Prince Harry Says "We Are All Part of the Problem" When It Comes to the Destruction of the Environment
Prince Harry penned a passionate essay on conservation and the environment for The Telegraph.
In it, the royal outlines the environmental problems he's witnessed around the world, as well as his plan for how to start the process of fixing them.
In a passionate new essay published in The Telegraph Sunday, September 29, Prince Harry got brutally honest about the dire environmental conditions he's witnessed around the world and what he sees as the urgent and immediate need for greater conservation efforts.
Conservation has always been an issue that's close to Harry's heart, but it's been especially on his mind in recent days, during his royal tour of Africa.
While Harry readily admits in the essay that he's not an expert in conservation, he also points out that he's spent the last decade championing the cause and meeting with and speaking to experts and shares some of the insights he's gained along the way.
"Conservation fails unless you put people at the heart of the solution and for far too long, that hasn’t been the case," Harry writes. "I have no problem in admitting that we are all part of the problem in some way, but a lot of us simply aren’t aware of the damage that is being caused."
Here are some other highlights from the moving piece.
On the immediate consequences of continuing to ignore environmental and conservation issues:
"Humans and animals and their habitats fundamentally need to co-exist, or within the next 10yrs, our problems across the globe will become even more unmanageable."
On his personal plan for solving (or at least starting to solve) the crisis:
"Based on what I’ve learnt over the years and the experts that I’ve met, one of the greatest opportunities to deliver this balance is eco-tourism, but specifically community based eco-tourism.
"Tourism which allows the communities to be equal financial partners through mentorship, so that they can see the investment flow back to their families, providing jobs, healthcare and a future."
On what will happen if we ignore the crisis long-term:
"Nature teaches us the importance of a circular system, one where nothing goes to waste and everything has a role to play. If we interfere with it, rather than work with it, the system will break down.
"Conservation used to be a specialist area, driven by science. But now it is fundamental to our survival and we must overcome greed, apathy and selfishness if we are to make real progress."
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