Reevaluating the Role of Lived-in Landscapes in Conservation at Scale
Last month’s article in the Living Landscape Observer on the campaign for 30x30 sparked this comment by Davis Jaques,
“Maximum biodiversity often occurs through some degree of human involvement. Just ‘protecting’ areas of land and sea is not necessarily the most efficacious way to promote diversity.” I agree.
Similarly, others have noted that the world will never reach the goal of 30x30 without incorporating working landscapes. This is an excellent opportunity to evaluate past approaches to protecting lived-in landscapes as part of the conservation of large-scale landscapes.
In recent decades, a host of new models have emerged, which - to varying degrees - prioritize the human connection and role in land and water stewardship. Communities with connections to landscapes must play a role in their protection, and the model of displacement is long past. This new direction includes Indigenous protected areas, such as World Heritage listed Pimachiowin Aki. Overall there is a need for a better understandings of history and culture, and the humanities fields that provide insight into this knowledge. To implement the 30x30 approach, we need to learn from the past, and conservation science must interface with humanities.
The Living Landscape Observer is a website, blog and monthly e-newsletter that offers commentary and information on the emerging field of large landscape conservation.
Look Back and Learn: Culture and Nature - Thoughts on the English Lake District
At all levels, conservation practitioners work to understand and to balance thenatural and cultural values of a landscape. Globally, this challenge plays out in the push and pull of the World Heritage inscription process.The World Heritage Committee's designation of the English Lake District (July 2017) highlights some of the challenges of attempting to integrate cultural and natural values. There was no question of the Lake District's celebrated and iconic qualities. Nonetheless there was some tension in designating it as a lived-in landscape.
How History and the Humanities Can Help Us Reach 30 x 30
Six months ago, in January 2021, the Biden administration announced a plan to protect 30 percent of the country’s land and water by 2030. In May, four federal agencies jointly released a preliminary report, entitled Conserving and Restoring American the Beautiful which outlined – in broad strokes – how the administration hoped to achieve this ambitious goal. The document prioritizes local and community knowledge in determining conservation priorities, as well as inclusiveness and equity in project planning and implementation. What can we learn from existing approaches, as well as conservation's longer history in the U.S. to help ensure the 30x30 effort is a success?
Private lands can play a substantial role in collaborative, landscape-scale conservation. This video identifies policies and approaches to better engage private landowners in such activities. Lesli Allison (Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance) offers a keynote presentation, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Lynn Scarlett (Chief External Affairs Office at The Nature Conservancy).
Management: Pimachiowin Aki
Spanning two Canadian provinces, Pimachiowin Aki was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Listin 2018. It’s one of only 39 “mixed” natural-cultural landscapes recognized by World Heritage designation. What is most noteworthy about the site is its innovative management approach that stems from a joint understanding of nature and culture via a bottom-up partnership between four Anishinaabe First Nations communities and provincial government representatives.
Despite the strong numbers in a recent National Park Service report showcasing the success of the National Heritage Areas (NHA) program "By the Numbers" an Annual Report, the proposed Department of the Interior budget request for 2022 reduces funding for the program. The request of $22,248 million was down by $1,667 million from the year before. This is one of the only NPS programs facing such a reduction.
