Preface
The conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems is by its very nature a task which
cuts across many disciplines.
Biodiversity—the diversity of life—and ecosystems—spatial units of living
organisms in their physical environment—as a topic belong to the natural sciences,
and here in particular to biology, ecology, and biogeography.
Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity conservation involve the cultural use of
nature. What is it permissible to do, what measures should we adopt, and what
should we refrain from doing? Addressing these kinds of interdisciplinary questions
typically requires addressing associated ethical, political, educational, legal, and
economic issues.
Consequently, we believe that effective biodiversity and ecosystem conservation
requires more collaboration between the natural sciences and other relevant disciplines such as the social sciences and humanities.
Conserving biodiversity and ecosystems is not only important for plants and
animals but is also essential to the survival and well-being of humans and our
culture.
This book deals with the perception, perspectives, and prediction of environmental processes seen within a framework of the nature of ecosystems and human
cultures.
The global human population continues to grow and nobody currently knows if it
will reach a maximum of 10 or 15 billion people. Furthermore, there are few
examples of regional-scale sustainable actions that have planning horizons greater
than a couple of decades. Thus, it is unknown whether humans will be able to handle
the crowded planet in a sophisticated manner or whether they are more likely to act
as hounded, stressed out, and murdering animals. In many cases, however, it will
make sense to take worst-case scenarios into account.
Many authors argue that understanding and solving complex problems such as
conserving biodiversity and ecosystems requires a holistic approach. However, a
core problem with this approach is that it can only put forward overarching and
v
The conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems is by its very nature a task which
cuts across many disciplines.
Biodiversity—the diversity of life—and ecosystems—spatial units of living
organisms in their physical environment—as a topic belong to the natural sciences,
and here in particular to biology, ecology, and biogeography.
Protecting ecosystems and biodiversity conservation involve the cultural use of
nature. What is it permissible to do, what measures should we adopt, and what
should we refrain from doing? Addressing these kinds of interdisciplinary questions
typically requires addressing associated ethical, political, educational, legal, and
economic issues.
Consequently, we believe that effective biodiversity and ecosystem conservation
requires more collaboration between the natural sciences and other relevant disciplines such as the social sciences and humanities.
Conserving biodiversity and ecosystems is not only important for plants and
animals but is also essential to the survival and well-being of humans and our
culture.
This book deals with the perception, perspectives, and prediction of environmental processes seen within a framework of the nature of ecosystems and human
cultures.
The global human population continues to grow and nobody currently knows if it
will reach a maximum of 10 or 15 billion people. Furthermore, there are few
examples of regional-scale sustainable actions that have planning horizons greater
than a couple of decades. Thus, it is unknown whether humans will be able to handle
the crowded planet in a sophisticated manner or whether they are more likely to act
as hounded, stressed out, and murdering animals. In many cases, however, it will
make sense to take worst-case scenarios into account.
Many authors argue that understanding and solving complex problems such as
conserving biodiversity and ecosystems requires a holistic approach. However, a
core problem with this approach is that it can only put forward overarching and
v