What is wildlife and why it matters?

Elephants, tigers, monkeys, gibbons, bears and multiple other big and small species.  This is all wildlife. According to the WWF, in about 40-50 years, we have lost about 65% of the wildlife. The situation is dangerous all over the world with animals being poached and killed due to wild

Each of us can be a force for good because every now and then we interact with wildlife as tourists.  And it is important for us to know how to make this interaction the most beneficial for both sides.

How to be a respectful tourist? How to contribute to the protection of the Wildlife while on vacations? How to choose an ethical center for wildlife? What are the dangers that wildlife is facing in Cambodia and South-East Asia? Who is a binturong?

With today’s guest Alicia Northcott, we will discuss these various issues as well as we will have a look behind the scenes of the Wildlife Alliance Rescue Centre in Phnom Tamao, Cambodia.

Alicia is a Care for Rescued Wildlife Tour Programme Coordinator at Wildlife Alliance in Cambodia. She organises and facilitates tours of the wildlife rescue centre and release station as well as operates online fundraising and communications. She has a BSc in Animal Biology at the University of Gloucestershire in England. Alicia is passionate about post-rescue wild animal rehabilitation and science communication.

https://www.wildlifealliance.org/wildlife-phnom-tamao/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-northcott-270639142/

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing

2:06 – Typical day in the Phnom Tamao Rescue center

3:35 – Main work at the rescue center: rescuing from illegal wildlife trade

4:35 – Size and reasons behind the illegal wildlife trade

6:00 – Tigers are extinct in Cambodia; reintroduction project

9:35 – Tragedy of pangolins

11:50 – Snares as a weapon against wildlife

14:50 – Elephant Chouk and his prostatic leg

15:48 – Rapid rescue team: behind the scenes

17:56 – Releasing animals into the wild

20:47 – Human-wildlife contact-conflict and wildlife protection actions

23:35 – Community-conservation support

25:30 – Sustainable tourism with examples of ethical centers

33:31 – Elephants: no riding

38:04 – Costs of conservation, funding needed and tourists’ experience

45:15 – Fundraising campaigns, sponsoring animals

49:05 – Benefits and Dangers to wildlife from social media activity

53:17 – Who is Binturong?

55:23 – Alicia’s personal story

58:15 – Travelling around South-East Asia

1:00:25 – Every day motivation

1:02:11 – Book recommendation

Forests play an essential role for humanity by providing a wide range of ecosystem services. To name just few, forests clean the air, filter water supplies, control floods and erosion, sustain biodiversity and genetic resources. Standing forests are powerful carbon sinks, but cut them and they will become carbon emitters.

Currently, forests all over the world are in danger, putting in danger the wildlife that inhabits it, and the humanity itself that relies on it.  

While individually we may lack resources to protect endangered forests, we can plant our own, tiny forests that bring huge benefits to the environment.

In this episode, we will talk a lot about forests with my guest Nikolaus Tarouquella-Levitan. What is the difference between a forest and a plantation?

Nikolaus is a filmmaker. He has two decades of documentary expertise around the globe. He made films about the beautiful and endangered Amazon, Portuguese speaking Africa, Greenland and Mongolia. He worked for large public European TV broadcasters like ARTE, ZDF, ARD, DW, and BBC, but also as a director for NGOs like WWF and Greenpeace and governmental development agencies like BMZ and GIZ. Recently, Nikolaus started a foundation in Poland to plant tiny forests, to enrich intercultural exchange and to speed up green transition.

Donation page of the foundation: https://gogetfunding.com/rozwarowo/

Fundacja Perspektywa | Facebook

Website: Fundacja Perspektywa (fundacja-perspektywa.org)

Absolutely inspiring talk by Shubhendu Sharma: https://www.ted.com/talks/shubhendu_sharma_an_engineer_s_vision_for_tiny_forests_everywhere?language=en

Video lectures how to plant tiny forests by Mr Sharma: Trailer | Forest Creation Tutorials | English - YouTube

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing

3:37 – Forests at the center of the movie-making career

5:03 – Forests around the world: they role in human life

5:58 – Forests vs monoculture plantations

9:03 – We have forgotten how healthy forests look like

10:00 – Amazon flying rivers and their relationship to agriculture

14:00 – Indigenous people

15:00 – We are part of the nature

18:16 – Nature – human conflict

19:10 – Solutions to the seeming conflict

21:02 – Summary of the problems with forest around the world

23:12 – Nikolaus’ cultural projects

24:43 – Planting tiny forests in Poland

28:04 – Concept of a tiny forest

31:15 – Community’s perception of the tiny forest project

38:15 – Main struggle: money

43:15 – We feel more connected and united

43:55 – Learning from first indigenous people with Internet

45:25 – We have to learn to live with forests standing

45:45 – Agroforest system

48:00 – About Sebastiao Salgado

52:00 – Future plans for Nikolaus’ foundation

59:45 – People in Poland are close to food production but sometimes they forget their connection to nature

1:03:40 – Agriculture: producing food for humans not for animals

1:05:25 – I used to be a huge meat eater

1:06:10 – Influencing the community in a kind way

1:11:00 – What inspires Nikolaus

We don’t like seeing waste around us and, particularly, in the nature. At the same time, our modern way of living leads to production of more and more waste that we have difficulty to cope with, as an example, just think about ubiquitous plastic packaging that we are so familiar with. Waste is a big and complex problem for any country, but for a developing country the challenge is even greater. In the absence of waste management provided by the state, local solutions such as burning or throwing waste in rivers can be detrimental to both human health and nature.

In this episode, we discuss with Souksaveuy Keotiamchanh problems of waste in Laos, about the importance of coordinated actions from government, business and people. We also talk about Zero waste Laos organisation that grew from Facebook page to 80-people organisation just in 4 years, about how to attract donors and build relationships with government to reach a common goal.

Souksaveuy Keotiamchanh is a founder of Zero Waste Laos organization that aims to promote sustainable waste management in Laos and to advance environment and sustainable development objectives. Souksaveuy previously worked as a senior associate for solid waste management with Global Green Growth Institute, or GGGI, in Laos. Souksaveuy has multiple years of experience in waste management and also holds a master degree in Environmental Engineering and Management from Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand.

https://www.zerowastelaos.org/

https://www.facebook.com/Zerowastelaos.Org

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]

Nature gives us everything, from shelter to food for our bodies, to pleasure and healing for our mind. Forest bathing is a simple way of connecting with nature and benefiting from it to feel better both physically and mentally.

Next time you are in the forest, just take some time to be aware of the environment, of observing trees and feeling the life in them. As simple as it sounds, serious scientific research behind forest bathing practices shows that effects are very tangible.

In this episode, we discuss with Olga Terebenina what the forest bathing is about, what exactly science says about its health benefits, and, furthermore, how forest bathing can help create and foster change in people towards more sustainable lifestyle.

Olga Terbenina is a director and founder of The Forest Bathing Institute that promotes Forest Bathing. They have led hundreds of woodland sessions for the general public, charities, media, government departments, the NHS, health care professionals and world experts in nature medicine & therapy. A scientific approach is a core value for the Forest Bathing Institute. The Institute already collaborates with several universities in the UK to confirm and expand Japanese findings of effects of forest bathing on human health.

https://tfb.institute/

https://m.youtube.com/@theforestbathinginstitute5891

In her talk, Olga makes references to the following articles

TFBI peer-reviewed paper on the benefits of forest bathing: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1380

TFBI peer-reviewed paper on forest air chemistry: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/92

TFBI on BBC Sounds People Fixing the world - The healing power of forests: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dy6c51

Books suggested by Olga:

Forest bathing by Qing Li

Earthing by Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra and Martin Zucker

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]

The modern society consumes too much, certainly much more than needed. This focus on acquiring material things entails environmental problems but it also stiffens our life and diverts our attention from things that really matter and make us happier like relationships and experience.

In this episode we discuss with Stephanie Severian sustainable minimalist lifestyle, how to declutter, how to consume less, how to incorporate new habits despite being busy and how this new behaviour benefits your life.

As Stephanie puts it, sustainable minimalism helps you to work smarter not harder.

Stephanie is the author of Sustainable Minimalism and host of the top-rated podcast by the same name. After blogging about her personal journey toward a simpler, more eco-friendly lifestyle, she was inspired to help others create intentional lives centered around both simplicity and sustainability. She uses her platform to demystify the tenets of eco-minimalism with kids including eco-friendly decluttering practices, conscious consumerism, and low-waste living.

https://mamaminimalist.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SustainableMinimalists

Books suggested by Stephanie:

The big fix by Hal Harvey and Justin Gillis

Slightly greener by Tonya Harris

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram and share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]

Have you ever thought of the footprint you leave on the Earth, the carbon footprint? In this episode, Tom Gosling talks about his experience to compute and halve his family’s carbon footprint in ten years. He shares easy wins and how to overcome the difficult bits. We go through various aspects of life, from food to air transportation and sustainable investments; and we turn my stones in this conversation.

Tom Gosling is a seasoned board adviser with 20+ years of experience in corporate governance and responsible business, including 15 years as a Partner at PwC. In 2020, Tom decided to pursue a portfolio career. Now he is an Executive Fellow at London Business School and the European Corporate Governance Institute. He works on issues related to corporate governance, responsible business, and sustainable investing. In 2019, Tom started took a pledge to reduce carbon footprint of his family by half in ten years. He shares his journey on his website which I highly recommend to visit for more details and inspiration.

https://www.tom-gosling.com/blog/a-middle-class-approach-to-decarbonisation

Books suggested by Tom:

How bad are bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee

Making Climate Policy Work by Danny Cullenward and David G. Victor

New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Follow me on Instagram

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]

There is an intricate relashionship between climate change and human psychology. First, though not primarily and regularly mentioned, climate change is having and will have even stronger impact on human well-being and mental health. Second, despite a general appreciation and positive effect of nature on most people, there is a lack of true connection with nature and lack of concrete actions to protect nature. Finally, climate change has a capacity to completely derail our lifestyle in unforeseen ways but most people still resist to lead the change to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.   

These are the questions and controversies that I am discussing with my guest Prof. Susan Clayton in this episode.  

Dr. Susan Clayton is a professor of psychology and the environmental studies at the College of Wooster. Susan is a conservation psychologist, interested in understanding and promoting a healthy relationship between humans and nature. She also works on the implications of climate change for psychological wellbeing and was a lead author in the 6th assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Prof. Clayton has written multiple books and articles on topics of psychology and climate change, as well as conservation psychology. https://wooster.edu/bio/sclayton/ 

Sustain Change & Grow podcast provides informative and inspiring discussions about climate change and sustainable habits. It shares powerful insights from guests in a range of different fields, from entrepreneurship, activism to psychology, that will help bring the needed changes in your life, to achieve conscious and sustainable success with your pursuits. New episode is published every second Tuesday. 

It is also available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts and YouTube.  

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]  

Dilyara Salakhova, PhD, is sustainable finance expert. Passionate about topics related to nature, climate change, sustainable lifestyle, as well as consciousness, Dilyara dedicates this podcast to raising awareness of climate change, and enhancing listener’s capacity to change and excel in their life.

Biodiversity has often been mentioned recently, particularly, with respect to the unprecedented loss of biodiversity, called the sixth mass extinction of species on Earth that is driven by human activity. What is the biodiversity? What threat to humanity comes from the loss of biodiversity? What role nature plays in our everyday life? How cut of Amazon forests in Peru affects people’s lives in Europe or the rest of the world? What is the role of environmental activists in preserving nature and what threats they face?  

These are the questions that we will discuss with my guest in today’s episode.  

Sandra Fernandes-Osores is an environmentalist from Peru. She majored in the science of life and then moved to the jungle of Madre de Dios, to help save wildlife, preserve the rainforest, aid local communities, and raise awareness about the importance of saving nature. 11 years ago, Sandra co-founded Amazon Planet for Tourism and Conservation, a sustainable luxury resort in the middle of the rainforest to bring people from all over the world to experience nature. Sandra is also active in several conservation projects that the resort Amazon Planet helps to fund.  https://www.amazonplanetperu.com/home 

Books suggested by the guest:  

Gaia by James Lovelock  

12 ultimate hacks to your spiritus awakening co-authored by the guest Sandra Fernandes-Osores  

Sustain Change & Grow podcast provides informative and inspiring discussions about climate change and sustainable habits. It shares powerful insights from guests in a range of different fields, from entrepreneurship, activism to psychology, that will help bring the needed changes in your life, to achieve conscious and sustainable success with your pursuits. New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is also available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts and YouTube.  Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]  

Dilyara Salakhova, PhD, is sustainable finance expert. Passionate about topics related to nature, climate change, sustainable lifestyle, as well as consciousness, Dilyara dedicates this podcast to raising awareness of climate change, and enhancing listener’s capacity to change and excel in their life.

Welcome to the Sustain Change Grow podcast. This podcast is for you - whether you feel worried about climate change and wondering how you can contribute to protect nature and the planet, or maybe you want to exercise more, reduce sugar consumption, or watch less series on Netflix. Powerful insights from guests  in a range of different fields, from entrepreneurship, activism to psychology, will help you bring the needed changes in your life, to achieve conscious and sustainable success with your pursuits.   

About the guest  

Moritz Morgenroth is a software developer and entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple start-ups backed by his software agency Twigbit. With their latest company 2zero, Moritz and his team are now fully focussed on greentech and software driven sustainability. The 2zero platform enables companies and municipalities to promote sustainability and well-being as a part of their culture through education, gamification, initiatives, and partnerships.   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/moritz-morgenroth-3a8246170/ 

https://www.2zero.earth/ 

About the host  

Dilyara Salakhova, PhD, is a research economist working on sustainable finance, financial stability and interconnections for more than ten years. Passionate about topics related to nature, climate change, sustainable lifestyle, as well as consciousness, Dilyara dedicates this podcast to raising awareness of climate change, and enhancing listener’s capacity to change and excel in their life.   For more information and any enquiries, please visit: https://salakhova.com/

Climate change brings significant losses to the economies and financial systems. These losses can come with disasters such as wildfires and floods where infrastructure and property are destroyed or damaged. Other disasters like heatwaves and droughts can affect river levels and water transportation, reduce harvest or impact people’s health and productivity. Such losses can put significant pressure on the economies and financial systems. Can we assess them? Can we prevent or prepare for them? What measures are taken by governments to reduce the impact? Can we assess the efficiency of these measures? How much money needs to be invested to alleviate or avoid these losses?  

These are the questions that we will discuss with my guest in today’s episode.  Sahil Shah is a tech and sustainability entrepreneur from UK. He is also a researcher and a modeller of economic impact of disasters. He is a food security expert and a co-founder of several companies. His latest company Tipping Frontier focusses on modelling financial risks stemming from climate change and conflicts and allows assessing various policy interventions and necessity in investments to improve financial resilience. Sahil is an honorary research fellow at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, working in the food/energy/water nexus, a fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. He also contributes to working groups of the World Bank’s Famine Action Mechanism and the Chatham House Food and Land Use round table.  

Books recommended by the guest: Atmosphere of hope: solutions to climate crisis - by Tim Flannery 

The art of happiness - by Dalai Lama  

www.tippingfrontier.com  

Sustain Change & Grow podcast provides informative and inspiring discussions about climate change and sustainable habits. It shares powerful insights from guests in a range of different fields, from entrepreneurship, activism to psychology, that will help bring the needed changes in your life, to achieve conscious and sustainable success with your pursuits. New episode is published every second Tuesday. It is also available on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts and YouTube. 

Please share your views, suggestions and critics by writing to me to [email protected]  

Dilyara Salakhova, PhD, is sustainable finance expert. Passionate about topics related to nature, climate change, sustainable lifestyle, as well as consciousness, Dilyara dedicates this podcast to raising awareness of climate change, and enhancing listener’s capacity to change and excel in their life.