David Johns: Conservation-Compatible Societies
David Johns is co-founder of The Wildlands Project, board member of the Conservation Biology Institute, and author of A New Conservation Politics: Power, Organization Building and Effectiveness.
At an Illahee gathering, Johns spoke on strategies for social activism.
From his recent Conservation Biology editorial, "Adapting Human Societies to Conservation" (sub required):
A first step in altering societal inertia is determining what conservation-compatible societies look like. … In addition to envisioning nature-compatible societies, conservation professionals can engage in overcoming the structural obstacles and leadership recalcitrance that stand in the way of achieving them. …
I am not urging the Society for Conservation Biology to become an advocacy organization or our members to become political operators en masse. But whatever role each of us chooses for ourselves, or we choose collectively for SCB, understanding the social and political context of our work is important to realizing our vision of a biologically vibrant world.In this sense conservation is as much a political endeavor as a scientific one. Research will continue to be vital, but it will never be enough. Scientific findings and conservation values become policy through organizing and action.
