What’s in a name?
The importance of Taxonomy and our Australian Wildlife
What would life be like if we didn’t have a name?
Naming and language is so important. I was at my women’s circle on the weekend and we were talking about the importance of language and how if you don’t have a name for something – does it exist? Now, we were talking in relation to the wheel of life as a woman but it triggered something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
If you were to go to the doctor with a pain or an illness that cannot be named I can imagine how one could be left in limbo, feeling frustrated but also with a sense of incredulity. When a diagnosis finally arrives - a sense of relief?
Something I haven’t really talked is the importance of taxonomy.
Taxonomy [coined in French from Greek taxis ‘arrangement’ + -nomia ‘distribution’] provides the framework that lets us document, understand and manage our knowledge of life on earth. This is essential seeing as we are at a time of extinction crisis.
There are three types or ‘packages’ of species within taxonomy - ones which are named, species that are known but haven’t been officially described, and then ones we haven’t discovered yet in the wild.
It is estimated that 70% of our species are as yet unnamed. Now I can throw various stats and facts at you [and let’s face it I probably will] but we have 1700 of our species threatened with extinction and these are just the NAMED SPECIES.
As a ‘megadiverse’ nation it is estimated we are home to over 600,000 species of plants, animals, fungi, micro and other organisms.
Being ‘megadiverse’ means we are one of the most biologically rich and diverse nations on the planet. It also means that only a small selection of nations that together comprise of 10% of the Earth’s surface but are home to more than 70% of its living species.
This means that 400,000 Australian species are still not named. Does this matter?
It is just human nature to want to know and understand things, to identify things, and for that we need names. It is so important for our biodiversity to know the names of our native species in order to protect them from pests and disease – and could help scientists make new discoveries that have real world impacts on all of us regarding our health, food and economic security.
If I don’t know the name of something I cannot research it. I cannot find it. I cannot draw it. I cannot advocate for it.
It could be lost tomorrow and none of us would ever know. I’m finding this deeply unsettling.
Names have power. They give us an identity. They carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections. Without a name it is very hard to create a connection to something.
And if we cannot create a connection with something it makes it very hard to save.
Fabriculture teaches kids and their grown ups about Australia’s threatened wildlife through Australian made educational and lifestyle gifts.