Major Points
- In the winter of 2008 the Wildlife Conservation Society was focusing its far-flung efforts on a small number of animals
- Organizations hold internal votes to decide which species to drop
- Reason why organizations are doing thing is so that they can focus on the most important species, rather than "wasting" resources on those that do not serve any purpose
- The middle of the first day most panels had eliminated more than half the species from their lists
- Type of sorting goes back historically to battlefield medical care, and is called triage
- In 1973, when U.S. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, the mood was not one of scarcity but of generosity
- This act is still considered the most powerful environmental law in the world, stipulated eligibility for protection for all nonpest species, from bald eagles to beetles
- Noah's Principle: all species are fundamentally equal, and everything can and should be saved, regardless of its importance to humans
- In 1980s, timber and fishing industries tried to change the Endangered Species Act for their own interests
- Proponents feared that any overt attempt to prioritize endangered species- to apply the general principle of triage- would only strengthen opponents' efforts to try to cut species from the list
- Today triage is one of the most provocative ideas in conservation
- One way to prioritize a species is by its function
- Function First, favors species with a unique purpose or those that ensure the survival of others
- Function First prioritization has the advantage of preserving the general function of an ecosystem, but is only useful where such ecosystems are understood
- Second approach is the evolution first method of prioritization
- If an entire evolutionary tree of species is endangered, it is hard to chose which ones will be saved
- Many factors are explored, including: benefits to other species, genetic distinctiveness, cultural importance, and charisma
- Species that don't make the list can also serve as call for action for the other conservation groups to help
Summary
Organizations hold internal votes to decide which species to drop. More and more conservation groups have decided to face a harsh reality: they know they can't save everything. Reasoning behind this is that each species will get more attention, and will therefore have a better chance of surviving. The majority of these groups will decide on which species to save by choosing one out of three approaches. Approach one is the function first, prioritizes species based on whether they serve a unique purpose, or are essential to an entire ecosystem's health. Approach two is the evolution first, aims to preserve genetic diversity, which may provide help to many species so they can adapt to ever-changing environments. Its difficult deciding which species are a important if an entire evolutionary tree of is endangered. Many factors are explored, including: benefits to other species, genetic distinctiveness, cultural importance, and charisma. Approach three is the combination of one and two; looks at preserving the entire ecosystems, not just individual species. Many conservationists feel uncomfortable choosing which species will live or die. The others sense that triage will encourage short term over long term behavior because the funding provides a motive.
Organizations hold internal votes to decide which species to drop. More and more conservation groups have decided to face a harsh reality: they know they can't save everything. Reasoning behind this is that each species will get more attention, and will therefore have a better chance of surviving. The majority of these groups will decide on which species to save by choosing one out of three approaches. Approach one is the function first, prioritizes species based on whether they serve a unique purpose, or are essential to an entire ecosystem's health. Approach two is the evolution first, aims to preserve genetic diversity, which may provide help to many species so they can adapt to ever-changing environments. Its difficult deciding which species are a important if an entire evolutionary tree of is endangered. Many factors are explored, including: benefits to other species, genetic distinctiveness, cultural importance, and charisma. Approach three is the combination of one and two; looks at preserving the entire ecosystems, not just individual species. Many conservationists feel uncomfortable choosing which species will live or die. The others sense that triage will encourage short term over long term behavior because the funding provides a motive.
Reflection
After reading this article it seems that triage is a very controversial topic, but to me i feel like the big problem is the realistic approach. I can agree that it is difficult to choose which species to save because there are many of us that loves certain animals. In triage resources which in this case it would be funding are limited; used to focus just on chosen group that are hundred of species. If I were a conservationist I wouldn't want to be involved when it comes to deciding on which animals can live and not. I think using triage will allow the species to have a much greater chance of being saved than dying. In my opinion more governments need to recognize or realize that the use of triage as a legitimate course of action in conservation for it to be useful and responsible. There have been many suggested ways of reforming the Endangered Species Act to reckon with this reality to help the law bend instead of break under political pressure.
After reading this article it seems that triage is a very controversial topic, but to me i feel like the big problem is the realistic approach. I can agree that it is difficult to choose which species to save because there are many of us that loves certain animals. In triage resources which in this case it would be funding are limited; used to focus just on chosen group that are hundred of species. If I were a conservationist I wouldn't want to be involved when it comes to deciding on which animals can live and not. I think using triage will allow the species to have a much greater chance of being saved than dying. In my opinion more governments need to recognize or realize that the use of triage as a legitimate course of action in conservation for it to be useful and responsible. There have been many suggested ways of reforming the Endangered Species Act to reckon with this reality to help the law bend instead of break under political pressure.