By Cynthia Hogue
It is the stated intention of the European Union to protect bio- diversity, so that catastrophic changes caused by its loss are averted.
Dr. Sylvain Gallais (1993)
1
– After the wall fell there could be Union and in this way a decision – was made from older Directives to protect birds and ecosystems
How old was the first Bird Directive? Very old old as the hills and man- datory for any member state to conclude
that humans transform the earth we live on:
Interfere in its cycles of evolution, its equilibriums Question the costs of the changes we trigger Ignore the economic consequences of inaction
2
When the Union decided that contracts mattered
climate conventions all over the place gave birth to huge Pantagruelian Projects to protect earth by land sea
and laughter for as Rabelais wrote, laughter’s the right response when leaders conjure lies:
A braying laugh stanches corruption’s spell
3
The Union could then draw up contracts
on paper and sometimes canvas when graphic
As Rabelais contemplated so poignantly, laughter
replenishes the lungs with a surfeit of oxygen Economics offered tools to analyze the results, who and what benefited carefully calibrated
[cont. section break]
[“On the Preservation of Biodiversity in the European Union” concluded]
4
Pantagruelian Projects created thousands
of protected sites and jobs in the Union
that contracts justified and economics explained:
The value that ecosystem services added (clean waters, clean air, etc.) translated in a mode all understood: High returns
– Of laughter’s ancient ritual in nature, the value-added feature’s
– restoring earth’s balance, bathing us in forest-scents and rare animal sighting
