The final chapter of Rambunctious Garden lists some alternative goals for conservation. These goals do not have any association with the “pristine wilderness” idea, but they are alternate directions we can take to conserve nature. Of course, “no single goal will work in all situations” (154). Some goals are better suited for certain environments and other goals may be better suited for certain species. In the end, many of Marris’s alternative goals do sound reasonable for the future.
The first goal is protecting the rights of other species. This goal essentially gives all species and ecosystems similar human rights and privileges. However, this goal has a large amount of bias. After all, this goal can leave out many “plants, mountains, and landscapes” (155). While mountains and landscapes are nonliving, they are still a part of the ecosystem. It would also be rather difficult to give “rights” to mountains.
The second goal is protecting charismatic megafauna. Protecting charismatic megafauna sounds like a reasonable goal because the megafaunas are often the species that become extinct the fastest. In addition, protecting the megafaunas keep the ecosystem stable since many are keystone species or “species that have a great effect on how an ecosystem works and what it looks like” (156). Lastly, megafaunas, like dophins and elephants, have popular human support, which means there will be many people agreeing on this goal.
The third goal is slowing the rate of extinctions. Slowing the rate of extinctions involves treating every species as equally valuable. This view on the species makes it more cost-effective to stop extinction since there is a guarantee that a species will be save. Unfortunately, there will probably be a great amount of opposition for the idea since people do have favorite species. If every species is equally weighted, this “might mean that if the budget is tight, your favorite species may not get saved” (159).
The fourth goal is protecting genetic diversity. Protecting genetic diversity will enhance the survival of a particular species since there will be more genetic variants that could to lead to “adaptations that help them thrive in a warmer world” (161). Similarly, the fifth goal focuses on defending biodiversity. This goal focuses on protecting the complexity of the ecosystem including the small interactions between species. However, this goal may be difficult to get people to agree on since the world’s “real complexity is hidden and not highly valued by our society” (163).
The sixth goal is maximizing ecosystem services. Many people believe that places with higher biodiversity have better ecosystem services, but there is insufficient evidence. Marris suggest that this goal can be a way to achieve other types of goals. Lastly, the seventh goal is to protect the spiritual and aesthetic experience of nature. This goal suggests that everyone enjoy nature in some way. Since this value is in many people, Marris suggests that we should also protect it.
Marris definitely have many reasonable goals for conserving nature. Many of these goals do work, but it may be difficult to get everyone to agree on the same goal. Marris also points out that we should be more open about the cost of conserving nature. In summary, she states “be honest about goals and costs, keep land from mindless development, and try just about everything” (170). In the end, it is up to humans to make these decisions.
