Moderated Debate on Contentious Conservation Issue
Overview: Biodiversity/wildlife conservation lies at the nexus of myriad issues spanning socioeconomics and human poverty, indigenous rights, asymmetries in GDP & wealth among nations, climate change, pollution, international trade, human wildlife conflict, industrial agriculture, tourism, and emerging zoonotic and human diseases. I will not pretend that this is a complete list. Potential solutions to these problems come neither easily nor without controversy – and no plan of action will please all stakeholders. I have chosen 5 focal ‘propositions’ related to conservation for debate – most of these directly relevant to tropical conservation. These are not clean, simple, dichotomous issues and you will have to discuss with your group mates how you wish to approach them. You must also ensure that both sides of the argument pro and con are well covered even if you all agree that one is more supportable than the other. Worth 25% of your final grade.
For each topic, I have provided a few key articles, but you are, of course, permitted/ strongly encouraged to add more. You should also seek to be creative in the arguments that you make pro and con the proposition, and be entertaining in your presentation. The debates will be done without visual aids.
I have assigned students to groups at random and these are indicated below. For each group there are three roles: moderator, proponent for the proposition, opponent of the proposition. In advance of the trip, you must discuss among yourselves which role each of you will take (in person, email, Zoom, whatever works for you). You should work together to find material on your assigned topic, but thereafter there will be some independent work that each of you must do,
Format:
• Introduction – approx. 2-3 minutes. Set up the debate with an overview of the issue
• Opening arguments – approx. 2 minutes per participant
• Point-counterpoint debate – approx. 10 minutes
• Class discussion (all) – approx. 10 minutes
• Summation (moderator) – approx. 4-5 minutes
Team A. Matilda, Zachary, Kira
Proposition: Ex situ strategies (zoos, seed banks, botanical gardens) can be a positive force for conservation of significant components of extant biodiversity.
Key references: Tabley et al. 2015. Amphibians and conservation breeding programmes: do all threatened amphibians belong on the ark? Biodiver Conserv. 24: 2625-2646. Cannon & Kua. 2017. Botanic gardens should lead the way to create a “Garden Earth” in the Anthropocene Plant Diversity. 39: 331-337. Stokes. 2018. Why conserving species in the wild still matters. Biodivers Conserv 27: 1539–1544. Useful website: https://www.bgci.org/resources/bgs_in_conservation/
Team B. Dana, Abigail, Siena
Proposition: Trophy hunting is a useful tool for providing monies to enhance local conservation and the well-being of local communities?
Key references: Lindsey et al. 2007. Trophy hunting and conservation in Africa: Problems and one potential solution. Cons. Biol. 21(3): 880-883. Creel et al. 2016. Assessing the sustainability of African lion trophy hunting, with recommendations for policy. Ecol. Appl. 26: 2347-2357. Adhikari et al. 2021. Community-based trophy hunting programs secure biodiversity and livelihoods: Learnings from Asia’s high mountain communities and landscapes. Env. Challenges. 4: 100175.Useful on-line article: http://www.conservationmagazine.org/2014/01/can-trophy-hunting-reconciled-conservation/
Team C. Carissa, Madi, Bethany
Proposition: International programs like ‘debt for nature swaps’ are powerful and effective instruments to enhance conservation in developing nations.
Key references: Cassimon et al. 2011. The pitfalls and potential of debt-for-nature swaps: A US-Indonesian case study. Global. Env. Change 21: 93-102. Macekura. 2016. Crisis and Opportunity: Environmental NGOs, Debt-for-Nature Swaps, and the Rise of ‘People-Centred’ Conservation. Environment and History. 22: 49-73. Useful article: https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/central-africa-s-first-debt-for-nature-swap-invests-25-million-for-tropical-forest-conservation-in-cameroon
Team D. Isabelle, Olivia, Sarah
Proposition: Traditional medicine is of little demonstrated value for human health, but a leading cause of biodiversity loss
Key references: Alves and Rosa. 2007. Why study the use of animal products in traditional medicines? J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 1: 5. Nóbrega Alves et al. 2008. Reptiles used in traditional folk medicine: conservation implications. Biodiv Conserv 17: 2037–2049. Chassagne. 2017. Role of ethnopharmacologists in the conservation of endangered animal species. J. Ethnopharmacol. 207: 268-270. D’Cruze et al. 2020. Snake oil and pangolin scales: insights into wild animal use at “Marché des Fétiches” traditional medicine market, Togo. Nat. Conserv. 39: 45–71. Useful popular article: http://time.com/4578166/traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm-conservation-animals-tiger-pangolin/
Team E. Katriona, Grace, Ben
Proposition: International treaties and conventions are effective tools in diminishing illegal trade in wildlife and wild plants and enhancing conservation
Key references: Dickinson. 2012. International conservation treaties, poverty and development. Natural Resource Perspectives Series. Overseas Development Institute 74. pp. 1-4. Njogu. 2012. Wildlife management and conservation in view of international conventions. The George Wright Forum. 29: 109–117. Trouwborst et al. 2017. International wildlife law: Understanding and enhancing its role in conservation. BioScience 67: 784-790 Some useful web sites: https://www.cbd.int/brc https://www.wcs.org/our-work/solutions/international-policy
Team F. Belle, Madelyn
Proposition: Monetizing biodiversity and ecosystem services is the most effective way to affect tangible, enduring conservation policy.
Key references: Hundloe. 2021. Can we convert biodiversity into dollars?. In: Environmental Impact Assessment. Palgrave Studies in Environmental Policy and Regulation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80942-3_15. Plazas-Jiménez and Cianciaruso. 2020. Valuing ecosystem services can help to save seabirds,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 35: 757-762. Nedopil. 2022. Integrating biodiversity into financial decision-making: Challenges and four principles. Business Strategy and the Environment 1– 15. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3208