‘Move it or lose it’ ultimatum for species conservation
By ANISaturday, October 2, 2010
WASHINGTON - Experts have said that climate change is forcing a ‘move it or lose it’ approach to species conservation.
Managed relocation (MR) is literally the physical relocation of endangered or threatened species of plants and animals, by humans, to new, and foreign geographical climes.
And while conservationists argue that the practice may not preserve some species, such as the polar bear, relocation is a hotly debated option for others’ long-term survival.
“New approaches to conservation, such as MR mean the need for a new ‘ecological ethics’ geared toward problem-solving in ecological research and policy,” said Arizona State University environmental ethicist Ben Minteer.
“Beyond asking ’should’ we do it, there’s the more pragmatic ethical question: what separates a ‘good’ from a ‘bad’ MR activity?” he added.
Arizona State University ecologist James P.Collins said, “Ecologists and biodiversity managers will have to think hard about not only what management actions are possible, but also which ones are acceptable ethically.”
Minteer pointed out that while moving species around is nothing new, the climate change rationale for doing so is.
While the practice has no guarantees of success, managed relocation of species is already being put into practice. The Florida torreya tree is an example, along with the proposed relocation of the Quino Checkerspot butterfly and the Iberian lynx.
Minteer added, “There is also the more philosophical objection to the fact that ‘we’ are doing this, rather than the populations themselves, and that this is therefore another example of human arrogance toward wild species and the environment more generally.”
“Traditional philosophy and policy of conserving species will likely change to reflect a more anticipatory and interventionist mode of thinking,” said Minteer.
Collins concluded, “We can improve the decisions we make by using more collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to such problem-solving and decision-making.”
The article ‘Move it or Lose it’ published October 1 in the journal Ecological Applications. (ANI)
