Nature and Culture (Earthscan,
2010)
There is a common recognition that the diversity of life comprises both
biological and cultural diversity. Nevertheless, the division commonly
made between nature and culture is not universal, and, in many cases,
has been deepened by our need to control or manage nature. A wide
variety of environmental sub-disciplines have emerged to address this
division, and some of these help to explore bridges between the natural
and social sciences. But although many have the potential to contribute
to our understanding, they remain somewhat fragmented. In this book, we
go beyond divisive definitions and investigate the bridges linking
biological and cultural diversity. We also seek to determine the common
drivers of loss that exist. In doing so, we suggest that policy
responses should target both biological and cultural diversity in a
novel integrative approach to conservation, thus reducing the gap
between science, policy and practice. The degree to which ecosystem
diversity is linked to cultural diversity is only beginning to be
understood, and there is a great deal yet to learn. But it is precisely
as our knowledge is advancing that these cultures are receding. While
conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges,
any hope for saving biological diversity, is predicated on a concomitant
effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity.
Chapter 1. Introduction
Sarah Pilgrim & Jules
Pretty, University of Essex
Our conceptualisations of the relationship between human societies and
nature have historically shaped the way we see the world and our actions
towards it. The distinctions between social and natural systems are not
universal, and could be described as artificial because the two are
closely interrelated. Even when considered as a dichotomy, it is clear
that nature and culture converge on many levels that span values,
beliefs and norms to practices, livelihoods, knowledge and languages. As
a result, there exists a mutual feedback between cultural systems and
the environment, with a shift in one often leading to a change in the
other. The importance of this interaction is increasingly recognised,
even in industrial societies and in urban areas where people are
increasingly disconnected from their natural resource base. Human
societies have, after all, engaged with nature through adaptive and
co-evolutionary processes for thousands of generations. This connection
with nature is reflected in all cultures today by our long history of
developing regimes and rules in various attempts to protect or preserve
natural places.
This continuum manifests today in the form of sacred sites, national
parks and nature reserves. This chapter will define biological and
cultural diversity and go on to discuss four key bridges linking them:
beliefs and worldviews; livelihoods and management practices; knowledge
bases and languages; and social institutions and norms. It has been
suggested that the difference in worldviews and cosmologies of nature
between cultures stems from a difference in need and purpose. This
chapter will include case studies examining how different cultures
interact with biodiversity and how, in turn, nature has shaped their
worldviews, knowledge and practices, particularly timely with the
environmental shifts expected to occur with climate change. Finally, it
will define the aim of the book (to determine the common drivers that
exist between biological and cultural diversity loss, and suggest policy
responses that could target both in a novel integrative approach to
conservation) and give a brief overview of each chapter, mapping the way
for readers.
The Innu of Labrador
