Contemporary Culture, Use, and Conservation of Sea Turtles
309
In a conservation context, there are often two extreme positions on culture. For
some, culture is sacred, something to be respected and revered, and deserving of
conservation in its own right (e.g., Cultural Survival International, http://www.culturalsurvival.org/), especially if it is indigenous. For others, culture is a red herring
raised to deter conservation efforts, the claims of which need to be thoroughly
interrogated (Campbell, 2000). Culture is often most obvious when it is someone
else’s (Seppälä and Vainio-Mattila, 1998). Although a North American observer
might see a Central American people’s desire to consume turtle eggs as cultural, the
same North Americans are less likely to explain their own desire to protect turtle
eggs in the same way. Rather, protection is taken for granted as the desirable and
correct outcome. Thus, rather than try to understand cultural meanings associated
with sea turtles, force is sometimes used to make them do what we would, or
education is used to get them to agree with us . These approaches underestimate the
importance of cultural norms, and they can fall short of their long-term conservation
goals as a result.
12.1.2 V ALUING THE E NVIRONMENT
As Williams’ definition of culture implies, values are intricately related to and
embedded in culture. Humans value the environment and wildlife in a variety of
ways: for economic, recreational, scientific, aesthetic, historic, and philosophic or
spiritual reasons (Rolston, 1994). Environmental values vary from place to place,
and different environmental values can coexist within a particular place (e.g., Kempton et al., 1995). Sea turtles are valued in different ways by different people, and
because of their international migrations that take them across geographic, political,
and cultural boundaries, conflicts in values can frequently arise.
12.1.3 C ULTURE , V ALUES , AND C ONSERVATION
If definitions of nature and environmental values are embedded in culture, then so
too is conservation. For example, Western conservation has traditionally been pursued via the creation of parks and protected areas, and the national park model that
emerged in the U.S. in the late 1800s reflects the culture of the time. national parks
are physically delineated, the state is responsible for their creation and maintenance,
and only certain nonextractive human activities are sanctioned within their borders.
These features reflect the cultural beliefs that humans are separate from (and often
above) nature, the state is responsible for and capable of protecting the public good,
and nature can be contained in physically delineated areas. Key in the park movement
were the U.S. “romantics,” (primarily) men who reacted against the frontier mentality
that characterized the settlement of the American West. The frontier mentality saw
nature as dangerous and threatening, something to be tamed for productive purposes.
The romantics saw nature as a purifier of the tarnished modern soul and needing
protection (McCormick, 1989). Both opposing visions of nature were linked to the
dominant culture of U.S. expansion and ideas of progress.
Over the last 20+ years, there has been a shift away from a traditional protectedareas approach toward an attempt to reconcile conservation with development needs,
1123 book.book Page 309 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM
309
In a conservation context, there are often two extreme positions on culture. For
some, culture is sacred, something to be respected and revered, and deserving of
conservation in its own right (e.g., Cultural Survival International, http://www.culturalsurvival.org/), especially if it is indigenous. For others, culture is a red herring
raised to deter conservation efforts, the claims of which need to be thoroughly
interrogated (Campbell, 2000). Culture is often most obvious when it is someone
else’s (Seppälä and Vainio-Mattila, 1998). Although a North American observer
might see a Central American people’s desire to consume turtle eggs as cultural, the
same North Americans are less likely to explain their own desire to protect turtle
eggs in the same way. Rather, protection is taken for granted as the desirable and
correct outcome. Thus, rather than try to understand cultural meanings associated
with sea turtles, force is sometimes used to make them do what we would, or
education is used to get them to agree with us . These approaches underestimate the
importance of cultural norms, and they can fall short of their long-term conservation
goals as a result.
12.1.2 V ALUING THE E NVIRONMENT
As Williams’ definition of culture implies, values are intricately related to and
embedded in culture. Humans value the environment and wildlife in a variety of
ways: for economic, recreational, scientific, aesthetic, historic, and philosophic or
spiritual reasons (Rolston, 1994). Environmental values vary from place to place,
and different environmental values can coexist within a particular place (e.g., Kempton et al., 1995). Sea turtles are valued in different ways by different people, and
because of their international migrations that take them across geographic, political,
and cultural boundaries, conflicts in values can frequently arise.
12.1.3 C ULTURE , V ALUES , AND C ONSERVATION
If definitions of nature and environmental values are embedded in culture, then so
too is conservation. For example, Western conservation has traditionally been pursued via the creation of parks and protected areas, and the national park model that
emerged in the U.S. in the late 1800s reflects the culture of the time. national parks
are physically delineated, the state is responsible for their creation and maintenance,
and only certain nonextractive human activities are sanctioned within their borders.
These features reflect the cultural beliefs that humans are separate from (and often
above) nature, the state is responsible for and capable of protecting the public good,
and nature can be contained in physically delineated areas. Key in the park movement
were the U.S. “romantics,” (primarily) men who reacted against the frontier mentality
that characterized the settlement of the American West. The frontier mentality saw
nature as dangerous and threatening, something to be tamed for productive purposes.
The romantics saw nature as a purifier of the tarnished modern soul and needing
protection (McCormick, 1989). Both opposing visions of nature were linked to the
dominant culture of U.S. expansion and ideas of progress.
Over the last 20+ years, there has been a shift away from a traditional protectedareas approach toward an attempt to reconcile conservation with development needs,
1123 book.book Page 309 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM