13.1: What is Conservation Biology?
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1. What is Conservation Biology?
© 2019 J.W. Wilson and R.B. Primack, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0177.01
East Africa’s great migration is one of the most famous wildlife spectacles on Earth. Each year, tens of thousands of tourists from around the world flock to the region to see the 1.7 million common wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus, LC) and hundreds of thousands of other plains mammals make their way from Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area, through the Serengeti Plains, to Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. Photograph by Daniel Rosengren, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wildebeest_Migration_in_Serengeti_National_Park,_Tanzania.jpg, CC BY 4.0.
Popular interest in protecting biological diversity—which describes the amazing range of species, genetic diversity within each species, and the multitude of Earth’s complex biological communities with their associated ecosystem processes—has intensified during the past few decades. During this time, scientists and the public have recognised that biological diversity (often shortened to biodiversity) is being lost at increasing rates. Across the world, human activities are destroying ecological communities that have developed over millions of years. Over the next several decades, thousands of species and millions of populations will likely go extinct.
The fundamental driver of all the biodiversity losses we are currently witnessing is a rapidly expanding human population coupled with increased consumptive needs. In 1850, after roughly 300,000 years of Homo sapiens on the planet, there were around 1 billion people on Earth. By 1987, not even 140 years later, the world’s human population had surpassed 5 billion. By 2017, there were 7.5 billion humans globally, of which over 1 billion lived in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2019). With this many people, the human population grows by tens of millions of people each year, even with modest population growth (Figure 1.1). To make matters worse, Sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest population growth rate in the world, with a projected human population estimate of over 4 billion people by the year 2100—a number that is well beyond the ecological capacity of the region to support.
Figure 1.1 Sub-Saharan Africa’s human population crossed the 1 billion mark in 2015. At the current annual population growth rate of 2.7%, more than 28 million people will be added to the region in 2019. This number will escalate each subsequent year as increases are compounded. Sources: Biraben, 2003; World Bank, 2019, CC BY 4.0.
To survive and prosper, people use natural resources. They harvest and use oil, water, and wildlife products, and convert natural ecosystems for agriculture, cities, roads, and industrial activities. This consumption, which reduces natural habitat and the associated wildlife populations, is intensifying because of the demands of a rapidly increasing human population. Consumption of resources also increases as countries develop and industrialise: the average citizen of the USA uses five times more resources than the average global citizen, 11 times more than the average Chinese citizen, and 32 times more than the average Kenyan citizen (Worldwatch Institute, 2015). This growth in the number of humans, together with their ever-more-intensive use of natural resources, is the fundamental driver behind most current species extinctions.
For conservation biologists and other nature lovers, the widespread extinction of species and destruction of natural ecosystems are incredibly discouraging.
For conservation biologists and other nature lovers, the widespread extinctions of species and destruction of natural ecosystems are incredibly discouraging. Perhaps nowhere in the world is this issue as dramatic as in Africa with its rich and spectacular wildlife, but also its significant socio-economic challenges, such as a rapidly increasing human population, persistent poverty, weak governance structures, and many people’s near-obligate dependence on natural resources. Many Africans are also confused by the importance and need for conservation actions, pointing to the romanticised but inaccurate notion that humans have been living in relative harmony with nature since humans first made an appearance on Earth (see Box 8.1). But it is possible, and indeed necessary, to find ways to ensure the persistence of biodiversity. Actions taken, or not taken, during the next few decades will determine how many species and natural areas will continue to survive. Someday, people will likely look back and say that this time—the first half of the 21st century—was an important and exciting time when people worked together, and acted locally and globally, to prevent the extinction of many species and ecosystems. Examples of successful conservation efforts are described throughout this textbook.
1.1. Conservation Biology is Still Evolving
As a distinct scientific field, conservation biology is an integrated, multidisciplinary subject that developed in response to the challenge of preserving populations, species, ecosystems, and biological interactions. The main aim of conservation biology is to ensure the long-term preservation of biodiversity. To achieve its aim, conservation biology has set three goals:
- To document Earth’s biological diversity.
- To investigate how humans influence species, evolution, and ecosystem processes.
- To investigate practical approaches to protect and restore biological communities, maintain genetic diversity, and prevent the extinction of species.
The first two goals describe typical scientific research investigating objective facts. The third goal, however, is a part of what makes conservation biology a normative discipline; that is, conservation biology incorporates human values, not just facts, to understand and achieve its value-laden goals (Lindenmayer and Hunter, 2010). In this sense, conservation biology is related to environmentalism, in which people aim to protect the natural environment for its own sake (see Section 4.3.2). However, conservation biology is at its core a scientific discipline; it is founded on scientific principles. This is not to say you must be a scientist to practice conservation biology; there are many people who are not scientists who apply the principles of conservation biology in their professional and personal lives.
The emergence of conservation biology as a distinct scientific field in the 1970s has given rise to the formation of various formal societies representing the field in a united voice. Most notable among these is the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB, Figure 1.2), which is a non-profit international professional organisation with a mission to advance “the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity”. To facilitate opportunities where like-minded people can share ideas locally, the SCB has regional branches, including an active Africa Section (http://conbio.org/groups/sections/africa) which hosts regular conferences. In addition to the SCB, a great number of other local, national, and regional conservation organisations also exist and act as mouthpieces for grassroots movements and as custodians of nature. Many of these groups focus on specific animals or local protected areas. Others organically adapt their missions and visions in response to a specific need or threat. For example, established in 1913 as an exchange forum between collectors of rare plants, the Botanical Society of South Africa now actively works toward protecting those rare plants in their natural habitats.
Figure 1.2 The logo of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) has several layers of symbolism. Enclosed in the circle of life are ocean waves, representing change. The bird symbolises beauty, and the leaves (the bird’s wings) remind us of nature’s productivity. Image courtesy of SCB, all rights reserved.
In recent years, conservation practice has evolved from just a plan to save the environment to a vision that includes sustainable development and social justice.
Conservation biology also has a history of adapting to new challenges. The very first conservation activities, in Africa and beyond, were geared towards securing the rights to valuable natural resources for people in powerful positions, such as kings and tribal chiefs, enforced through a strictly adherence to cultural norms and customary laws (Section 2.2). But as a growing human population expanded its influence on the environment, and wildlife started to decline, earliest conservation models gradually shifted towards fortress conservation approaches (Wilshusen et al., 2002) which aimed to shield wildlife from people by setting aside protected areas where human activities were strictly controlled.
Today, however, as human populations are exploding, and consumption is increasing, even protected areas are increasingly unable to withstand the multitude of threats to biodiversity that ignore property boundaries and political borders. In response, fortress conservation approaches are beginning to make way for large-scale integrated activities that highlight the social and economic benefits of biodiversity conservation. To do this, new alliances are being formed and new agendas are being established, such as those that directly link human health with environmental health (Box 1.1). These integrated conservation philosophies that pursue strategies that benefit both humans and biodiversity show much promise because they focus on fundamental extinction drivers, and advocate for more inclusive sustainable development. In this way, the practice of conservation has evolved from just a plan to save the environment to a vision that accomplishes its goals through sustainable development and social justice.
Yet, as we consider how to best invest limited conservation resources, some difficult questions arise. With seemingly more work to be done than can be accomplished, should we let some species go extinct (Bottrill et al., 2008)? Which species? Who decides? How can we even dare to think that we can play god? Such questions predictably bring about strongly opinionated and emotional debate (Soulé, 2013 vs. Marvier, 2014; Tallis and Lubchenco, 2014). Given the successful track record of fortress conservation initiatives in preventing extinctions despite limited budgets (Young et al., 2014), as well as the promising progress of more complex people-centred initiatives (Pooley et al., 2014), it seems clear that conservation relies on some balance between these two conservation philosophies (Sodhi et al., 2011). Conservation biologists of tomorrow will be able to fine-tune the balance between these strategies by closely inspecting the successes and failures of our actions today.
Box 1.1 Conservation Through Public Health: A Case Study
Conservation Through Public Health,
Kampala, Uganda.
http://www.ctph.org
Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) is a grassroots non-governmental organisation (NGO) and non-profit that promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, wildlife, and livestock to coexist. The organisation was founded in 2003 after fatal scabies skin disease outbreaks in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei, EN) were traced to people living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, who had limited access to basic health services (Kalema-Zikusoka et al., 2002). Since then, CTPH has contributed to conservation and sustainable development in Africa by improving human and animal health and welfare in and around protected areas.
One of the main goals of CTPH is to reduce disease transfer between humans and gorillas. We accomplish this through an integrated population, health, and environment (PHE) programme that was established in 2007 with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). As a first step, piloted around Bwindi, CTPH held consultative meetings with local leaders, during which at least one Village Health and Conservation Team (VHCT) volunteer was selected from each village and two from each parish (consisting of 11 villages) to oversee distribution of family planning supplies. This initiative rapidly expanded into a sustainable social service delivery network that promotes family planning, hygiene, and sanitation. The network resulted in a 20% to 60% (national average is 30%) increase in new users to modern family planning, and a 10% to 60% increase in adoption of hand washing facilities at homes visited by VHCTs. VHCT volunteers also refer people suffering from infectious diseases and malnutrition to local health centres and promote more sustainable alternative livelihoods. Another group of community volunteers, the “Human and Gorilla Conflict Resolution” (HUGO) team, in turn collect gorilla faecal samples left on communal land to monitor their health (Figure 1.A), and visually monitor gorillas for clinical signs of disease inside and outside protected areas (Gaffikin and Kalema-Zikusoka, 2010). In the process, we have seen reduced disease incidences in the gorillas, reduced conflict between people and gorillas, and improved attitudes toward conservation. One unintended outcome has been increased gender equality: men are now more involved in family planning, and women are more involved in natural resource management.
Figure 1.A A park ranger from the Uganda Wildlife Authority teaching HUGO community volunteers how to collect faecal samples from gorilla night nests during a CTPH training workshop. Photograph by CTPH, CC BY 4.0.
Our experience in initiating and managing PHE programmes for the past 10 years has taught us several lessons. One of the most important lessons to ensure project sustainability is to regularly engage with local leaders and the government. The Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda’s Ministry of Health, and local health centres all attend CTPH meetings with VHCTs. Attendance by and representation of these groups not only informs them of our activities, but also provides a platform to inform or train the VHCTs in what they would like them to disseminate to the local communities.
We have also learnt that PHE-implementing partners and projects need to be well-suited to each other and each site; this remains true even though health needs are often the same, regardless of the location. For example, at Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda, we found that training VHCTs in reducing conflict with park management played a key role in changing community attitudes toward conservation. In contrast, at Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we found that VHCTs needed to work more closely with local health centres to prevent disease transmission between people and gorillas, and to promote family planning in a largely Catholic country.
Lastly, we found that establishing income-generating projects for groups rather than individuals was key to sustaining VHCT networks and programme goals beyond donor funding cycles where we have had no volunteer dropouts in the first 10 years of initiating the PHE programme. These key components were accomplished by initiating livestock group enterprises and by encouraging VHCT volunteers to invest generated income into Village Saving and Loan Associations (see http://www.care.org/vsla).
1.2 The Role of Conservation Biologists
While there are a few extinctions that have only one cause, more generally, extinctions occur because several factors acted simultaneously and/or sequentially. Blaming a certain industry or specific group of people for an extinction (or other biodiversity loss) is thus simplistic, ineffective, and often counter-productive. Though challenging, a better approach would be to better understand how local, national, and international links led to those losses, and to find viable alternatives to prevent it from happening again. To succeed in this challenge, conservation biologists should strongly consider taking on one or more of several roles:
- Conservation biologists should be curious. The world around us is full of natural wonders waiting to be discovered. These discoveries underpin conservation action, by allowing us to define all the different components of biodiversity, enabling us to better understand the needs of different species, and providing us with opportunities to celebrate our conservation successes.
- Conservation biologists must be good listeners. Sometimes, the only difference between attracting a new ally and making an enemy, or between developing a landscape and saving a species from extinction, is the way we communicate. Conservationists must be careful and respectful listeners, especially to opposing perspectives. Careful listening is particularly important in rural areas, where villagers often have practical concerns related to their daily contact with wildlife, such as staying safe and preventing crop damage and livestock loss. Quite often, those villagers may also have unique insights into wildlife ecology that could prove valuable in local conservation measures.
- Laws are important because ethical boundaries differ from person to person—activities acceptable to one person may be immensely harmful to another.