Involving People in Science and Sustainability in the Pantanal Wetlands of Brazil - Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes - page 197

12 InvolvingPeoplein

ScienceandSustainability
inthePantanal
WetlandsofBrazil *

CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................ 211
Engaging People .................................................................................................... 212
The Earth Watch Model ......................................................................................... 213
Case Study: The Pantanal Wetlands....................................................................... 215
Acknowledgment ................................................................................................... 217
References.............................................................................................................. 217

INTRODUCTION
There will come a time (hopefully not too far in the future) when the unrest in Iraq is
over and a large number of people from around the world whose collective imagina-
tion has been captured by reading the compelling accounts of British adventurers of
the twentieth century (Maxwell 1966; Thesiger 1964; Young 1977) or whose collec-
tive consciousness has moved them to want to help to repair the damage (see chapters
1 and 2; and France 2007a, 2007b), will make them eager to visit the marshes in a
constructive, nonconsumptive way, possibly through contributing to the scientific
study of the ecosystem as support for ongoing restoration or management actions.
The basis of this chapter is to support the thesis that science can help foster a dia-
logue that can create constituencies for change by engaging an international popu-
lace. And one of the leaders in developing this strategy is the Earth Watch Institute,
which has spent thirty years based on constructing field research experiences for the
general public.
The mission of Earth Watch is to create a constituency for a sustainable environ-
ment. Mark Chandler (2004) believes that such a mind-set not only involves the
natural world but also must consider a human dimension of that environment from
the iconic and spiritual viewpoint. Earth Watch regards the world from a viewpoint

* Adapted by Robert L. France from Chandler, M. 2004. Role of volunteers in sustainability research
in the Pantanal wetlands. Paper presented at the Mesopotamian Marshes and Modern Development:
Practical Approaches for Sustaining Restored Ecological and Cultural Landscapes conference,
Cambridge, MA, October.

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