Conclusions: Conservation in the Anthropocene - Biodiversity Conservation and Environmental Change - page 175

Kinzig 2003, Costanza et al. 2007). Soil technologies from Amazonia and west-central Africa
can help in sustainable food production in the tropics (Glaser 2007, Fairhead and Leach 2009,
Glaser and Birk 2012), while resilient agropastoral and agroforestry systems, that include a
diverse range of crops with drought resistant varieties and forest products can help food
security in increasingly erratic climates (Chapter 6 and 7) (Le Maitre et al. 2009, Fischer et al.
2012, von Wehrden et al. 2014). This diversity ensures that societies do not become over-
dependent on only one or a few resources, reduces risk, and allows faster recovery from envi-
ronmental shocks.
Another vital aspect of traditional ecological systems is the development of resource access
rules that are locally devised and embedded in social institutions (Fischer et al. 2012, Tscharn-
tke et al. 2012, Milcu et al. 2014). For example, monitoring of grazing condition may trigger a
move to a new area, or decline in a harvested species may lead to a change in species choice
(Niamir 1990). Accumulated experience of the impact of resource use can lead to the develop-
ment of local resource use rules, such as closed seasons, limited harvests, or strictly protected
areas that are enforced for practical, spiritual or cultural reasons (see Chapters 6 and 7).
In contrast to industrialized agriculture and forestry, which aim to control and standardize
environmental factors as much as possible, traditional management strategies help societies
to respond to an unpredictable and variable environment (Hammi et al. 2010, Fischer et al.
2012, Tscharntke et al. 2012, von Wehrden et al. 2014). Intelligent use of traditional ecological
knowledge does not mean re-establishing archaic practices and reinstating outmoded or
unequal social structure (Cocks 2006). Instead, it means understanding the ecological prin-
ciples that allowed sustainable livelihoods in variable environments, and strengthening,
rebuilding or adapting social structures and management techniques that are appropriate to
the local environment, foster a sense of place and a re-engagement with the land locally,
while remaining in accord with national, regional and international sustainability and bio-
diversity goals (Foster 2003, Carpenter et al. 2009).
Is there a place for 'wilderness' in the Anthropocene?
There are few true areas of wilderness remaining on the planet, and the term is anyway con-
tested, because apparently pristine areas often have a long history of human land use and
management (Cronon 1996, Kalamandeen and Gillson 2007). However, unmanaged or lightly
managed areas provide critical oases for biodiversity and the replenishment of the human
spirit through contact with nature (Monbiot 2013b). In the spectrum of protected area types
that include highly managed to relatively untouched landscapes, it seems vital to preserve at
least some areas where future generations can experience landscapes that resemble their
pre-Anthropocene state (Corson et al. 2014).
Wilderness areas are vital strongholds for biodiversity but are also havens for people
craving communion with unspoiled nature (Monbiot 2013b). Though palaeoecological
and archaeological studies have shown that many apparent wildernesses were once man-
aged by people, and are therefore at least in part culturally derived, this does not detract
from their important dual roles in the conservation toolbox and the human psyche.