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Environmental solutions sparked by environmental history
Author(s) -
McAfee Dominic,
Alleway Heidi K.,
Connell Sean D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/cobi.13403
Subject(s) - legitimacy , viewpoints , conformity , government (linguistics) , political science , principle of legality , public policy , politics , process (computing) , public participation , environmental planning , environmental resource management , management science , public administration , public relations , environmental ethics , ecology , geography , computer science , economics , law , art , linguistics , philosophy , visual arts , biology , operating system
Environmental solutions require a decision‐making process that is ultimately political, in that they involve decisions with uncertain outcomes and stakeholders with conflicting viewpoints. If this process seeks broad alignment between the government and public, then reconciling conflicting viewpoints is a key to the legitimacy of these decisions. We show that ecological baselines can be particularly powerful tools for creating a common understanding for public support (legitimacy) and conformity to new rules or regulations (legality) that enable the solution. They are powerful because they move the discussion of solutions from the abstract to the concrete by providing a conceptual model for a common expectation (e.g., restoring habitat). They provide narratives of the past (ecological histories) that readjust the future expectations of individuals on how to perceive and respond to new policy. While ecological baselines offer scientists benchmarks for reinstating ecological functions, they also normalize public and government discussion of solutions. This social normalization of public issues may assist government policy and influence social views, practices, and behaviors that adopt the policy. For science to more effectively inform conservation, we encourage interdisciplinary thinking (science‐ and human‐centered) because it can provide public support and government legitimacy for investing in environmental solutions.