The butterfly effect

Cause: The pesticides used to protect the crops we grow are often toxic to wildlife. In an effort to make farming more harmonious and aligned with nature, farmers have begun to plant strips of wildflowers across their crops.

Effect: Giving pollinating insects a natural ‘highway’ to move through commercial fields helps maintain ecological balance in farming areas. By introducing these strips, soil and land doesn’t get overtaxed by farming, further benefiting the local flora and fauna.

Cause: The Florida Reef Tract, one of the largest coral reef systems in the world, has faced significant threats, including coral bleaching, disease, and human impact.

In response, conservation organizations have been actively involved in coral reef restoration efforts in the Florida Keys. They collect coral fragments from healthy corals and nurture them in nurseries with the hope of transplanting them back onto degraded reefs.

Effect: This technique, known as "coral gardening," has shown promising results in helping to restore damaged areas of the reef, allowing it to slowly return to its former beauty.

Cause: The Atlantic Forest in Brazil – one of the world’s most biodiverse forests—is the home of an audacious rewilding story. In 2020, Zurich Insurance began a collaboration with non-profit Institutio Terra to help restore an almost destroyed part of this ancient forest. Over the first eight years of this ongoing cooperation, Zurich is supporting the planting of one million carefully selected seedlings and helping to bring this complex ecosystem back to life.

Effect: The seedlings grow, leading to more flowers, and more insects. This in turn attracts more birds, microscopic creatures, and even larger animals—including wildcats—back to the forest. The chain of change is improving the lives of the people living in the region, too. Currently, 200 new local conservationists are being trained as the next generation of forest protectors.

Cause: Industrialization and urbanization have stripped and covered Earth’s soil, swapping natural spaces for man-made landscapes. Many communities have actively worked towards sharing our urban spaces with nature, and doing so has yielded many benefits—like at Los Perros in Malmo.

Effect: Urban farming improves local food quality by producing fresh produce within the city. It also reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance food transportation and can enhance local ecosystems.

Cause: Hunted to extinction by humans for their fur and sweat glands, Eurasian beavers have been absent from UK wetlands since the end of the 16th century. The loss of this animal also meant the loss of lakes, mires, tarns, and bogs – vital ecological staples for a plethora of UK creatures. In May 2009, beavers were released into the Scottish wilds, the first in 400 years.

Effect: Beavers’ building of dams and redistribution of vegetation help alleviate flooding caused by climate change. More frequent downpours cause landsides and destruction, but beavers act as a natural water management system—improving the health and function of river catchments.

Cause: Being one of the biggest national parks in the world, it’s extremely difficult to predict the ripple effect that one change will have on this delicate ecosystem. However, it was vital that the native gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after being functionally extinct for decades.

Effect: Putting these apex predators back into the food chain helped return elk and deer populations to manageable levels. Without them, the grazers were overpopulating and overwhelming the ecosystem. Now, species like willow and aspen are regrowing and fortifying riverbanks—letting rivers flow properly and carve out new routes, naturally sculpting and regenerating the landscape.

Cause: The Bosco Verticale, or Vertical Forest, is a pair of residential towers with extensive balconies planted with trees and shrubs.
Built with the intention of increasing biodiversity, the project aims to combat the problem of increasing pollution in the city and serve as an example of what the future of green architecture could be.

Effect: The 20,000 plants and trees on the towers helps absorb carbon dioxide, reduce air pollution, and improve air quality in the urban environment. The building design also provides natural shading, reducing the need for air conditioning in the summer and contributing to energy savings. All in all, the plants of Bosco Verticale absorb about 30 tons of carbon per year.

Cause: The city authorities were determined to convert Seville’s over-motorized streets into a bike-friendly metropolis, as air pollution and congestion were becoming a major problem for residents.

Effect: The increase in cycling modal share, from 0.5 percent to 9 percent within a few years, reduced traffic congestion and contributed to improved air quality. As cycling became a more viable option, it positively impacted public health by promoting physical activity. Now, over 67,000 bike trips are made per day. The success of Seville's bicycle infrastructure has inspired other Spanish cities to prioritize cycling and invest in similar infrastructure.

Cause: 30 miles northwest of San Antonia, more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats can be seen at Bracken Cave. By prioritizing bat conservation, these unsung heroes are able to play their critical role of pest control and maintain the ecological health of their summer habitat.

Effect: By feeding on agricultural pests, the bats help naturally control insect populations, reducing the need for harmful pesticides and benefiting farmers. This, in turn, leads to increased crop yields and economic benefits for local agricultural communities.