Marine Conservation in the Anthropocene

ESTES, J.; PARMA, A.M.

Encuentro; The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation 2013 Annual Meeting; 2013

Two highly divergent visions have arisen in the field of conservation. One of these might be referred to as "traditional conservation" after the philosophy of such early thinkers and writers as Aldo Leopold and, more recently, people like Michael Soulé (founding president of the Society for Conservation Biology). The other, led by Peter Kareiva (head scientist for The Nature Conservancy) could be termed "postmodern conservation" as a reflection of its skepticism for the status quo. Proponents of these visions see the purpose of conservation in radically different ways. For instance, traditionalists believe that biodiversity is the heart of conservation whereas postmodernists think that biodiversity has been over-touted; traditionalists think that nature preservation is the central goal of conservation whereas postmodernists think that conservation must first and foremost serve the needs of humans; the conservation priority of traditionalists is to protect wilderness and other undeveloped areas from development whereas the post modernists see conservation as informing the right kind of development; traditionalists see the corporate world as the enemy of conservation whereas postmodernists believe the way forward is to engage the corporate world; postmodernists think that nature is resilient to most human-caused disturbances whereas traditionalists are skeptical of that premise. And so on. About the only point the two camps seem to agree on is that conservation is failing in its most deeply rooted goals. These beliefs and perspectives are certain to cut across marine conservation for years to come. The purpose of this session is to introduce the Pew Fellows and other participants to this current discussion, and consider the role of marine conservation in the emerging debate.