Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveler - Another facet of the disaster

sometimes i visit these: Congogirl on Twitter / Bloglines Congogirl link / Congogirl's Links List on My Del.icio.us / Where IS DR Congo, anyway?? / Congo Daily / good summary article on DR Congo / Samantha Power's article, "Bystanders to Genocide" / Dizolele - Eye on Africa / Congo Blog - Ba Leki / Cedric Kalonji's photo blog / Extra Extra / Nayembi / Thirteen Wildlife Blogs from DR Congo / Babycatcher / Global Voices / Helene in RD Congo / ID Land - adventures in international development / John's Blog / Kim Gjerstad in Congo / On Safari with el Jorgito / The Salon of News and Thought / This is Zimbabwe / Bluehaired Mary / African Path / Global Bioethics Blog / Somewhere in Africa / Africa is a Country

November 2009


	1


	2


	3


	4


	5


	6


	7


	8


	9


	10


	11


	12


	13


	14


	15


	16


	17


	18


	19


	20


	21


	22


	23


	24


	25


	26


	27


	28


	29


	30

	Mon, May. 18th, 2009 04:47 pm

Another facet of the disaster

There is so much bad news in eastern DRC that I can't even keep up with it, and it's demoralizing to think about posting everything that I read. But this short article from the Atlantic shows a (perhaps simplified but relevant) causal relationship that is yet another negative manifestation of the conflict.

Here's how it works: Soldiers / rebel militia kill hippos --> hippo defecation reduced --> food supply (hippo shit) for plankton/larvae reduced --> fish food supply (plankton/larvae) reduced --> fish reduced --> fishermen permitted to fish reduced --> people can't eat. This is complicated by the fact that more refugees have settled in this area, and by the fact that European environmentalists have calculated the number of fishermen that should legally be allowed to fish based on the fish supply.

Results - fewer hippos, fewer fish, more arrests, and not many people are eating.

Final quote:

The environmental activist fires questions at the two, demanding to know why they were fishing without licenses.

“Because,” the wiry man says, “we were hungry.”

Tags: africa, dr congo, kivus, news, wildlife

loreeley

Loreeley

	Mon, May. 18th, 2009 09:17 pm (UTC)

It's easy to be environmentally friendly on a full stomach.

congogirl

	Mon, May. 18th, 2009 09:33 pm (UTC)

Indeed. Priorities change when fewer needs are being met.

medyani

Medyani

	Tue, May. 19th, 2009 02:50 am (UTC)

This is hard. I found this recently -- "the three Ts"-- a variation on blood diamonds. Likely my means to write this here was created out of Ts from the Congo. I don't want to lose hippos and I don't want people going hungry, and, at the same time, I don't want to -- nor think I could-- give up my machines.

And I see similar dilemmas playing out here. Forests for people's shelves in the U.S. And to poor people any animal is a meal. Often I feel hopeful, because I know some of the people who are fighting to change this and I do see positive changes-- like increasingly, students are going into environmental studies. Still, we have to get better at this.

Edited at 2009-05-19 02:52 am (UTC)

meteoricpath

nasara

	Tue, May. 19th, 2009 11:58 am (UTC)

ugh. it is so depressing. Of course if the fish get wiped out then the cycle continues: less/no fish mean less ... which mean ... get wiped out...

congogirl

	Fri, May. 29th, 2009 03:54 pm (UTC)

Your facepalm icon says it all, really.

pedrito1414
pedrito1414

	Thu, Jun. 4th, 2009 12:17 pm (UTC)

hello from MSF

Hi Congogirl, how are you? We have exchanged a few RTs on twitter (I am @msf_uk). I just wondered if you'd be interested in having the three new videos we have made for Condition: Critical on the subject of teens living through the war in north Kivu for your blog. Two have been launched and are at www.condition-critical.org and the other is for launch next week (focuses on child soldiers after their 'retirement' trying to recover their lives). Let me know via twitter and I will get them to you.

Cheers

Pete, MSF UK web editor