18
Social values and conservation biogeography
managing game reserves for hunting represents a
viable alternative to cattle ranching that can benefi t
wildlife, although this option is not one that chimes
well with the values of many in the conservation
movement.
The formation of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II, and the rise of science - based
rational resource management in international development, promoted a re - formulation of these earlier
social values, which can be expressed as the notion
that healthy ecosystems are necessary to safeguard
economic growth, high quality livelihoods and social
stability (Ehrlich & Ehrlich, 1992 ). Subsequently, the
concept of biodiversity served to propel this value
further up the political agenda, culminating in the
1992 Earth Summit and the associated Convention
on Biological Diversity. The function of many older
reserves, originally established in response to other
conservation values, were often re - stated to align
with new conservation agendas relating to the maintenance of genetic reservoirs, protection of ecosystem
services and sustainable utilization linked to livelihood
development.
2.2.3 State and c ountry p arks
State and Country Parks were fi rst implemented in
response to the open spaces movement (also termed
the amenity movement) which arose amongst social
reformers concerned with urban poverty and health in
industrial cities during the mid - 19th century. The catalyst for action in the UK was plans to sell off Hampstead
Heath in London for housing in the 1860s. The Heath,
a ridge with fi ne views, was popular with day - trippers
from London ’ s increasingly crowded suburbs and provided them with a vital respite from the dust, smog,
fumes and waste that created the notoriously unhealthy
living conditions of 19th century industrial cities.
Activists in this movement recognized the health
and social benefi ts of countryside recreation and the
need to preserve natural areas both inside and on the
fringes of cities and make them accessible to all classes
of people. These activists were adept at infl uencing the
parliamentary processes and, through organizations
such as the Commons Preservation Society, they
secured legislation empowering Metropolitan authorities to acquire open spaces to act as an informal
‘ countryside ’ . The social value they articulated was
that access to nature and countryside is necessary for
wrought by imperialism, these scientists signifi cantly
infl uenced the attitudes and policies wrought by the
administrative elite of the European colonial powers.
In particular they provided the fi rst evidence of the
association between deforestation and famine, and
hence also of agrarian economic failure and social
unrest. Between 1764 and 1791, colonial powers
established forest reserves and supporting legislation in
Mauritius, Tobago and St Vincent, which in turn can
be regarded as the antecedents of the forest planning
and protection systems that developed in the Indian
sub - continent during the 19th century.
This powerful movement of rational resource planning developed further in America under the leadership of Gifford Pinchot, who was from 1905 – 1910 the
head of the US Forest Service (established in 1905
under President Theodore Roosevelt ’ s patronage).
Pinchot understood the importance of public discussion in shaping public attitudes and social values, and
he conducted massive publicity campaigns (including
debates with opponents such as John Muir, who were
deeply opposed to the commercialization of nature) to
promote and direct a national discussion on natural
resource management issues (Balogh, 2002 ). These
debates helped embed in American society the value
that natural resources should be managed for the
greatest good for the greatest number in the long run;
an idea also expressed as the development of natural
resources for the many rather than the few (Pinchot,
1910 ).
Pinchot was a key promoter of these ideas but, as
outlined above, he was not the fi rst to express them,
and the uptake of such values by governments led to
the designation of watershed protection forests and
forest reserves in Europe, America and many colonial
territories from the mid - 19th century onwards.
Additionally, colonial administrations in Africa
established game reserves for the utilitarian purposes
of managing ivory (elephant) resources and protecting
source populations of game species that could spill out
into the wider landscape and provide a source of meat
for new settlers (MacKenzie, 1988 ). The most recent
incarnation of this idea can be seen in sub - Saharan
Africa, where there is a growing number of private
game reserves, some in excess of 10,000 hectares.
Most, if not all, are run as commercial operations.
These private reserves typically offer an exclusive
African experience involving luxury lodges and camps,
private guides and trackers to help the guest get the
perfect photograph or memorable kill. In some areas,
Social values and conservation biogeography
managing game reserves for hunting represents a
viable alternative to cattle ranching that can benefi t
wildlife, although this option is not one that chimes
well with the values of many in the conservation
movement.
The formation of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II, and the rise of science - based
rational resource management in international development, promoted a re - formulation of these earlier
social values, which can be expressed as the notion
that healthy ecosystems are necessary to safeguard
economic growth, high quality livelihoods and social
stability (Ehrlich & Ehrlich, 1992 ). Subsequently, the
concept of biodiversity served to propel this value
further up the political agenda, culminating in the
1992 Earth Summit and the associated Convention
on Biological Diversity. The function of many older
reserves, originally established in response to other
conservation values, were often re - stated to align
with new conservation agendas relating to the maintenance of genetic reservoirs, protection of ecosystem
services and sustainable utilization linked to livelihood
development.
2.2.3 State and c ountry p arks
State and Country Parks were fi rst implemented in
response to the open spaces movement (also termed
the amenity movement) which arose amongst social
reformers concerned with urban poverty and health in
industrial cities during the mid - 19th century. The catalyst for action in the UK was plans to sell off Hampstead
Heath in London for housing in the 1860s. The Heath,
a ridge with fi ne views, was popular with day - trippers
from London ’ s increasingly crowded suburbs and provided them with a vital respite from the dust, smog,
fumes and waste that created the notoriously unhealthy
living conditions of 19th century industrial cities.
Activists in this movement recognized the health
and social benefi ts of countryside recreation and the
need to preserve natural areas both inside and on the
fringes of cities and make them accessible to all classes
of people. These activists were adept at infl uencing the
parliamentary processes and, through organizations
such as the Commons Preservation Society, they
secured legislation empowering Metropolitan authorities to acquire open spaces to act as an informal
‘ countryside ’ . The social value they articulated was
that access to nature and countryside is necessary for
wrought by imperialism, these scientists signifi cantly
infl uenced the attitudes and policies wrought by the
administrative elite of the European colonial powers.
In particular they provided the fi rst evidence of the
association between deforestation and famine, and
hence also of agrarian economic failure and social
unrest. Between 1764 and 1791, colonial powers
established forest reserves and supporting legislation in
Mauritius, Tobago and St Vincent, which in turn can
be regarded as the antecedents of the forest planning
and protection systems that developed in the Indian
sub - continent during the 19th century.
This powerful movement of rational resource planning developed further in America under the leadership of Gifford Pinchot, who was from 1905 – 1910 the
head of the US Forest Service (established in 1905
under President Theodore Roosevelt ’ s patronage).
Pinchot understood the importance of public discussion in shaping public attitudes and social values, and
he conducted massive publicity campaigns (including
debates with opponents such as John Muir, who were
deeply opposed to the commercialization of nature) to
promote and direct a national discussion on natural
resource management issues (Balogh, 2002 ). These
debates helped embed in American society the value
that natural resources should be managed for the
greatest good for the greatest number in the long run;
an idea also expressed as the development of natural
resources for the many rather than the few (Pinchot,
1910 ).
Pinchot was a key promoter of these ideas but, as
outlined above, he was not the fi rst to express them,
and the uptake of such values by governments led to
the designation of watershed protection forests and
forest reserves in Europe, America and many colonial
territories from the mid - 19th century onwards.
Additionally, colonial administrations in Africa
established game reserves for the utilitarian purposes
of managing ivory (elephant) resources and protecting
source populations of game species that could spill out
into the wider landscape and provide a source of meat
for new settlers (MacKenzie, 1988 ). The most recent
incarnation of this idea can be seen in sub - Saharan
Africa, where there is a growing number of private
game reserves, some in excess of 10,000 hectares.
Most, if not all, are run as commercial operations.
These private reserves typically offer an exclusive
African experience involving luxury lodges and camps,
private guides and trackers to help the guest get the
perfect photograph or memorable kill. In some areas,