In the closing chapter of the book, Marris summarizes the seven goals that ecologists need to try to achieve in their conservation efforts. Because “no single goal will work in all situations” (Marris 154), the challenge of choosing which goal or goals to accomplish, conservation is not completely universal unless all ecosystem managers agree on common goals. Still, these goals will still help modernize conservation efforts, and finally move away from the “pristine wilderness” notion (Marris 153).
The first of Marris’ seven goals is to protect the rights of other species. Deep ecologists, ecologists who do not “look after the Earth as an extension of looking after people” (Marris 154), claim that “all living things have intrinsic value and deserve to be protected” (Marris 154). Thus, ecologists must determine not only how to protect species, but also in the case of a predator and a prey, which species to save
The second goal is to protect charismatic megafauna. Aside from the general admiration of these large creatures because of their appearance, megafauna are also useful as “keystone species – species that have a greater effect on how an ecosystem works and what it looks like” (Marris 156). However, this goal raises potential controversy as people could argue for or against saving one particular species over many others.
The third goal is to slow the extinction rate and allocating resources to save endangered species. The fourth goal is to protect genetic diversity, which is also focused on saving certain subspecies in order to keep as many species alive as possible.
The fifth goal is to define and defend biodiversity, which is to preserve the diverse makeup of an ecosystem based on what species live there. The sixth goal is to maximize ecosystem services to get as much functionality for humanity out of the ecosystem. The final goal that Marris is to protect the spiritual and aesthetic experience of nature, in other words, to protect “the way nature looks, smells, and sounds” (167). Nature can not only look nice, but can also have cultural value than can and should be preserved.
Marris closes by stating that there is no single, universal goal that should be worked towards. I think that the most important goal is to protect the rights of other species. A significant part of the reason why the Earth’s ecosystems are in the poor condition they are in now is because of human interference and human activity, which stemmed from personal human self-supporting goals. I think that the first goals encompasses all the other goals. If humans take a more significant stand towards conservation, they will think about other species aside from just themselves there. Finding a successful policy to solve the general protection goal will create a trickle-down effect to solve issues such as not protecting the megafauna. Shifting the focus from a human-centric driving force to an ecosystem friendly goal will help guide the decisions ecologists make towards handling ecosystems and hopefully preserve them for years to come.
