Jac. A. A. Swart

Wild Animals in Our Backyard. A Contextual Approach to the Intrinsic Value of Animals

As a reflection on recent debates on the value of wild animals we examine the question of the intrinsic value of wild animals in both natural and man-made surroundings. We examine the concepts being wild and domesticated. In our approach we consider animals as dependent on their environment, whether it is a human or a natural environment. Stressing this dependence we argue that a distinction can be made between three different interpretations of a wild animal’s intrinsic value: a species-specific, a naturalistic, and an individualistic interpretation. According to the species-specific approach, the animal is primarily considered as a member of its species; according to the naturalistic interpretation, the animal is seen as dependent on the natural environment; and according to the individualistic approach, the animal is seen in terms of its relationship to humans. In our opinion, the species-specific interpretation, which is the current dominant view, should be supplemented—but not replaced by—naturalistic and individualistic interpretations, which focus attention on the relationship of the animal to the natural and human environments, respectively. Which of these three interpretations is the most suitable in a given case depends on the circumstances and the opportunity for the animal to grow and develop according to its nature and capabilities.

Science Theatre at School: Providing a context to learn about socio‐scientific issues

Science theatre is recognised as a method for teaching socio‐scientific issues (SSI), but is largely under‐researched. The essence of science theatre at school is to shape a contextualisation for science and technology and its relationships to individuals and society at large, with the aim to trigger the imagination, raise questions and stimulate debate among the audience to increase their understanding of the SSI at stake. To further the theoretical basis of science theatre at school, we investigated students’ experiences in coherence with the views from experts about the play’s possibilities and limitations, in the context of a performance about food science and technology. The play dramatised dilemmas that were related to science as a knowledge‐producing process, and through its consumer products. Our study indicated that the societal context for staging science and technology, through consumers’ dilemmas to eat healthy, raised interest among the students to a larger extent than the subject of science and technology per se. According to both students and experts, the level of scientific complexity and the use of caricature to portray scientists may have hampered the possibilities to reach the audience. An alternative to contextualisation on an individualised level is to make scientific controversy and its relationship to various social interests, the heart of the matter. The discussion after the play was considered crucial and appreciated, although the students were critical about the nature of the theses. Exploring the moral positions involved in dilemmas could provide an alternative perspective of understanding to the audience.

Public participation in genomics research in the Netherlands: Validating a measurement scale:

Nowadays, new technologies, like genomics, cannot be developed without the support of the public. However, although interested, the public does not always actively participate in science issues when offered the opportunity via public participation activities. In a study aimed at validating a measurement scale, first, we investigated if public participation existed, and, secondly, we investigated how levels of public participation in genomics research varied among groups. Finally, we studied which factors predicted public participation. Results were based on a questionnaire with four subsamples. Results confirmed, first of all, the internal consistency of the measurement scale to assess levels of public participation. Secondly, the groups differed significantly with regard to their levels of participation in genomics research. Finally, the findings revealed that information-seeking behaviour, knowledge and education were main predictors of public participation, while interest, social involvement, and trust and influence had some influence together with age and gender.

Knocking on Doors: Boundary Objects in Ecological Conservation and Restoration

It is often argued that in the fields of conservation and restoration, research, practice, public perceptions, and societal interests should not only engage one another but also be integrated in order to guarantee success in the long term. Moreover, there is need for concepts and practices that are flexible enough to be acceptable to different parties and still have a common meaning. Such concepts and practices have been labeled “boundary objects.” Here, we describe the concept of “natural limits” and the practice known as the “hands on the tap approach” as successful examples of boundary objects introduced into the discussion of gas exploitation in the Dutch Wadden Sea area. While the concept of natural limits focuses primarily on natural issues, in many restoration projects, societal issues—for example, protection against flooding—are often of at least comparable importance, especially in highly populated areas where many stakeholders are involved. The concept of social limits, on the other hand, refers to widely accepted “limit” values for important societal parameters, for example, safety, agriculture, and recreation. How these “social limits” can be taken into account is discussed in relation to a number of Dutch projects, including dune management, the protection of meadow birds, brook valley restoration, and the introduction of ungulates. Links between social and natural limits in environmental standard setting are addressed along with the issue of communication.

Vanishing knowledge of plant species in the Wadi Allaqi desert area of Egypt

The distribution and abundance of plant species are strongly linked to the physical environmental and thus to anthropogenic disturbances. Changes in desert vegetation, in particular, can have drastic impacts on human livelihoods in these areas as ecosystem services may be affected (Dubroeucq and Livenais 2004; Klintenberg et al.2007; Kayhko et al.2011; Rohde and Hoffman 2012). The Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve is a hyper-arid desert in southern Egypt, inhabited by Bedouin. Traditionally, the Bedouin of Wadi Allaqi are a highly mobile group of pastoralists who follow seasonal migration routes taking advantage of local plant species as food, fuel, medicine, construction materials, and fodder for their livestock (Belal et al.1998; Badri and Hamed 2000). Changes in environmental conditions of the wadi, however, have led to a change in composition of the native vegetation and its utilization by the Bedouin, which in turn has impacted their livelihood patterns (Briggs et al.1993; Solway and Mekki 1999; Shaltout et al.2010). The construction of the Aswan High Dam in from the 1960s and the creation of a permanent water resource in the form of Lake Nasser, in particular, have radically altered the natural environment and associated vegetation in this hyper-arid area (Pulford et al.1992; Springuel 1994; Belal et al.1998). Several studies have demonstrated the strong effects of Lake Nasser on the vegetation of the lower part of the wadi system, which drains into the now-inundated Nile valley in Egyptian Nubia (White 1988; Springuel and Murphy 1990; Springuel and Mekki 1994; Briggs et al.1999; Badri and Hamed 2000; Briggs et al.2003; Sheded et al.2006; Shaltout et al.2009; Yacoub 2009; Shaltout et al.2010). Many Wadi Allaqi Bedouin have migrated and settled on the shores of the Lake in order to take advantage of this water resource and the newly established grazing areas. As a result, these traditionally nomadic people have adopted a semi-settled pattern of life (Briggs et al. 1993; Ali et al. 2000). A more recent development is a settlement in Wadi Allaqi with houses, schools, and health facilities provided by the Egyptian government, creating new livelihood possibilities (Springuel and Belal 2001). As part of this development, Allaqi Village was built in 2003. In this study, we investigate changes in plant species knowledge of the Bedouin community in Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve to assess the effects of the new settlements on the shores of the Lake in the context of the socioeconomic dynamics of the area.

The Ecological Ethics Framework: Finding our Way in the Ethical Labyrinth of Nature Conservation

In their paper ‘Using an ecological ethics framework to make decisions about relocating wildlife’, McCoy and Berry [1] aim to modify and suggest ways to apply the ecological ethics framework proposed by Minteer and Collins [2]. The framework is meant as a tool for ecological researchers and conservationists to deal with various and sometimes conflicting ethical issues that may arise in research and conservation practices. It distinguishes four ethical domains: normative ethical theory, research ethics, animal ethics, and environmental ethics that have respectively the human community, the scientific community, nonhuman animals and the natural environment as the primary objects of moral reflection. The Minteer and Collins framework [2] implies a pluralistic and pragmatic approach to moral reasoning. It emphasizes the contextual and situational dimensions of ethical reflection in research and management situations and stresses the process of moral reasoning and deliberation by both experts and stakeholders. Minteer and Collins [2] aim to develop a wide-ranging set of case studies that can function as a database for scientists, conservationists, and students in order to deal with and learn from these cases in their own situations. An example of such a case study is the relocation of animals for conservation ends [1]. Ethical dilemmas that can arise by moving animals include, for example, the animal’s welfare versus the desired protection of such non-sentient entities as populations or ecosystems, the different moral standings of otherwise biologically similar animal groups such as wild, domesticated, endangered, and pest species, and clashes that may arise from conflicting human and animal interests. The Minteer and Collins approach may contribute a way of dealing with such dilemmas by offering and clarifying different perspectives. However, how this should be done and whether practitioners will use it are other issues. Therefore,

Trade-offs and synergies in joint knowledge creation for coastal management: insights from ecology-oriented sand nourishment in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT In order to successfully inform environmental management, environmental research needs to balance legitimacy, credibility, and salience. This paper aims to identify trade-offs and synergies between these three attributes in collaborative research for environmental management, and draws lessons for organizing such research. Empirically, it draws on a study of a research program on the ecological effects of coastal protection through sand nourishment. Our findings suggest that the legitimacy and salience of knowledge creation, particularly in an interactive governance context, are complementary. At the same time, we found trade-offs between practical relevance and fundamental knowledge creation, as well as between issue diversity and the depth and quality of scientific inquiry. Balancing the legitimacy, credibility, and salience of knowledge may be enabled by interactive knowledge creation involving policy-makers, experts and stakeholders. We conclude that successful management-oriented environmental research, particularly in the case of wicked problems, requires both a careful design of arrangements for stakeholder engagement, and well- established linkages to broader regulatory and institutional contexts.

The ecological ethics framework: finding our way in the ethical labyrinth of nature conservation. Commentary on "Using an ecological ethics framework to make decisions about relocating wildlife".

In their paper ‘Using an ecological ethics framework to make decisions about relocating wildlife’, McCoy and Berry [1] aim to modify and suggest ways to apply the ecological ethics framework proposed by Minteer and Collins [2]. The framework is meant as a tool for ecological researchers and conservationists to deal with various and sometimes conflicting ethical issues that may arise in research and conservation practices. It distinguishes four ethical domains: normative ethical theory, research ethics, animal ethics, and environmental ethics that have respectively the human community, the scientific community, nonhuman animals and the natural environment as the primary objects of moral reflection. The Minteer and Collins framework [2] implies a pluralistic and pragmatic approach to moral reasoning. It emphasizes the contextual and situational dimensions of ethical reflection in research and management situations and stresses the process of moral reasoning and deliberation by both experts and stakeholders. Minteer and Collins [2] aim to develop a wide-ranging set of case studies that can function as a database for scientists, conservationists, and students in order to deal with and learn from these cases in their own situations. An example of such a case study is the relocation of animals for conservation ends [1]. Ethical dilemmas that can arise by moving animals include, for example, the animal’s welfare versus the desired protection of such non-sentient entities as populations or ecosystems, the different moral standings of otherwise biologically similar animal groups such as wild, domesticated, endangered, and pest species, and clashes that may arise from conflicting human and animal interests. The Minteer and Collins approach may contribute a way of dealing with such dilemmas by offering and clarifying different perspectives. However, how this should be done and whether practitioners will use it are other issues. Therefore,

Care for the Wild in the Anthropocene

Animal ethical approaches often focus on certain individual animal features and capabilities for attributing moral standing to them. These features are usually considered from a moral point of view as not differing for wild, semi-wild, and domesticated animals . However, several authors have argued for more relational approaches, in which relationships between humans, human society, and animals are taken into account, implying that wildness may be considered, in a sense, as a morally relevant aspect. This approach is especially relevant in the Anthropocene , since this new geological epoch is characterized by a significant impact on the part of human society on global geological and ecological systems, and thus on many wild and semi-wild animals . In this chapter some conceptual approaches to domestication and wildness are discussed, and it is argued that we should consider wild animals as entities that are highly and critically dependent on the environment, which should be considered as a network of biotic and abiotic elements, whether that environment is natural or human. Accordingly, it is argued that we need a contextual care approach, as an environmental virtue ethics, implying an attitude of care for the threatened natural environment of wild animals in the Anthropocene.