CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY
Shifting Baseline Syndrome
Definition: The tendency to accept a degraded environment as the new normal, forgetting past abundance.
Why it matters: Undermines ambition for restoration and conservation.
Useful Links
Video Explainer: “Daniel Pauly: The ocean’s shifting baseline” tinyurl.com/ocean-shifting
Video Explainer: “The Shifting Baseline” tinyurl.com/shifting-baseline
Academic Text: Pauly, D. (1995). Anecdotes and the shifting baseline syndrome of fisheries. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Academic Text: Farrier, D. (2019). Anthropocene Poetics: Deep Time, Sacrifice Zones, and Extinction.
Ecological Stewardship
Definition: The responsible relationship with and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices.
Why it matters: It involves taking a moral and proactive approach to managing environmental resources for the well-being of current and future generations, and recognizing the interconnectedness of human actions and their impact on ecosystems.
Useful Links
Video Explainer: “The Story of Us: A Tale of Planetary Stewardship” with Laurel Paul Jackson: tinyurl.com/stewardship-story
Book: The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas
Academic Text: Chapin, M.C., Chapin, F.S., Kofinas, G.P., and Folke, C. (2009). Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship: Resilience-Based Natural Resource Management in a Changing World.
Indigenous Conservation
Definition: a holistic, community-led approach to environmental protection that is deeply integrated with the cultural, spiritual, and livelihood needs of Indigenous peoples. It values reciprocity and acknowledges inherent interconnectivity and interdependence in the natural world.
Why it matters: It involves the application of traditional knowledge to manage resources sustainably, maintain ecological balance, and ensure the long-term health of both the environment and the community.
Useful Links
Book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Book: Decolonize Conservation: Global Voices for Indigenous Self-Determination, Land, and a World in Common by Ashley Dawson, Fiore Longo and Survival International
Academic Text: Pattnaik, B.K. (2024). Environmental and Ecological Sustainability Through Indigenous Traditions: Perspectives from the Global South.
Biocultural Restoration
Definition: Restoration efforts that revive both ecosystems and the cultural practices tied to them.
Why it matters: Strengthens ecological health and community identity together.
Useful Links
Book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Academic Text: Egan, D., Hjerpe, E., & Abrams, J. (2011). Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration: Integrating Science, Nature, and Culture.
Academic Text: Winter, K., Chang, K. & Lincoln, N. (Eds). (2022). Biocultural Restoration in Hawai’i
Rewilding
Definition: Restoring ecological processes and reintroducing native species to create self-sustaining ecosystems.
Why it matters: Sparks public imagination and connection to local environments and restores ecological biodiversity.
Useful Links
Video: “Once Upon a Forest: A Twig Poet’s Rewilding Journey” tinyurl.com/poet-rewilding
Video: “The Mini Forest: Rewilding Using the Miyawaki Method” tinyurl.com/Miyawaki-rewilding
Book: Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life by George Monbiot
Academic Text: Jepson, P., & Blythe, C. (2020). Rewilding: The Radical New Science of Ecological Recovery.