Conservation Politics: The Last Anti-Colonial Struggle

"The scientific case has been made. Poets have spoken with deep feeling. Now comes the hard part. In this well-written and very timely book, David Johns lays out the practical, political steps required to save the rest of life on Earth, and ultimately ourselves."
   Edward O. Wilson, University Research
   Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
   
   Whilst the science of conservation biology is thriving as a discipline, ultimately global conservation is failing. Why, when the majority of people say they value nature and its protection? David Johns argues that the loss of species and healthy ecosystems is best understood as human imposition of a colonial relationship on the non-human world - one of exploitation and domination. Global institutions benefit from transforming nature into commodities, and conservation is a low priority. This book places political issues at the forefront, and tackles critical questions of conservation efficacy. It considers the role of effective influence on decision making, key policy changes to reduce human footprint, and the centrality of culture in mobilising support. It draws on political lessons from successful social movements, including human anti-colonial struggles, to provide conservation biologists and practitioners in scientific and social science disciplines and NGOs with the tools and
   wider context to accelerate their work’s impact.
   • Provides conservationists with effective tools and strategic approaches for gaining
   wider and deeper support for their work, including how to create effective and
   sustained influence on decision making
   • Advocates a cross disciplinary approach to conservation, combining scientific and
   political awareness of the causes of biodiversity, wildlands and oceans loss and the
   central importance of changing institutional behaviour and attitudes
   • Identifies the attributes of successful social movements, such as civil rights in the US and feminism, and details what the conservation movement can learn from these.