands are home to unique biodiversity. Here, species are adapted to wet, sometimes acidic, salty or dynamic environments. Importantly, wetlands are often dominated by ecosystem engineers: species that
Wet landscapes for sustainable futures Read More »
My aim is to make myself redundant. This may sound bizarre, but I am an environmental toxicologist. I study the impacts of pesticides and other chemicals on environmental organisms and biodiversity, and can’t wait for the day that my job is obsolete, not needed anymore. For the day that we have found other, more sustainable
To become redundant Read More »
In 1966 kreeg ik, van Sinterklaas, ongetwijfeld na het eerst zingen van “Hoor wie klopt daar kinderen” het vogelhandboekje “Zien is Kennen” van Nol Binsbergen en D. Mooi (6de druk. 1962). Daardoor ging de wereld van vogels voor het eerst voor me open. Ik was dat jaar ook al goed begonnen met het zien van
Een vreemdeling, zeker, die verdwaald is? Read More »
Together with MSc and PhD students I have done a lot of research on the effects of (multiple) stressors on ecosystems. These stressors include global warming, drought, salinisation and emerging chemicals like pharmaceuticals, pesticides and nutrients. We found that biodiversity is the way to counter and alleviate the impacts of these stressors on life on
Biodiversity needed to protect life on earth Read More »
Maintaining rural areas necessarily involves preserving and developing agricultural activities. This is especially true in the Tuscany region of central Italy, where the collective imagination envisions hills and valleys adorned with rows of vines, grapevines, olive groves, husbandry, and centuries-old cypresses. However, even in Tuscany – as is the case throughout Europe – there is
Biocultural conservation of traditional agroforestry systems against land abandonment Read More »
