Part I of Conservation, Divided: Has big conservation gone astray?

| April 26, 2016 | Leave a Comment

Item Link: Access the Resource

Date of Publication: April 26, 2016

Year of Publication: 2016

Publisher: Mongabay.com

Author(s): Jeremy Hance

“The world’s biggest conservation groups have embraced a human-centric approach known as ‘new conservation.’ But is it up to the task of saving life on Earth? Part 1 of Conservation, Divided: Mongabay’s four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years.”

Indeed, every day thousands of conservationists get up around the world and devote the majority of their waking hours to a cause that can prove debilitating, frustrating, trying, and certainly not financially rewarding. They are facing down mass extinction, ecological Armageddon for our children, with finite resources. So their intense focus on approach and efficacy is not only understandable, but vital. There’s not a single conservationist on the planet who thinks, “Yes, we’re doing enough.”

 

But we can still ask: is what we’re doing working? Are we changing hearts and minds? Are we fighting the good fight? Will species be alive tomorrow that wouldn’t be here if not for our efforts? Or have we somehow lost our way — did we go astray somewhere — and if so how do we get back on track? After all, life is at stake.


Read the full article here. Conservation, Divided is an in-depth four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future. Hance completed the series over the course of eight months. Stories will run weekly through May 17.

The views and opinions expressed through the MAHB Website are those of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect an official position of the MAHB. The MAHB aims to share a range of perspectives and welcomes the discussions that they prompt.