The global economy of today is casting its effect on the earth’s capacity to maintain life’s abundance. What we see around is not promising, and it shows the need for reorientation. The focus is fast shifting on the relation between nature and the humans. The humans with their activities are destroying the very plant they live on. The aim is to look for the right ways to live on the life-giving planet, by having the right relationship. New understandings are fast emerging to understand the relationship between humans and nature. TAC or Thames Anglers’ Conservancy is a voluntary organization founded in 2010 with the objective of conservation of the River Thames. The members of the organization are well familiar with the river and have noticed how the river and its habitat has changed over time. Still, the river faces several challenges and population of eel have crashed. On the other hand, populations of invasive species like American Signal Crayfish and Chinese Mitten Crabs have damaged the ecology of the river. The potential impact of illegal fishing methods, poaching and Thames HydroPower projects need to be measured. TAC campaigns against sewage entering the Thames and how the untreated sewage is leading to a serious environmental problem. There are efforts to improve and increase the Mogden Sewage Treatment Works. TAC is getting stakeholders, conservation organizations, Environment Agency, river user groups, and local councils to come together in their efforts to make the Thames a safer environment. Together with Angling Trust, it fights pollution and poaching as well as other issues that are damaging the aquatic environment (Anglers dedicated to protecting and improving the River Thames 2016).
The River Thames has been a high-profile project regarding improvements to the water quality and restoring Atlantic salmon. It has been observed that restoration of certain species of plants and animals is getting common around the world, and one good example is the Atlantic salmon. The efforts are seen as a response to the severe decline in the populations of salmon in rivers. The continued decline was attributed to environmental changes within rivers, happening because of exploitation of land and water resources by humans. Atlantic salmon not only holds a sporting and commercial value but remains a key indicator of the quality of water and ecosystem health as asserted by Griffiths et al. (2733).
The data on fish abundance and their environmental conditions collected over a decade shows substantial variation in the abundance. The general pattern is a trend of deterioration over the years. One of the main reasons is rapid urbanization and industrialization of Greater London that has led to pollution. The results are a decline in fish and other biota as stated by Araújo, Williams, and Roland (305). It has bene observed that an improved effluent quality of the major Sewage Works led to an increase in fish population and species diversity. Seasonal variation influences the marked cycles of fish abundance in environmental conditions and the biological indicators of water quality (Araújo, Williams and Roland 306). The effect of pollution alters the diversity and the abundance of species as well as deteriorates fish habitat as reported by Araújo, Williams, and Roland (316). There are limitations to the recent attempts of genetically assigning Thames, salmon to northern populations. However, the results support that salmon caught in the Thames have strayed from other rivers. This indicates the need of making concerted efforts for improving river quality and habitat, rather than just focusing on long-term stocking of the endangered species (Griffiths et al. 2737). Again, it is the right balance of relation between the humans and the nature that can help restore ecosystem functioning and continuity, and not just focus on the immediate habitat of the species. This will encourage the populations of salmon to reestablish naturally. The above discussion shows how the relation between the human and nature can make the biotic environment change for the better or worse.
Works Cited
"Anglers dedicated to protecting and improving the River Thames." Thames Anglers' Conservancy. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Araújo, Francisco Gerson, W. Peter Williams, and Roland G. Bailey. "Fish Assemblages as Indicators of Water Quality in the Middle Thames Estuary, England (1980-1989)." Estuaries 23.3 (2000): 305-17. Web.
Griffiths, Andrew M., et al. "Restoration Versus Recolonisation: The Origin of Atlantic Salmon ( Salmo Salar L.) Currently in the River Thames." Biological Conservation 144.11 (2011): 2733-8. Web.
