communities in their abiotic environment. At the highest level of this classification,
habitat groups (groups of habitat types) are e.g. urban habitats, forests, freshwater,
shallow marine waters, rocks and screes, or grasslands. With a focus on ecosystem
functions and energy flows, the same landscape unit (habitat, habitat type, habitat
group) can be called an ecosystem.
3 Environmental History, Consciousness, Communication
and Education
The analysis of the past with respect to human behaviour, environmental consciousness and communication is based on the assumption that we recognise problems for
the survival and evolution of global biodiversity. Furthermore, our readiness to
perceive and understand changes and risks is a major tool for taking action, and
through that, show responsibility for the planet’s well-being. Environmental communication and education link nature and culture, making nature not only understandable, but also more approachable and accessible, especially in an increasingly
impacted, used and urbanised world.
3.1 Environmental History
Global environmental history shows an increase in the use of natural resources by
humans. At the local scale, there are numerous examples of societal and industry
collapse due to the overuse of resources, e.g. the fish collapse in the Baltic Sea in the
early 1990s. The human population is still growing, accompanied with man-made
catastrophes, hunger crises, death and migration, with desperation often the proximal
cause of war. Trends in increased resource extraction continue, even though this
must ultimately reach an environmental tipping point, despite many local and
regional attempts to consider alternatives—such as recycling, frugality and disclaimer, animal welfare, nature protection, and other sociocultural programmes.
History to date does not reveal any ‘silver bullet’ measures to protect the hydrosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere or biosphere at global scales. Thus, environmental
programmes have usually been more successful at local and regional, rather than
national or supranational, scales.
Migration and dispersal of animals, plants, propagules, and pathogens are both
heavily reduced and expanded during the last centuries. At the regional scale, the
distributions of local native species are greatly reduced through the erosion of natural
dispersal mechanisms (transhumance and herding, water irrigating by flooding,
transport of dung) on which plant, insect and other species are strongly dependent.
In contrast, there is major artificial trans-continental movement of species at the
global scale, resulting in virtually unmanageable suites of invasive species and
456
C. Hobohm et al.
habitat groups (groups of habitat types) are e.g. urban habitats, forests, freshwater,
shallow marine waters, rocks and screes, or grasslands. With a focus on ecosystem
functions and energy flows, the same landscape unit (habitat, habitat type, habitat
group) can be called an ecosystem.
3 Environmental History, Consciousness, Communication
and Education
The analysis of the past with respect to human behaviour, environmental consciousness and communication is based on the assumption that we recognise problems for
the survival and evolution of global biodiversity. Furthermore, our readiness to
perceive and understand changes and risks is a major tool for taking action, and
through that, show responsibility for the planet’s well-being. Environmental communication and education link nature and culture, making nature not only understandable, but also more approachable and accessible, especially in an increasingly
impacted, used and urbanised world.
3.1 Environmental History
Global environmental history shows an increase in the use of natural resources by
humans. At the local scale, there are numerous examples of societal and industry
collapse due to the overuse of resources, e.g. the fish collapse in the Baltic Sea in the
early 1990s. The human population is still growing, accompanied with man-made
catastrophes, hunger crises, death and migration, with desperation often the proximal
cause of war. Trends in increased resource extraction continue, even though this
must ultimately reach an environmental tipping point, despite many local and
regional attempts to consider alternatives—such as recycling, frugality and disclaimer, animal welfare, nature protection, and other sociocultural programmes.
History to date does not reveal any ‘silver bullet’ measures to protect the hydrosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere or biosphere at global scales. Thus, environmental
programmes have usually been more successful at local and regional, rather than
national or supranational, scales.
Migration and dispersal of animals, plants, propagules, and pathogens are both
heavily reduced and expanded during the last centuries. At the regional scale, the
distributions of local native species are greatly reduced through the erosion of natural
dispersal mechanisms (transhumance and herding, water irrigating by flooding,
transport of dung) on which plant, insect and other species are strongly dependent.
In contrast, there is major artificial trans-continental movement of species at the
global scale, resulting in virtually unmanageable suites of invasive species and
456
C. Hobohm et al.