The new book edited by Marc Bekoff:
Ignoring Nature No More: The Case for Compassionate Conservation
456 pages
"For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current
crisis, nor does it get people to act. In
Ignoring Nature No More, Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive. This collection of diverse essays is the first book devoted to
compassionate conservation, a growing global movement that translates
discussions and concerns about the well-being of individuals, species,
populations, and ecosystems into action. Written by leading scholars in a
host of disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology, social
work, economics, political science, and philosophy, as well as by locals
doing fieldwork in their own countries, the essays combine the most
creative aspects of the current science of animal conservation with
analyses of important psychological and sociocultural issues that
encourage or vex stewardship. The contributors tackle topics including
the costs and benefits of conservation, behavioral biology, media
coverage of animal welfare, conservation psychology, and scales of
conservation from the local to the global. Taken together, the essays
make a strong case for why we must replace our habits of domination and
exploitation with compassionate conservation if we are to make the world
a better place for nonhuman and human animals alike."
