We are failing to protect wildlife and marching towards a tragic future where the world is monetized and wildness is gone. We can design a different future – if we want to hear Birdsong After the Storm.

As we face the storm of climate change and political upheaval, we are designing a desolate future where the world is monetized and wildness is gone. A tiger’s footprints will not be seen in snowdrifts. The deep, pungent smell of elephant musth will not be carried on the wind. Humans may survive, but the world will be brittle and harsh. In this essay, that summarizes Global Environmental Governance, Civil Society and Wildlife, Margi Prideaux draws on her decades of experience as a wildlife activist, international negotiator and academic to explain what has brought society to the point where we are choosing between the market, people and wildlife. She describes how we can amplify voices from Africa, Asia and Latin America and, tapping their wisdom, explains how we can design a different future.

The tragic future doesn’t need to happen —we can choose to hear birdsong after the storm.