Nature by design : people, natural process, and ecological restoration / Eric Higgs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Higgs, Eric, 1958-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Restoration ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 341 p. ) ill., maps ;

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Ecological restoration is the process of repairing human damage to ecosystems. It involves reintroducing missing plants and animals, rebuilding soils, eliminating hazardous substances, ripping up roads, and returning natural processes such as fire and flooding to places that thrive on their regular occurrence. Thousands of restoration projects take place in North America every year. In Nature by Design, Eric Higgs argues that profound philosophical and cultural shifts accompany these projects. He explores the ethical and philosophical bases of restoration and the question of what constitutes good ecological restoration.Higgs explains how and why the restoration movement came about, where it fits into the array of approaches to human relationships with the land, and how it might be used to secure a sustainable future. Some environmental philosophers and activists worry that restoration will dilute preservation and conservation efforts and lead to an even deeper technological attitude toward nature. They ask whether even well-conceived restoration projects are in fact just expressions of human will. Higgs prefaces his responses to such concerns by distinguishing among several types of ecological restoration. He also describes a growing gulf between professionals and amateurs. Higgs finds much merit in criticism about technological restoration projects, which can cause more damage than they undo. These projects often ignore the fact that changing one thing in a complex system can change the whole system. For restoration projects to be successful, Higgs argues, people at the community level must be engaged. These focal restorations bring communities together, helping volunteers develop a dedication to place and encouraging democracy.

Contents:

1. A tale of two wilderness: Jasper National Park, meet Disney World. The bear in the kitchen

The palisade

A landscape of threats

Freak landscapes

Restoring an idea or a place?

Wilderness as theme

Colonizing the imagination

Celebration?

One wilderness or two?

2. Boundary conditions.- Florid(ian) images

Meandering ambitions: The Kissimmee River (Florida) restoration

Beyond the ecological curtain: The Morava River restoration, Slovak Republic

Gardening or restoration? The Robert Starbird Dorney garden, Ontario, Canada

Normal history

Contingency and ideals

3. What is ecological restoration? Words and taxonomy

The duck test

A legacy of definitions

Process and product

Assisted recovery

Management

Historical range of variability

Sustainable cultural practices

Ecological integrity

The evolution of words and worlds

4. Historicity and reference in ecological restoration. Photographing the past

Nostalgia

Narrative continuity

Place

Time depth

Reference conditions

Taking history seriously

5. Denaturing restoration.- Lines across the path

Commodification

A taut line: What kind of science do ecological restorationists require?

The commodification of nature

The commodification of practice

The promise and problems of ecological restoration

6. Focal restoration. Discovery Island

Ecocultural restoration

Focal restoration

Ritual and restoration

Participation in restoration

Landscape coevolution

7. Nature by design. Remembrances of landscapes past

The ambiguity of design

Wild design

Restoration as conversation: A storied landscape.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-333) and index.

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-27537-6

0-585-48115-6

OCLC:

53885286