Against extinction : the past and future of conservation / William M. Adams.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Adams, W. M. (William Mark), 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Nature conservation--History.
• Nature conservation.
• History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 311 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan Publications, 2004.

Summary:

Against Extinction tells the history of wildlife conservation from its roots in the 19th century, through the foundation of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire in London in 1903 to the huge and diverse international movement of the present day. It vividly portrays conservation's legacy of big game hunting, the battles for the establishment of national parks, the global importance of species conservation and debates over the sustainable use of and trade in wildlife. Bill Adams addresses the big questions and ideas that have driven conservation for the last 100 years: How can the diversity of life be maintained as human demands on the Earth expand seemingly without limit? How can preservation be reconciled with human rights and the development needs of the poor? Is conservation something that can be imposed by a knowledgeable elite, or is it something that should emerge naturally from people's free choices? These have never been easy questions, and they are as important in the 21st century as at any time in the past. The author takes us on a lively historical journey in search of the answers.

Contents:

• 1 The Challenge of Nature 1
• Bringing back the wild 1
• From guns to parks 4
• The problem of naturalness 6
• Community and conservation 9
• Hybrid nature 10
• The challenge of conservation 11
• 2 Good Hunting 19
• Empty plains 19
• Imperial conservation 22
• Extinction 25
• Pressure for preservation 27
• Proper hunting 30
• Shooting as an argument for conservation 37
• On safari 39
• 3 The Global Conservation Regime 43
• The need for international action 43
• Empire preservation 46
• Beyond empire 47
• Global nature conservation 49
• Decolonization and conservation 51
• The new professionals 54
• Broadcast nature 58
• Nature lovers: the growth of popular environmentalism 60
• Partners for conservation 62
• 4 Nature in Its Place 67
• Reserves for wildlife 67
• Dividing the land 73
• The idea of national parks 76
• The national park spirit 82
• Nature and parks in the United Kingdom 84
• Parks for the colonies 88
• Decolonization and national parks 93
• The conservation estate 97
• 5 Poachers to Partners 101
• Saving the wild 101
• Wilderness and cultural imagination 102
• Managing wild nature 107
• The poacher at home 108
• Nature's fortress 111
• Living with parks 115
• Parks for people 117
• 6 Two by Two 125
• Some are more equal than others 125
• Red for danger 129
• Operation save the species 132
• The wild captive 137
• Saving the unicorns 140
• Releasing the captive 144
• Species in situ 147
• Species and identity 150
• 7 The Demands of Development 153
• Spaceship Earth 153
• Human space 155
• Development, colonization and conservation 157
• Wildlife and development 160
• Game, disease and development 162
• Nature's conservationist 166
• Sustainable development 169
• The impacts of development 171
• Damned by development 173
• Reconciling conservation and development 176
• 8 Trading Nature 181
• A zoo in their luggage 181
• The problem of ivory 184
• Outconsuming nature 186
• Without borders 189
• The devil and the deep blue sea 190
• The fur flies 194
• Use it or lose it 200
• 9 Conservation's Plan 203
• Conservation's corporate plan 203
• Back to barriers 207
• The costs and benefits of conservation 209
• The wildlife resource 214
• Wildlife as a crop 217
• Community-based safari hunting 220
• Profiting with nature 223
• 10 Society with Nature 227
• Nature's degradation 227
• Nature's renewal 231
• Nature's image 232
• Nature's neighbours 235
• Society with nature 239.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 1844070565
• 1844070557

OCLC:

53145305