When mama sea lion did open her eyes, she looked, but did not see. I did not seem to figure in her consciousness. Nor did she seem perturbed by the other vacationers turning towards her. What did excite her was the arrival of another sea lion emerging from the ocean that propelled itself towards mother and child. The two adults began to chase each other, leaving the little one to fend for itself . But the baby sea lion pursued its mother right to the shoreline, mouth open, looking for her teats.

By now, every one of us on the beach were reaching for our cameras , eager to capture the enchanting drama that was being played out at such close proximity, in the wild. The sea lions continued with their capers, unmindful of the excitement around them. The story would have been very different if we had behaved in an aggressive, predator-like manner, posing a potential threat. The sea lions would then have to fight or flee for survival . But we were an orderly lot, eco-mindful ; we tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Its not every day or any day that you get to sunbathe cheek by jowl with sea lions, frigates flying overhead, pelicans fishing close by and lava lizards climbing all over the beachcombers you left on the sands.

It was clear that it makes not a whiff of difference to the planet or to the hundreds of thousands of species whether the human species exists or not. We think we are indispensable because of our inflated sense of selfimportance . But wait maybe not. Six billion-plus of us are on a rampage, exploiting the planets resources; we are obviously making a terrible impact on the hundreds of thousands of species that live on it. Arent we ruining their chances (and ours) of a good life with our insensitive ways.

The Galapagos Islands, located some 1,000 miles off mainland Ecuador, is relatively safe from human interference. The archipelago is made up of volcanic lava and ash; there is no fresh water here; that makes it unfriendly for human settlement. Birds, mammals and other species on these islands have inbuilt filtering mechanisms that enable them to survive on seawater. For the Ecuadorians inhabiting a couple of islands, drinking water is either shipped from the mainland or they manage with expensive desalinated water . As a Unesco world heritage site, the islands are treated with kid gloves, and visitors cant move around unless accompanied by a licenced naturalist-guide . But in most other parts of the world, this is not so. Weve given ourselves license to do just as we please, never mind other species. This became apparent just a week later

On a night trek in South Ecuadors rainforest, the guide accompanying us pointed to a frog resting on a large leaf. You are lucky to see one of those, he said. Theyre dying out because its getting warmer here. Was it because of climate change I cannot say, he said. But frog species in South America are either moving to higher altitudes or are dying out because of rising temperatures, he said, shifting the focus of his flashlight to a Tarantula spider we barely spotted before it scurried back into the hollow of a tree. For more than 20 years, oil companies have been polluting the rivers and soil of the rainforest, endangering marine and other species besides impacting the health of indigenous peoples.

You dont have to travel halfway round the world to experience these problems, whether of global warming or environmental degradation by corporations. Examples abound whether of receding glaciers in the Himalayas , pollution of rivers like the Ganga or sinking island nations like the Maldives.

Natural systems take millions of years to evolve to become sustainable , as Darwin observed while visiting the islands more than a century ago. Our planet is friendly and habitable. Why ruin it