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Conservation ethics versus development: how to obviate the dichotomy?
Author(s) -
Rajeswar Jonnalagadda
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
sustainable development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.115
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1099-1719
pISSN - 0968-0802
DOI - 10.1002/sd.151
Subject(s) - environmental ethics , certainty , globalization , action (physics) , consumerism , sustainable development , sociology , order (exchange) , epistemology , political science , economics , law , philosophy , physics , finance , quantum mechanics
This paper is an attempt to portray the present ‘no‐win’ situation with respect to conservation and development, and to suggest the means to overcome the predicament. Due to its inherent exclusionist approach, modern science could not incorporate multiple variables that operate in the complex processes of the life supporting systems. Globalization of trade is creating a New World Order of economic colonization. Under the umbrella of globalization, consumerism has become an all‐pervasive culture, eroding the pluralistic cultural base of the world. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. Where there are threats of irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing precautionary action. Scientific adventurism should give way to holistic wisdom. Solutions to most of the problems lie, not within the boundaries of exclusive specializations, but in the interface of all the disciplines of knowledge. Integration of the traditional ecological knowledge with modern technology could lead to a better understanding of nature and its complex processes. Living within – not against – the logic of the ecosphere, by abandoning affluence and consumptive growth, should be the new paradigm.