Transcript Document

Preservation v. Economic
Development
Unit #8
Prof. Christopher L. Howard
Conservation
• Conservation is an ethic of resource use,
allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is
upon maintaining the health of the natural world:
its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity.
Secondary focus is on materials conservation
and energy conservation, which are seen as
important to protect the natural world. Those
who follow the conservation ethic and,
especially, those who advocate or work toward
conservation goals are termed conservationists.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(ethic)
Conservation Cont.
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To conserve habitat in terrestrial ecoregions and stop deforestation is a goal widely
shared by many groups with a wide variety of motivations.
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To protect sea life from extinction due to overfishing is another commonly stated goal
of conservation — ensuring that "some will be available for our children" to continue a
way of life.
The consumer conservation ethic is sometimes expressed by the four R's: " Rethink,
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," This social ethic primarily relates to local purchasing,
moral purchasing, the sustained, and efficient use of renewable resources, the
moderation of destructive use of finite resources, and the prevention of harm to
common resources such as air and water quality, the natural functions of a living
earth, and cultural values in a built environment.
The principal value underlying most expressions of the conservation ethic is that the
natural world has intrinsic and intangible worth along with utilitarian value — a view
carried forward by the scientific conservation movement and some of the older
Romantic schools of ecology movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(ethic)
Conservation
Movements
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More Utilitarian schools of conservation seek a proper valuation of local and
global impacts of human activity upon nature in their effect upon human well
being, now and to our posterity. How such values are assessed and
exchanged among people determines the social, political, and personal
restraints and imperatives by which conservation is practiced. This is a view
common in the modern environmental movement.
These movements have diverged but they have deep and common roots in
the conservation movement.
In the United States of America, the year 1864 saw the publication of two
books which laid the foundation for Romantic and Utilitarian conservation
traditions in America. The posthumous publication of Henry David Thoreau's
Walden established the grandeur of unspoiled nature as a citadel to nourish
the spirit of man. From George Perkins Marsh a very different book, Man
and Nature, later subtitled "The Earth as Modified by Human Action",
catalogued his observations of man exhausting and altering the land from
which his sustenance derives
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(ethic)
Habitat Conservation
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Distinct trends exist regarding conservation development. While many countries'
efforts to preserve species and their habitats have been government-led, those in the
North Western Europe tended to arise out of the middle-class and aristocratic interest
in natural history, expressed at the level of the individual and the national, regional or
local learned society. Thus countries like Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, etc. had
what we would today term NGOs — in the shape of the RSPB, National Trust and
County Naturalists' Trusts (dating back to 1889, 1895 and 1912 respectively)
Natuurmonumenten, Provincial conservation Trusts for each Dutch province,
Vogelbescherming, etc. — a long time before there were National Parks and National
Nature Reserves. This in part reflects the absence of wilderness areas in heavily
cultivated Europe, as well as a longstanding interest in laissez-faire government in
some countries, like the UK, leaving it as no coincidence that John Muir, the Britishborn founder of the National Park movement (and hence of government-sponsored
conservation) did his sterling work in the USA, where he was the motor force behind
the establishment of such NPs as Yosemite and Yellowstone. Nowadays, officially
more than 10 percent of the world is legally protected in some way or the other, and
in practice private fundraising is insufficient to pay for the effective management of so
much land with protective status.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(ethic)
Habitat Conservation
Cont.
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Protected areas in developing countries, where probably as many as 70-80 percent of the species
of the world live, still enjoy very little effective management and protection. Although some
countries such as Mexico have non-profit civil organizations and land owners dedicated to protect
vast private property, such is the case of Hacienda Chichen's Maya Jungle Reserve and Bird
Refuge [3] in Chichen Itza, Yucatán. The Adopt A Ranger Foundation has calculated that
worldwide about 140,000 rangers are needed for the protected areas in developing and transition
countries. There are no data on how many rangers are employed at the moment, but probably
less than half the protected areas in developing and transition countries have any rangers at all
and those that have them are at least 50% short This means that there would be a worldwide
ranger deficit of 105,000 rangers in the developing and transition countries.
One of the world's foremost conservationists, Dr. Kenton Miller, stated about the importance of
rangers: "The future of our ecosystem services and our heritage depends upon park rangers. With
the rapidity at which the challenges to protected areas are both changing and increasing, there
has never been more of a need for well prepared human capacity to manage. Park rangers are
the backbone of park management. They are on the ground. They work on the front line with
scientists, visitors, and members of local communities."
Adopt A Ranger,[4] fears that the ranger deficit is the greatest single limiting factor in effectively
conserving nature in 75% of the world. Currently, no conservation organization or western country
or international organization addresses this problem. Adopt A Ranger has been incorporated to
draw worldwide public attention to the most urgent problem that conservation is facing in
developing and transition countries: protected areas without field staff. Very specifically, it will
contribute to solving the problem by fund raising to finance rangers in the field. It will also help
governments in developing and transition countries to assess realistic staffing needs and staffing
strategies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_(ethic)
National Parks
• A national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land,
declared or owned by a government, set aside for human recreation
and enjoyment, animal and environmental protection and restricted
from most development. While ideas for national parks had been
suggested previously, the first one established, in 1872, was the
United States' Yellowstone National Park. An international
organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined
National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. The largest
national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the
Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974.
According to the IUCN, there are about 7000 national parks
worldwide (2010 figure).[3]
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_park
National Parks Cont.
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A much-debated plan has established access, use and set guidelines for land designated for the Big Cypress National Preserve.
BY COREY W. CAMPBELL
Miami Herald Writer
Since 1988, decision makers have been trying to establish a plan for approximately 147,000 acres of land that has been been
designated for the Big Cypress National Preserve.
The plan for the addition lands is being scrutinized by sportsmen and conservation groups. The National Parks Service has
established a preferred plan establishing access, use and setting guidelines for which the land may be used and sets aside a
portion of the land to be used as wilderness. This General Management Plan for the addition lands is in a no-action period and
is set to be put into a record of decision, according to the superintendent of the preserve, Pedro Ramos.
``This plan is totally unacceptable to the hunters of South Florida we represent. It is too restrictive with regard to access,'' said
Bill Juliachs, president of the Miami Chapter of the Safari Club. SCI is a group of hunters for conservation and hunting rights.
The members of SCI are requesting an additional 90 days to make comments. Ramos stated that this was not a regular
comment period, but he would except any comments and make them record.
``Comments can be e-mailed to me or sent in by mail,'' Ramos said.
On the other side of the argument, the Public Employees for Environmental Reform are claiming that there is not enough
wilderness and too much access.
``Under [President] Bush, we never saw this type of blatant maneuvering to reduce park protections that we are seeing now at
Big Cypress,'' PEER executive director Jeff Ruch said. ``Adding insult to injury, [NPS] declared its ORV plan as the
environmentally preferable alternative to the status quo where ORV are barred. In the 50-year history of wilderness review in the
national park system there have been few, if any, examples of disqualifying eligible lands to accommodate motorized
recreation, and certainly nothing of this magnitude.''
``The BCNP is a place that everybody loves. Some like to bike it, other go for bird-watching and there are the hunters, too. There
are some that think there is too much access and others not enough. We are working with a public with a very diverse set of
interest,'' Ramos said.
The BCNP was established by law to allow for traditional uses such as hunting, trapping and off-road vehicle and recreation.
``I believe that limiting access to these areas and the use of ORV completely goes against what these lands were intended for. I
am a born-and-raised Floridian that has been hunting most of the Big Cypress and the adjacent properties for the last 46
years,'' regional SCI representative Ivan Armengol said.
The no-action period will end Monday, and the GMP is expected to be signed later in the month.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/02/1996943/national-parks-service-sets-plan.html##ixzz19zPGPVc8
Economic
Development
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Economic development is the increase in the standard of living in a nation's population with sustained growth
from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy.[1][2] Also, if the local quality of life could
be improved, economic development would be enhanced.[3] Its scope includes the process and policies by which
a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people.[4]
Gonçalo L Fonsesca at the New School for Social Research defines economic development as "the analysis of the
economic development of nations."[5]
The University of Iowa's Center for International Finance and Development states that:
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"'Economic development' is a term that economists, politicians, and others have used frequently in the 20th century. The concept,
however, has been in existence in the West for centuries. Modernization, Westernization, and especially Industrialization are other
terms people have used when discussing economic development. Although no one is sure when the concept originated, most
people agree that development is closely bound up with the evolution of capitalism and the demise of feudalism."[6]
The study of economic development by social scientists encompasses theories of the causes of industrialeconomic modernization, the phases or waves of economic development historically used by economic
developers, plus organizational and related aspects of enterprise development in modern societies. It embraces
sociological research on business organization and enterprise development from a historical and comparative
perspective; specific processes of the evolution (growth, modernization) of markets and management-employee
relations; and culturally related cross-national similarities and differences in patterns of industrial organization in
contemporary Western societies. On the subject of the nature and causes of the considerable variations that exist
in levels of industrial-economic growth and performance internationally, it seeks answers to such questions as:
"Why are levels of direct foreign investment and labour productivity significantly higher in some countries than in
others?"[7]
Mansell and Wehn state that development has been understood since the second World War to involve economic
growth, increases in per capita income, and attainment of a standard of living equivalent to that of industrialized
countries.[8][9]
Economy Development can also be considered as a static theory that documents the state of economy at a certain
time. According to Schumpeter (2003)[10] the changes in this equilibrium state to document in economic theory
can only be caused by intervening factors coming from the outside
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_development
Sustainable
Development
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Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental issues.
In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which defines
sustainable development as 'development which meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'[8]
The United Nations 2005 World Summit Outcome Document refers to the
"interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars" of sustainable development as
economic development, social development, and environmental protection.[9]
Indigenous peoples have argued, through various international forums such as the
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Convention on
Biological Diversity, that there are four pillars of sustainable development, the fourth
being cultural. The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001)
further elaborates the concept by stating that "...cultural diversity is as necessary for
humankind as biodiversity is for nature”; it becomes “one of the roots of development
understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a
more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence". In this vision,
cultural diversity is the fourth policy area of sustainable development.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
Economic
Sustainability
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Economic Sustainability: Agenda 21 clearly identified information, integration, and
participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that
recognises these interdependent pillars. It emphasises that in sustainable
development everyone is a user and provider of information. It stresses the need to
change from old sector-centred ways of doing business to new approaches that
involve cross-sectoral co-ordination and the integration of environmental and social
concerns into all development processes. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasises that
broad public participation in decision making is a fundamental prerequisite for
achieving sustainable development.[10]
According to Hasna Vancock, sustainability is a process which tells of a development
of all aspects of human life affecting sustenance. It means resolving the conflict
between the various competing goals, and involves the simultaneous pursuit of
economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity famously known as
three dimensions (triple bottom line) with the resultant vector being technology, hence
it is a continually evolving process; the 'journey' (the process of achieving
sustainability) is of course vitally important, but only as a means of getting to the
destination (the desired future state). However, the 'destination' of sustainability is not
a fixed place in the normal sense that we understand destination. Instead, it is a set
of wishful characteristics of a future system.[11]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
Endangered Species
• An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at
risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or
threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has
calculated the percentage of endangered species as 40 percent of
all organisms based on the sample of species that have been
evaluated through 2006.[2]
• Many nations have laws offering protection to conservation reliant
species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land
development or creating preserves.
• Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it
to the lists and obtain legal protection like Pandas. Many more
species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without
gaining public notice.[citation needed
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_species
Habitat Destruction
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Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered
functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the
organisms which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed,
reducing biodiversity[1]. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the
purpose of harvesting natural resources for industry production and
urbanization. Clearing habitats for agriculture is the principal cause of
habitat destruction. Other important causes of habitat destruction include
mining, logging, trawling and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently
ranked as the most important cause of species extinction worldwide.[2] It is
a process of natural environmental change that may be caused by habitat
fragmentation, geological processes, climate change[1] or by human
activities such as the introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient
depletion and other human activities mentioned below.
The terms "loss of habitat" and "habitat reduction" are also used in a
wider sense including loss of habitat from other factors, such as water and
noise pollution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_destruction
Extinction
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In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon),
normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last
individual of the group (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this
point). Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult,
and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa,
where a species presumed extinct abruptly "re-appears" (typically in the fossil record) after a
period of apparent absence.
Through evolution, new species arise through the process of speciation—where new varieties of
organisms arise and thrive when they are able to find and exploit an ecological niche—and
species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against
superior competition. A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first
appearance,[2] although some species, called living fossils, survive virtually unchanged for
hundreds of millions of years. Most extinctions occur naturally, without human intervention: it is
estimated that 99.9% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct.[2][3]
Mass extinctions are relatively rare events; however, isolated extinctions are quite common. Only
recently have extinctions been recorded and scientists have become alarmed at the high rates of
recent extinctions.[4] Most species that become extinct are never scientifically documented. Some
scientists estimate that up to half of presently existing species may become extinct by 2100.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction
Endangered Species
Cont.
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In 1986, a worried environmentalist group petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to list the owl as an "endangered species," a move that would bar the timber
industry from clearing these lands. In June 1990, after years of heated negotiation
and litigation between the government, environmentalists, and the timber industry, the
northern spotted owl was declared a threatened species. Under this provision, timber
companies are required to leave at least 40% of the old-growth forests intact within a
1.3 mile radius of any spotted owl nest or activity site, a provision that is vehemently
opposed by the timber industry. Industry representatives claim that the measure will
leave thousands of Northwest loggers and mill workers jobless, and insist that such
protectionist policies thoughtlessly fail to take into account the dire economic
consequences of preservation. Environmentalists, on the other hand, argue that
society has a fundamental obligation to preserve this rare species and the wilderness
it inhabits.
The controversy over the northern spotted owl follows on the heels of debates over
dolphins, whales, snail darters, and desert tortoises, each raising questions
concerning society's obligation to protect animals threatened by extinction. In the
case of the spotted owl, we must ask whether and to what extent preserving
endangered species and the wilderness they inhabit should take precedence over
other considerations, such as major economic dislocations.
Spotted Owl
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Ethics and the Spotted Owl Controversy
By Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez
For hundreds of years, a handsome, dark-brown owl with white spots has made its home in the lush, "old-growth" forests of the Pacific Northwest. Under
the multilayered canopies of these 200-year-old forests, the owl, known as the northern spotted owl, has fed off the rich plant and invertebrate life
created by decaying timber and has nested in the cavities of old trunks. But the towering cedars, firs, hemlocks, and spruces which have served as the
owl's habitat, also have become a primary source of timber for a multi-billion dollar logging industry. Over the last 150 years, as a result of heavy
logging, these ancient forests have dwindled. Only about 10% of the forests remain, most on federally owned lands. And as the forests have dwindled,
so too has the number of spotted owls. Biologists estimate that only 2,000 pairs survive today.
In 1986, a worried environmentalist group petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the owl as an "endangered species," a move that would bar
the timber industry from clearing these lands. In June 1990, after years of heated negotiation and litigation between the government, environmentalists,
and the timber industry, the northern spotted owl was declared a threatened species. Under this provision, timber companies are required to leave at
least 40% of the old-growth forests intact within a 1.3 mile radius of any spotted owl nest or activity site, a provision that is vehemently opposed by the
timber industry. Industry representatives claim that the measure will leave thousands of Northwest loggers and mill workers jobless, and insist that such
protectionist policies thoughtlessly fail to take into account the dire economic consequences of preservation. Environmentalists, on the other hand, argue
that society has a fundamental obligation to preserve this rare species and the wilderness it inhabits.
The controversy over the northern spotted owl follows on the heels of debates over dolphins, whales, snail darters, and desert tortoises, each raising
questions concerning society's obligation to protect animals threatened by extinction. In the case of the spotted owl, we must ask whether and to what
extent preserving endangered species and the wilderness they inhabit should take precedence over other considerations, such as major economic
dislocations.
Weighing the Costs and Benefits
From the environmentalists' perspective, the benefits of preserving the northern spotted owl and its habitat far outweigh any of the costs. First, saving
the spotted owl will save an entire ecosystem on which plants, other animals, and humans depend. The spotted owl is considered an indicator species -a gauge of the health of the ecosystem that provides its habitat. The steady decline of this species signals the demise of other species, such as elk and
flying squirrel, that inhabit these forests, and the disruption of the productive forces of nature that sustain human life. The ancient forests and the life they
harbor form a complex web of interdependent relationships that play a critical role in preventing soil erosion, floods, and landslides, providing clean
water for agriculture and cities, enhancing the productivity of salmon fisheries, enriching the soil with vital nutrients, and ameliorating the greenhouse
effect. No amount of reforestation can replace this highly developed and diverse system which has taken millennia to evolve.
Second, society ought to preserve this species and the unique ecosystem it represents because of their aesthetic value. What kind of society would
trade the magnificence of these virgin forests and the splendor of the life that inhabits them -- owl, elk, bald eagles, and mountain goats -- for paper cups
and two-by-fours? To allow such a tradeoff is equivalent to destroying a great work of art that has taken centuries to create, and that will be a source of
rich experience for generations of hikers, backpackers, bird-watchers, and millions of others seeking a natural world away from our teeming concrete
cities.
Finally, the owl and its habitat are of immense scientific value, providing opportunities for inquiry and for increasing our understanding of this unique
ecosystem and its role in our lives and in those of future generations. To date, little research has been done on these forests. To allow their demise is to
permanently foreclose the possibility of exploration and the benefits generated by new discoveries. Had the obscure organism known as penicillin
become extinct before its discovery, millions of human lives would have been lost. Who knows what secrets these forests may hold?
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n1/
Spotted Owl Cont.
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Environmentalists admit that saving the owls' habitat could cost jobs. But, they argue, these jobs will vanish no matter what. For if cutting
continues at its current rate of 125,000 acres a year, the old-growth forests will be gone within thirty years and the mills forced to close
anyhow. Many of the jobs in the Pacific Northwest could be saved simply by restricting the export of raw timber, a practice driven by the
higher profits made through sales outside of the U.S. In 1988, nearly 4 billion board feet of raw logs were exported from Washington and
Oregon. Had those logs been processed in the U.S., thousands of jobs could have been generated.
The timber industry, on the other hand, maintains that the benefits of saving the spotted owl are negligible compared to the harm that will
be done. Reduced logging in the old-growth forests will harm all Americans and be particularly devastating to communities in the Pacific
Northwest. These forests are a primary source of timber for most independent lumber mills in the Northwest, which account for about 65%
of Western wood. Many of the saw mills are entirely dependent on old-growth cuts because their equipment can only handle trees with
large dimensions. According to one report, if the volume of old growth declines, up to 28,000 jobs could be lost, leading to "increased
rates of domestic disputes, divorce, acts of violence, delinquency, vandalism, suicide, alcoholism, and other problems." Nationwide,
consumer prices for wood products will rise substantially. And, lumber-poor nations, such as Japan, which depend on massive amounts of
timber from the U.S., will suffer.
Second, timber industry officials state that cutting the old growth is essential if present and future generations are to be provided with the
wood and paper products they need. Once these trees have reached their maturity, most of their energy is spent simply maintaining
themselves, rather than in new growth. It is in society's best interest to replace these static forests with healthy, young trees that will
provide an adequate supply of timber.
The industry counters the environmentalists' claim that preservation measures ought to be supported because of the aesthetic, scientific,
and ecological benefits that would result. Hundreds of thousands of acres of old-growth forests, they argue, have already been set aside
as national parks and wilderness areas. Half of Oregon's three million acres of old growth is not being logged because it has been
designated as wilderness or is unsuitable for logging. Also, logging sites are continually being reforested. Old-growth and second-growth
forests provide ample opportunities for "aesthetic experiences," recreation, and biological exploration. Moreover, our desire for aesthetic
experiences or the value we place on the pursuit of knowledge should not be allowed to override more basic needs of persons, such as
the need for jobs or housing.
The timber industry disputes the environmentalists' call for the use of alternative sources of wood. Second-growth wood, they point out, is
less strong, and is knotty and twisted. It can't be used to produce many products, such as fine furniture and musical instruments, requiring
the high quality old-growth wood that is characterized by fine, straight lines and few knots. Until substitutes can be found, society has no
choice but to rely on wood from old-growth forests.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n1/
Wrapping It Up
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Conservation
National Parks
Economic Development
Sustainable Development
Economic Sustainability
Endangered Species
Habitat Destruction
Extinction
Spotted Owl Controversy