An Editor's Letter
Originally published via Kembali Berwisata © 2022. Visuals by Fanan Rizky.
Reading Material: Living Planet Report 2022 by World Wide Fund for Nature.
What’s the first thing that pops up in your mind when you think about love?
Is it a person? A gesture? An object? A memory? An echo?
Love indeed is a peculiar subject. It comes up every so often, at least enough to make us wonder whether or not we’ve met such divine blessing in our lifetime.
Well, we’re here to tell you that, in fact, you have. You’ve met a love so tender and true—a love that perseveres. Where, you might ask?
Let’s take a step back and recall a bit of the past.
The sound of your bike tires against the grass, the smell of soil freshly rained on, the sound of distant birdsongs after noon.
Nature nurtures, and nature nourishes. It takes care of the person you were, the person you are, and the person you’re about to be. It has loved both you and me into existence.
How have we been treating said love?
Not that well, actually. Let's take a look at humanity’s ecological footprint—we've already exceeded earth’s biocapacity, so much so that mankind has overused the planet by 75%. (source: Living Planet Report by WWF, 2022)
Let that sink in. Our footprints equals to that of 1.75% earths, fully aware that we only have 1 earth. We’ve used up everything nature had, and dared to ask for seconds.
Doesn’t it feel like a grand betrayal on our part to leave nature worse than how we found it—especially after everything it’s done for us?
Let’s relink the connection between people and places by learning from and giving platform to Indigenous Leaders—those who’ve lived their whole lives trying their best to love nature back. It’s time to reciprocate the tenderness, the warmth, the love that nature has provided for us for as long as we live. Let’s start with what we can, right where we are.
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