Interactions Culturelles et Discursives, Université de Tours, 3 rue des Tanneurs, 37000, Tours, France.
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, U.S.A.
Conserv Biol. 2019 Oct;33(5):1014-1022. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13304. Epub 2019 Apr 25.
Leading societies toward a more sustainable, equitably shared, and environmentally just future requires elevating and strengthening conversations on the nonmaterial and perhaps unquantifiable values of nonhuman nature to humanity. Debates among conservationists relating to the appropriateness of valuing ecosystems in terms of their human utility have eclipsed the more important and impactful task of expressing conservation concerns in terms that are meaningful to diverse stakeholders. We considered the wide global diversity of perspectives on the biosocial complex-the relationships and interactions between all living species on Earth-and argue that humanity's best chance for effective conservation is to take a pluralistic approach that engages seriously with the worldviews of all stakeholders. Many worldviews-particularly those in indigenous cultures-place a higher value on the spiritual and nonmaterial aspects than what is often represented by the discourse surrounding Western conservation policy. Alternative framings of the biosocial complex that recognize nature's intrinsic value can be powerful motivators for social change and for local-scale conservation efforts. At a national and international level, changing ethical framings of human relationships with nature have started influencing conceptions of human rights relating to the environment and of the rights of nature itself. This change has led to an increased role of the judiciary in promoting environmental sustainability and promoting justice for groups who are most often affected by environmental harms. We hope our essay will motivate the scientific community to change its own perception of what a sound and sustainable relationship between humanity and other species should be and will help citizens become active environmental subjects, connected to the ecosystems around them.
引领社会走向更加可持续、公平共享和环境公正的未来,需要提升和加强关于非人类自然对人类的非物质和可能无法量化的价值的对话。环保主义者之间关于根据生态系统对人类的效用来衡量其价值是否合适的争论,已经掩盖了更重要和更有影响力的任务,即根据对不同利益相关者有意义的术语来表达保护关切。我们考虑了全球范围内对生物社会复合体的广泛观点——地球上所有生物物种之间的关系和相互作用——并认为,人类实现有效保护的最佳机会是采取一种多元化的方法,认真对待所有利益相关者的世界观。许多世界观——特别是土著文化中的世界观——比围绕西方保护政策的论述所代表的,更重视精神和非物质方面。对生物社会复合体的替代框架,承认自然的内在价值,可以成为社会变革和地方规模保护努力的有力动力。在国家和国际层面上,改变人类与自然关系的伦理框架已经开始影响与环境有关的人权观念和自然本身的权利观念。这一变化导致司法机构在促进环境可持续性和为受环境危害影响最大的群体伸张正义方面发挥更大的作用。我们希望我们的文章能够激励科学界改变其对人类与其他物种之间健全和可持续关系的看法,并帮助公民成为积极的环境主体,与他们周围的生态系统联系在一起。