<
https://theconversation.com/orangutans-could-half-earth-conservation-save-the-red-ape-192529>
"Half-Earth is a proposal by the late naturalist and “father of biodiversity”,
EO Wilson. In its original context, it proposes that half of the Earth’s
surface should be designated a human-free nature reserve to preserve
biodiversity.
The proposal of course raises some pretty big questions. What happens to the
people that happen to live in the areas designated to become human free? Would
we give up on biodiversity in the other half of Earth? And whose half should be
chosen and who decides? Would richer countries continue on their current path
and tell poorer nations, especially those in the tropics with relatively intact
forests and marine systems, that their part of the world will from now on only
be for nature?
Perhaps not unexpectedly, the grand idea of half-Earth has attracted a lot of
criticism as being unethical and infeasible. It has even led to a distinct
counter-proposal: whole-Earth. Sometimes known as sharing the planet, this
proposal focuses on things like equitable land management or finance, as its
advocates argue that conservation will only ever work if we change the
political and economic systems that are driving today’s crises.
It is difficult to judge the merits of half and whole-Earth without testing
what either would mean on the ground. This is what we recently set out to do by
applying our interpretations of these two options to the conservation of an
animal we have studied for decades – the orangutan."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
