Essay 6 – Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence
Note: 1309 words – Completed in 1 h 36 minutes (brainstorming + writing) – typed version with minor grammatical edits made (originally handwritten on 8 September, 2024)
A terrified tiger leaps through the bushes, hobbling along the forest floor as his hind leg bleeds profusely. He is being chased by a group of men on horseback. What seemed like a mere nuisance to the tiger at first soon turned into a desperate battle for survival. The men shot round after round. The tiger has reached a dead end – the wall of a cave. As he raises his head towards the sky and roars in pain, the final bullet strikes his head. The forest is silent. All that remains is the echo of the gunshot.
The deafening silence is pierced by the crackling sound of thunder. The wind howls and the skies weep. The last tiger is dead. The humans on horseback leave. A truck will pick up the remains of the tiger and auction off his skin in the black market. Why did these humans kill the last tiger though? He did not harm them.
The answer is entertainment. These men killed the apex predator for sport. Humanity has stooped to such lows that we kill animals just for the thrill of it now (and of course, the extra pocket money from selling the body parts in the black market). How have we fallen so badly?
There was a time when humans lived in harmony with nature. It was before greed, vanity, and madness had corrupted us. We only took as much as needed from nature – no more. In return, nature let us flourish. Yet, we stabbed nature in the heart, forgot all the lessons it taught us, and tried to rule supreme over this planet and everything in it. Although some tribals still haven’t forgotten the ways of harmonious living in nature, most of the world has. Our predominant way of living today in the modern world involves an ideology called capitalism. Despite its wonders, it has produced a world where exploitation of resources, greed, profit-making at all costs have become the priorities. It is time, however, to revisit the fundamentals of nature. It is time to rediscover what allowed the forests that sheltered and nourished our ancestors for millions of years to flourish. Through this examination, maybe we can re-learn the lessons that nature wants to teach us.
On that note, let us explore how forests can teach us how to live better and apply our knowledge for true economic excellence.
What is the first thing you think of when imagining a forest? Lush green plants, right? You are correct, but think of how they got there. The trees & other plants are there because of organic growth. They did not rush to become 40 ft. tall in a few days. They followed the process of nature, grew deep and wide roots, sprang shoots and leaves, and slowly reached the towering heights we see today. If only companies today understood this importance of strong fundamentals. In a quest to become “the next big thing”, companies ignore the basics and resort to any means necessary – no matter how unethical they are. Byju’s is a prime example. Touted as the next big thing, it exploded in the initial growth, growing exponentially. Rather than focusing on sustainable growth, however, they pumped investor money into the company, acquired other companies, & splurged on advertising (sponsoring the Indian Cricket Team, the FIFA World Cup & roping in Messi & Shahrukh Khan). However, they ignored the fundamentals, improving their product, listening to customer feedback, satisfying existing customers, & maintaining the goodwill of their employees. They coerced parents into signing their kids up for their courses, forced their employees to use any means necessary to meet course sales targets, and provided terrible customer support to disgruntled customers. The result was as expected. The company is now on the verge of bankruptcy. If only the startups & companies were focused more on sustainable organic growth like the forests of the world, things would be better for everyone – the companies, the investors, the employees, and the customers.
Having explored how the quest to quickly become the next unicorn is as mythical as the animal itself, let us explore another crucial lesson forests teach us. This one is zero wastage. In the forest, everyone bird, animal, plant, fish, or bacteria only takes as much as it needs – nothing more. A hungry tiger only kills one deer for his dinner, not the whole herd. A bird only eats as much fruit as needed, not stripping the whole tree clean. This mindset allows them to share the resources with everyone equitably. A single tree houses hundreds of species – some birds, monkeys, snakes, insects, fungi, and bacteria – all taking only their rightful share. The forest manages imbalances in cases of greed just as effectively. If a lion gets greedy and kills off more gazelles than needed, he soon discovers that there are not enough left. He starves to death. However, we humans have failed to understand this basic fact. We continue to overfish, depleting fish stocks, cut down trees, & exploit resources like they’re infinite. In times of shortage, the wholesalers hoard goods like fruits, vegetables or grains in order to make more profits from the artificially higher prices & customers’ helplessness. Humanity must learn to use resources sustainably, distribute them equitably, and ensure that they are kind in sharing them. That way, countries like the US will not hoard vaccines numbering several times their population during a pandemic where poorer countries had none.
One of the most crucial aspects we must realize is the interdependence of forest elements. Everything in the forest is interconnected through an intricate food web. The producers are eaten by the consumers. When they both die, they are eaten by decomposers. Each cannot live without the other. This fundamental fact of nature is lost upon humans today. In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world today, most supply chains are linked. One break in the chain disrupts the whole system, harming everyone involved. Instead of fostering an aggressive and adversarial mindset like the US and China’s Cold War 2.0, we must realize that no country can flourish fully independently. We must work together, leverage our strengths, and coordinate for maximum sustainable development of everyone. Like the symbiotic relationship of the bee & the flower, we must let go of our raging egos & realize that without one, both perish.
The forests teach us one more unforgettable lesson – resilience. Despite all the storms, wildfires, asteroids & diseases, forests have survived. They somehow bounce back every time. This is because they have a healthy ecosystem, with each component flawlessly playing its part. Because of these strong foundations, they can withstand any challenge that they face. Modern countries’ economies paid the price of not heeding this lesson during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ones with weak economies crumbled and could not recover since, like many African countries. However, the ones with strong economic fundamentals, like India & the US, bounced back after the pandemic & continued growing. As the trees in dry forests have adapted to use the heat from wildfires to open their seed pods & disperse seeds, many countries turned the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity. India manufactured vaccines, PPE kits, RT-PCR tests and shared them with the world in their Vaccine Maitri initiative. It seized the opportunity to boost its digital & e-commerce economy. Like the evergreen long-lasting trees of the forest, unfazed by even towering flames, modern economies too must build strong fundamentals to weather upcoming storms.
We have explored how the nature that sheltered our ancestors for so many years teaches us invaluable lifelong lessons for everyday living. It is the need of the hour for humanity to adapt, work together and build a common, shared, prosperous future where everyone gets their rightful share. As Mahatma Gandhi famously said: “The earth has enough for man’s need, but not enough for his greed.”
