Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
2.4
Conclusion
Historical and contemporary examples, ranging from late-nineteenth-century debate
about oyster conservation in the Chesapeake Bay to the creation of a wilderness
reserve in modern Toronto, illustrate the importance of involving resource users and
ordinary citizens in decisions about earth stewardship. Expert authority should be
challenged when it depends on uncritical application of simplifi ed logical argu-
ments such as the “tragedy of the commons” argument. One powerful lesson emerg-
ing from four decades of research is the need for careful evaluation and testing of
such logical arguments, which can be long-lived even when unsupported by evi-
dence. As the history of the Chesapeake watermen illustrates, crude applications of
such logical arguments can destroy trust between experts and resource users. Such
trust is a necessary step toward the goal of biocultural conservation. The work of
Ostrom and her colleagues demonstrates that the predictions of conventional theory
may be quite wrong and that people are capable of adopting good cooperative solu-
tions. Their work supports Jane Jacobs's inspired idea that one must observe how
people actually behave, rather than assume how they might behave, when thinking
about how cities function.
In order to understand people and their environments, another type of cross-
cultural dialogue must be fostered between disciplines within the academic and
professional spheres. As Poteete et al. ( 2010 ) recognize, creating opportunities for
interdisciplinary interaction is diffi cult, given our expectations of how academic
careers are made. Specialization is often valued over interdisciplinary collaboration.
Yet solving the problems of earth stewardship, which involves understanding human
behavior and human potential, must involve interactions at the frontiers where the
ecological and social science disciplines meet. One of the biggest challenges within
the culture of academe is to recognize the value of pioneering efforts at these inter-
disciplinary and intercultural frontiers. Just as we face the challenge of communica-
tion between the cultures of science and the lay public, we also face challenges
within academe to fi nd mechanisms or institutional structures that can help to build
trust between scholars in different disciplines.
References
Brooks WK (1996) The oyster: a popular summary of a scientifi c study. Johns Hopkins University
Press, Baltimore\London
Burch WR Jr (1971) Daydreams and nightmares: a sociological essay on the American environ-
ment. Harper and Row, New York
Carley J (1998) The Leslie street spit. Friends of the spit website, page About FOS. http://www.
friendsofthespit.ca/fos_about.htm . Accessed 15 May 2014
Chapin FS III, Cochran P, Huntington OH et al (2013) Traditional knowledge and wisdom: a guide
for understanding and shaping Alaskan social-ecological change. In: Rozzi R, Pickett STA,
Palmer C et al (eds) Linking ecology and ethics for a changing world: values, philosophy and
action. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 49-62
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