Biodiversity Conference in Washington
11/5/97
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Headline: Biodiversity Conference in Washington
Source: Mitchell Thomashow Date: 11/5/97
BIODIVERSITY REVISITED
I just returned from the conference on biodiversity, convened by the
National Academy of Sciences in Washington (October 27-30, 1997). A slew
of interesting conservation biologists and ecologists addressed the
state of global biodiversity, revisiting the work that was begun at a
similar conference eleven years ago.
The conference unleashed a flood of emotional and spiritual anxiety. How
else do you respond to the litany of evidence regarding the decline of
living systems and the despeciation of the globe? Of course these are
patterns that people in the environmental profession are well aware of,
yet in the course of daily events, they are easily submerged, denied, or
avoided. To sit in an auditorium for three days and witness a string of
stories and presentations about the biodiversity crisis was daunting.
There was no escape. One day, at noon, I decided to clear my head and go
on a long walk around the mall. I stumbled onto the Vietnam memorial,
witnessing the legacy of wasted lives in a war marked by the destruction
of nature and culture. There was no relief.
The existential dilemmas of environmentalism pervaded. Most of the
presenters, while offering their science, couched their observations in
deep love of natural systems, so obviously fascinated by the wonder of
the ecological evolutionary matrix, so deeply in love with flora, fauna,
and even the biogeochemical cycles. Conveyors of wonder, harbingers of
doom. Defenseless against the growth machinery, the legacy of European
economic expansion, the death throes of globalization. And the chorus
wailed in unison: there is still time to reverse the damage. My
impression is that everyone tries different strategies
we all do what we can. You can try to meet with congresspeople, or galvanize
the press, or convert CEO's, or describe biodiversity as "ecosystem services,"
work with schoolchildren. or write poetry. And perhaps in the interstices of
these efforts, a global ecological society will emerge. Yet the tide
rolls forward. The sixth mega extinction has already begun.
A few conceptual highlights. These in no way do justice to the depth and
care embedded in these presentations. Merely snippets.........
David Suzuki suggested that we seek out our elders and find out "how it
used to be," describing how we currently live in a "biologically
impoverished environment."
Jerry Melillo of the Office of Science and Technology Policy discussed
the widespread changes that affect ecosystem functioning: land cover and
land use changes, climate disruption, alteration of the nitrogen cycle,
and chronic toxification.
Jane Lubchenko discussed keystone species whose presence maintains
ecosystem stability and whose decline ushers in waves of instability and
decline, specifically the importance of the kelp forests along the
Pacific Coast.
George Woodwell discussed the idea of biotic impoverishment and that the
central role of government is preservation of ecosystem
functions....perhaps that is the inalienable responsibility...
Jerry Schubel of the New England Aquarium described the threats to the
world's coastlines, how more than 50% of the world's population lives
within 100 kilometers of the coast, that 70% of the world's forthcoming
doubled population will live there, most in the developing world, and
most in megacities.
Gretchen Daily described the idea of ecosystem services, a countryside
biogeography, striving to develop a simple theory for the rapid
assessment of conservation value.
Daniel Simberloff exposed the threat of invasive species, their
prominence in an era of global transportation....species whose ripple
effects disturb entire ecosystems.
Norman Myers critiqued the "perverse subsidies" of natural resource
extraction industries.
Ed Wilson provided a primer of biodiversity theory, explaining the
species concept in evolutionary context. "life has always expanded to
the fill the space offered to it."
Sir Robert May estimated the number of known species on earth (13000 new
species are recognized each year) and the possible rate of extinctions,
commenting that we're burning species not books, yet the information in
species is encyclopedic and irreplaceable. See www.dti.gov.uk for the
latest climate change report by the UK Scientific Advisor.
Stuart Pimm described the recent history of extinction, linking it to
anthropogenic processes, asserting that there are several common
features that unite the patterns of extinction
species are endemic, global rates of extinction are several hundred times the
natural rate, they are geographically clumped.
Jennifer Hughes described how population extinction is three orders of
magnitude faster than species extinctions. Conservation efforts must be
broadened to include populations. Habitat destruction is important even
when no species are threatened.
Daniel Janzen warned that there is no longer wilderness and nothing can
be preserved. The whole world is a garden now and we best treat it as
such.
Thomas Eisner in a lovely and sad presentation bemoaned the decline of
natural history knowledge, both for its aesthetic sensibility and the
sheer wonder of what can be learned...the infinitude of knowledge lost,
of pummeled awareness.
It was a great gift to be in attendance. And despite the emotional
turmoil it caused me, it also renewed my commitment to the work of place
based learning, the importance of natural history, local ecology, and
community knowledge, the necessity of artistic and spiritual expression,
and the lifetimes of work that only our community spirit can achieve.