In the final chapter of Marris’s novel, Rambunctious Garden, Marris gives seven new goals in conserving nature. The seven goals she lists are: protect the rights of other species, protect charismatic megafauna, slow the rate of extinctions, protect genetic diversity, define and defend biodiversity, maximize ecosystem services, and protect the spiritual and aesthetic experience of nature. Of these goals, more are wonderful and potentially useful while one may be problematic.
The goals that positive and could save all types of nature are protect the rights of other species, slow the rate of extinctions, protect genetic diversity, and define and defend biodiversity. These four goals are interrelated in the sense that they aim to protect all types of nature. By trying to achieve only one of these goals, the other three are also benefitting. In other words, by slowing the rate of extinctions, ecologists are also protecting the right of a species to exist, protecting genetic diversity and defending biodiversity having more species would help maintain genetic diversity and defend biodiversity. Although Marris brings up the point that genetic diversity can easily be maintained by having “rows of freezers… containing genetic samples from organisms around the world” since the DNA and genes of various species can be stored and kept this way, the difference between only having frozen samples and having living species is immense (162). If given the choice, scientists and people would much rather to have a species existing in the world naturally than have only a few dead frozen ones. In this sense, protecting genetic diversity would still help out the other three goals and benefit nature in general.
Marris voices some possible problems with having maximize ecosystem services and protect the spiritual and aesthetic experience of nature as goals, but they are necessary in motivating and encouraging the general human population to protect nature. Maximizing ecosystem services involves implementing policies such as “financial incentives, taxes and the like” (164). Critics argue that these policies make saving nature seem like a reward since money is the incentive, it may create the idea that having money give one the power to destroy nature. This may be true; however, money is a big enough reason for many people to comply with such policies, especially with the current economic situation where money is tight. At first, the real reason behind saving nature may be for economic gain, perhaps after seeing the results and benefits people will change their minds. Similarly, though protecting the spiritual and aesthetic experience of nature may seem superficial, it is an important motivating factor for most people. If people are able to create a positive spiritual and aesthetic image of nature, then they are more likely to want to protect nature. Both are important in encouraging the general population to save nature.
The only goal that is slightly troublesome is protect charistmatic megafauna. Marris makes the argument that this is helps create sympathy in people to protect nature and that these charismatic megafauna play key roles in ecosystems. While these reasons may be true, protecting only one species may actually cause an imbalance in the ecosystem and lead to destruction rather than conservation. Marris’s example of how the elephant population grew so immense in one sanctuary actually led changing the landscape and ecosystem from overgrazing. This goal is not a bad one, but must be used with caution.
Marris’s seven goals in conserving nature are generally reasonable and practical, although with many things, having goals is simpler than actually achieving them. Hopefully positive changes can be made to effectively attain these goals and protect nature.
