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February 12, 2007

Advocacy for ecosystem services

In defending policy advocacy by conservation biologists, Peter F. Brussard and John C. Tull write (in Conservation Biology):
Three concepts are almost completely foreign to people who are not ecologists: (1) natural ecosystems provide services on which our economic, social, cultural, and political systems depend; (2) when these processes are altered our quality of life declines; and (3) when the processes fail life becomes very difficult or impossible. As a result of this ignorance, conservation is seen by many as a minor amenity benefiting a small cadre of birdwatchers or backpackers that stands in the way of "progress" that benefits all.
Statements (1), (2) and (3) are false or uninteresting, although a version of the basic idea - a reduced supply of some ecosystem functions is bad for some of us - is true and interesting. Perhaps because I am ignorant, I see much of conservation as an "amenity benefiting a small cadre of birdwatchers or backpackers," although, perhaps because I am a birdwatcher and a backpacker, I would not call it "minor."

2 comments:

  1. You are not an ecologist. Calling these claims false shows you don't know what you are talking about.

    Please refrain from claiming that you are an ecologist.

    Best,

    D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dano, read this. ;)

    ReplyDelete