Imagine a man entering the forest in a jeep. And one who doesn’t.
The man with the jeep drives only on the paved forest roads. He cleans them and the surrounding spaces of rubbish thrown by other people. He removes fallen branches, bushes. Puts up information signs, directions so that tourists don’t get lost. Refills forest first aid kits. Meals in shelters. Participates in voluntary actions.
Actually, the guy with the jeep doesn’t go into muddy weather, makes sure not to uproot the roads. Strictly monitors the forecast, drives carefully, in no way wants to change the purpose of the route. And roads in forests, mountains, in general in the wilderness, exist and are maintained to serve –
against fires when someone has to put them out;
when a person is injured or lost in the thickets, to be rescued; to supply huts; often to care for animals. The dirt roads are legal – the laws allow cars to drive on them for these very functions (not to be confused with trails – it’s different).
Our man never intended to drive the SUV from point A to point B. He doesn’t reach point B, he just approaches it with the car. And why does he need it at all? The answer: he drives tourists. He drives them to valuable natural or cultural and historical sites that they would never visit without a car – he does not drop them directly at the site, but only to the finish line of the road in question. On the journey and walking on, their
tells them about the surrounding flowers, trees, animal species, rocks
About the history of the place. Purposefully talks to them about nature, its conservation, its harmonious relationship with human activity (history and culture are such a relationship in themselves). About which way of life is environmentally friendly, which is not, where the balance is… As they travel or walk, they all quietly enjoy, laugh, have fun – along with having a good time comes reflection about the important things.
In his private life, he lives in a village. He looks after his own fruits, vegetables. He tries to be helpful to his neighbours, he is quiet, humble.
Can we say that this same man, apparently entering the forest with a jeep, is harming nature? That he is not helping it? That he is doing something wrong? That he doesn’t seek to contribute to others helping it?
Now let’s consider the person who does not drive a jeep into the forest. Neither drives nor is a passenger. He lives an average life of a citizen who knows he must protect nature, but
doesn’t really have much time for conservation activities.
He can be relaxed – theoretically or practically he does not harm it. However, when he sits down at the table, he eats fish, steaks, drinks juice from plants destroyed for this purpose.
The first man also eats meat, drinks juice. But the big question in this whole story is: which of the two is of greater use to nature? Who exactly how much is harming her, who is helping? Which one is doing something bad, the other one not so much? When we all live in a society of ever-increasing consumption, insisting on consuming more and more, is there one of us who is not harming nature in some way? But are we necessarily villains?
The subject is, of course, very deep. There are no categorical answers in it, things are immeasurable. People refuse to think about it. But not thinking doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Specifically in our examples, it should be said: the person who enters the forest with the jeep is not a villain. Neither is the other person. There are no bad guys. It’s just that life is complicated, nothing is absolute. The important thing is to understand that once a person is born, lives, there is no way not to use nature, not to draw from it, sometimes to harm it. One should seek the balance, the minimum impact, to compensate, to build common values of moderation. The important thing is to be aware of all this. And because
not to be conscious of it is brutal stupidity, and because a fool cannot help
others to find the balance.
These are all alphabet truths, in theory everyone knows them. However, on the ground in discussions, especially in the hysteria-promoting electronic forums and social networks – come so watch! People of some sort crawl out from everywhere, preaching in shrieking extremes, including about “nature conservation”, which they themselves do not observe, elevating abnormality into the norm.
The new normal is the abnormal. The inhuman. The stupid.
It is spreading. You want examples? Have you forgotten that life periodically offers us people vehemently opposed to killing bears, attacking other people, while they themselves exterminate mosquitoes biting them – without it crossing their minds for a moment that in terms of nature there is no difference between a bear and a mosquito – one kills one and protects the other only out of selfish hypocrisy.
The 44-year-old Krasimir Stefanov lives in the Aksakov village of Oreshak. He is a guide, specialized in adventure tourism, in trips to hard-to-reach cultural, historical and natural sites (Explore BG). He leads people to the rocks of Rojak, the Tupanite area, Petrich Kale, etc. He is “The man with the jeep” in our story. Kills mosquitoes, avoids bears. However, he has been the target of extremes, of extremism in forum discussions. He has been accused of harming nature. It hurts him. Because of the unfairness, and the stupidity of the accusers in the end, he decided to bring this whole topic up through us.
“There is constant wholesale talk. Some people, living in their own world, in their own clouds, without considering the nuances, the details, the complexities of life, hurl accusations at others. Not only are they far from the truth, but they don’t want to hear the other person, they stigmatize. The sense of community, of living together, of meaning is lost,” says Krassimir. And to make things even more complicated, he gives the example of the domestic cat – do people know that domestic cat,this universal favourite of eco-extremists and any other supposedly demanding people, kills other animals not only to eat, but also for pleasure (birds, insects…); why in many countries restrictions are imposed against cat breeding? Things are, indeed, not simple.
And there are people with jeeps who harm the forest, nature? Yes, of course. These are the ones who gas rivers, destroy riverbeds; uproot rhizomes at a furious speed, destroy roads – for the one drift, the pleasure. With them the jeep is an end in itself. For those like Krassimir – a means to work, for ecology, community. But can you also condemn off-roaders as villains? Who do you think puts out forest fires? Who searches for children lost in the mountains? Who has the technique, and the skills to do these things? They – no one else.
Life is really hard, extremes and stigmas are nonsense, nuance is important.
In the forest near Oreshak, Krassimir has noticed a steel rope stretched between the trees. Someone, very angry at the furious off-roaders, wanted to prevent them from tripping, falling. Krassimir is very much against this type of off-roading, but always removes the ropes. Because they can kill.
Any sane and intelligent person can draw a conclusion on the subject of good, bad, who, how, how much.
