Why we do what we do

For the past few weeks I have been out in the field, “running-jumping-climbing trees”.

Some typical stuff I’ve been doing in the last fortnight:

make/repair Echo Parakeet nest boxes (which my father unflatteringly has compared to bottle banks)

chop down some pesky invasive Guava

watch some parrots

climb some trees

catch some little raptors (Telfair's Skinks) which promptly pooped on me

find a Mauritian Fody nest

set shrew traps

Busy and rewarding work.

I thought to myself, whilst I had my hand inside a gigantic barrel of cockroaches,

“yes, conservation IS sexy”.

However I think a lot of people confuse conservation work with “looking after animals”. There is a small element of animal husbandry but the main aim is to preserve species and ecosystems. Biodiversity is necessary. Efforts might start small but the objectives are big-picture, stopping-it-all-going-wrong, do-something-now-or-it’s-too late type stuff. Tigers, frogs, rhinos, pink pigeons, orchids, shrubs, turtles and little-brown-jobs all exist in delicate balance. The downfall of one which you think not-too-interesting, can have big repercussions on things you think are cool.

Not everyone would agree (even though it’s SCIENCE) but hey, we all value different things. Here I discuss some attitudes to conservation...

The “why bother, we’re all doomed anyway” attitude

This one, I got from a few people when I first told them that I planned to go rogue, off into the wilderness and far away from corporate life. Generally I find this attitude a bit sad. Why bother doing anything, in that case? If you don’t think it can be saved then you don’t have faith in much at all. Yes, humans take the easiest possible route and leave destruction in their wake, but there are things you can do. I think this response is similar to the one some people have for not voting, because they don't feel that one person can make a difference. Well if everyone thinks that…

The “environmental services” attitude

The world is a machine which we need in order to stay alive. This basically says that we need to keep it in good condition or we’ll have to use precious money to do the work ourselves, for example making oxygen for breathing, putting nutrients in the soil, having something to eat, and being not-too-diseased. The BBC covered this in a recent article which I encourage you to read (link).

The “it’s not ours so let’s not abuse it” attitude

This is the one I partially subscribe to, and the reason I chose to change my career. The world isn’t just my house, other things live here too and have a right to exist. If we all act like impolite house guests, leaving out plates everywhere and urinating in the flower beds then we shouldn’t get invited to stay.

The “I want my children to see it” attitude

Some things are beautiful. This one says, if amazing things aren’t here in 50 years because you killed them then what do you have to leave for the future generations? For some people, handing down our combined human advances in technology, art or industry and a 3 bedroom house in the suburbs is enough. The problem is, once biodiversity is gone and you live in an environment of rats, cats, goats, and camels amongst sugarcane and palm plantations, will they live the same wondrous life that they could have done?