Ignoring Nature No More
The Case for Compassionate Conservation
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Ignoring Nature No More
The Case for Compassionate Conservation
For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current crisis, nor does it get people to act. In Ignoring Nature No More, Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive.
This collection of diverse essays is the first book devoted to compassionate conservation, a growing global movement that translates discussions and concerns about the well-being of individuals, species, populations, and ecosystems into action. Written by leading scholars in a host of disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, political science, and philosophy, as well as by locals doing fieldwork in their own countries, the essays combine the most creative aspects of the current science of animal conservation with analyses of important psychological and sociocultural issues that encourage or vex stewardship. The contributors tackle topics including the costs and benefits of conservation, behavioral biology, media coverage of animal welfare, conservation psychology, and scales of conservation from the local to the global. Taken together, the essays make a strong case for why we must replace our habits of domination and exploitation with compassionate conservation if we are to make the world a better place for nonhuman and human animals alike.
456 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2013
Biological Sciences: Behavioral Biology, Conservation, Ecology, Natural History
Philosophy: Ethics
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword
Benjamin B. Beck
Benjamin B. Beck
Preface
Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
It Shouldn’t Be All about Us
Acknowledgments
Part One Ethics, Conservation, and Animal Protection
Trying to Make Difficult Decisions Easier
1 The Infirm Ethical Foundations of Conservation
John A. Vucetich and Michael P. Nelson
2 Venturing beyond the Tyranny of Small Differences
The Animal Protection Movement, Conservation, and Environmental Education
Paul Waldau
3 Ecocide and the Extinction of Animal Minds
Eileen Crist
4 Talking about Bushmeat
Dale Peterson
5 Conservation, Animal Rights, and Human Welfare
A Pragmatic View of the “Bushmeat Crisis”
Ben A. Minteer
Part 2 Conservation Behavior and “Enlightened Management”
Guidelines for Restoring, Recreating, and Redecorating Nature
6 Why We Really Don’t Care about the Evidence in Evidence-Based Decision Making in Conservation (and How to Change This)
Daniel T. Blumstein
7 Cautionary Wildlife Tales
Learning to Fail or Failing to Learn?
Joel Berger
8 Coyotes, Compassionate Conservation, and Coexistence
Why Ignoring Nature Means Ineffective “Predator Management”
Camilla H. Fox
9 Why Evolutionary Biology Is Important for Conservation
Toward Evolutionarily Sustainable Harvest Management
Marco Festa-Bianchet
10 Reintroductions to “Ratchet Up” Public Perceptions of Biodiversity
Reversing the Extinction of Experience through Animal Restorations
Philip J. Seddon and Yolanda van Heezik
11 Przewalski’s Horses and Red Wolves
Importance of Behavioral Research for Species Brought Back from the Brink of Extinction
Sarah R. B. King
12 Why Individuals Matter
Lessons in Animal Welfare and Conservation
Liv Baker
Part 3 Conservation Economics and Politics
It All Comes Down to Money
13 The Imperative of Steady State Economics for Wild Animal Welfare
Brian Czech
14 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Tourism in New Zealand
Engaging with the Conservation Economy
Eric J. Shelton
Part Four Human Dimensions of Social Justice, Empathy, and Compassion for Animals and Other Nature
15 Anthropological Perspectives on Ignoring Nature
Barbara J. King
16 Nature and Animals in Human Social Interactions
Fostering Environmental Identity
Susan Clayton
17 Conservation Social Work
The Interconnectedness of Biodiversity Health and Human Resilience
Philip Tedeschi, Sarah M. Bexell, and Jolie NeSmith
18 The War on Nature—Turning the Tide?
Lessons from Other Movements and Conservation History
David Johns
19 Consuming Nature
The Cultural Politics of Animals and the Environment in the Mass Media
Carrie Packwood Freeman and Jason Leigh Jarvis
20 Children, Animals, and Social Neuroscience
Empathy, Conservation Education, and Activism
Olin E. “Gene” Myers Jr.
Part 5 Culture, Religion, and Spirituality
Using Empathy and Compassion to Develop a Unified Global Movement to Protect Animals and Their Homes
21 Compassionate Conservation
A Paradigm Shift for Wildlife Management in Australasia
Daniel Ramp, Dror Ben-Ami, Keely Boom, and David B. Croft
22 China’s Wildlife Crisis
Cultural Tradition or Politics of Development
Peter J. Li
23 A Triangular Playing Field
The Social, Economic, and Ethical Context of Conserving India’s Natural Heritage
Vivek Menon
24 Conservation and Its Challenges in Kenya
Josphat Ngonyo and Mariam Wanjala
25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
Biocultural Evolution and Earthly Spirituality
Bron Taylor
26 Avatar
The Search for Biosynergy and Compassion
Anthony L. Rose and A. Gabriela Rose
Some Closing Words
Moving Ahead with Heart, Peace, and Compassion
Marc Bekoff
About the Contributors
Contributors’ Contact Information
Index
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