Wild Hope: On the Front Lines of Conservation Success

by Andrew Balmford

Tropical deforestation. The collapse of fisheries. Unprecedented levels of species extinction. Faced with the plethora of gloom-and-doom headlines about the natural world, we might think that environmental disaster is inevitable. But is there any good news about the environment? Yes, there is, answers Andrew Balmford in Wild Hope, and he offers several powerful stories of successful conservation to prove it. This tragedy is still avoidable, and there are many reasons for hope if we find inspiration in stories of effective environmental recovery.

 

Wild Hope is organized geographically, with each chapter taking readers to extraordinary places to meet conservation’s heroes and foot soldiers—and to discover the new ideas they are generating about how to make conservation work on our hungry and crowded planet. The journey starts in the floodplains of Assam, where dedicated rangers and exceptionally tolerant villagers have together helped bring Indian rhinos back from the brink of extinction. In the pine forests of the Carolinas, we learn why plantation owners came to resent rare woodpeckers—and what persuaded them to change their minds. In South Africa, Balmford investigates how invading alien plants have been drinking the country dry, and how the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest conservation program is now simultaneously restoring the rivers, saving species, and creating tens of thousands of jobs. The conservation problems Balmford encounters are as diverse as the people and their actions, but together they offer common themes and specific lessons on how to win the battle of conservation—and the one essential ingredient, Balmford shows, is most definitely hope.

 

Wild Hope, though optimistic, is a clear-eyed view of the difficulties and challenges of conservation. Balmford is fully aware of failed conservation efforts and systematic flaws that make conservation difficult, but he offers here innovative solutions and powerful stories of citizens, governments, and corporations coming together to implement them. A global tour of people and programs working for the planet, Wild Hope is an emboldening green journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Science, Nature, Biology, Sustainability, Ecology

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

ENGLISH: The aim of this book is to tell some good news about conservation of animal and plant species, to counter the typical news in this field, usually bad. The author has visited seven conservation centres around the world, one on each continent: Asia, North America, Africa, Europe, South America, Australia and the Pacific Ocean.

The protected animals/plants/environments are the Indian unicorn rhinoceros; the American woodpecker; local fynbos against water-soaking alien plants in South Africa; returning large swaths of land to nature in The Netherlands; combating deforestation in Ecuador, Costa Rica and northern Australia; restoring land destroyed by mining in Australia; and sustainable fishing in the oceans.

More information in this post in my blog: https://populscience.blogspot.com/202...

ESPAÑOL: El objetivo de este libro es contar buenas noticias sobre la conservación de especies de animales y plantas, para contrarrestar las noticias sobre este campo, que suelen ser malas. El autor ha visitado siete centros de conservación en todo el mundo, uno en cada continente: Asia, América del Norte, África, Europa, América del Sur, Australia y el Océano Pacífico.

Los animales, plantas y entornos protegidos son el rinoceronte indio unicornio; el picamaderos estadounidense; plantas de los fynbos contra plantas exóticas que acaparan agua en Sudáfrica; devolución a la naturaleza de grandes extensiones de terreno en Holanda; lucha contra la desforestación en Ecuador, Costa Rica y el norte de Australia; recuperación de espacios destruidos por la minería en Australia; y pesca sostenible en los océanos.

Hay más información en este artículo de mi blog: https://divulciencia.blogspot.com/202...

[myrddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kõikidele (rohelist) bioloogiat tudeerivatele inimestele tagan, et peale selle raamatu lugemist taastub usk, et bioloogiat õppima asuda oli tõesti ainuõige valik! (Minul igatahes tuli tagasi see missioonitunne, mille najal asusin bioloogiat õppima ülikoolis.)

Väga teistsugune (loe: positiivne ja lootusrikas) vaatenurk looduskaitsele kujunes lugedes ja tõi tagasi usu, et isegi kui praegu ollakse liikumas sügava kuristiku poole, siis veel on võimalus tagasi keerata ja liikuda paremuse poole. Tuleb lihtsalt leida see lootusekübe ning tahe muuta olukorda paremaks.

[Lauryn Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my Solutions in Environmental Studies class at UVM and I thought that it went along perfectly with what our lessons entailed. I am glad we read this instead of a textbook because it gave us real-life examples and perspective from many different fields. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in conservation and is looking for examples in the past that have helped communities around the globe flourish.

[Emmaby Barton Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this!! i thought it was about just trees when i got it lol but im glad it was about so much more. quite a few reviews seem to be saying this is a dense read but i didn’t find that the case at all.

as always, all the statistics on all the damage we have done to the planet is sobering and shocking. and all the information about the different ecosystems - how there is so many different aspects needed to work in balance etc., the importance of rewilding, introducing/keeping native animal/plants etc. - was so so interesting.

reading these books and learning more about ecosystems, climate change facts etc. really helps with the apathy/ambivalence i increasingly feel towards nature/our earth/the climate crisis. of course, intellectually i care about these - i vote for the greens, i’m vegetarian, i do what i can where possible. but these books really ignite my passion for these issues and also really make me appreciate nature so much more which i’m glad about.

i want to get back to finding awe and appreciation in nature bc for so long i've just been apathetic. i feel like reading these books helps (esp david attenboroughs)

some other thoughts
- found the conservation efforts of the netherlands’ national ecological network, india addressing poaching (or more specifically, the attitudes towards the locals and poachers - see the quote below), australia’s mining companies, and america’s fisheries the most interesting (ETA i just looked up the fate of Oostvaardersplassen and it is v depressing :/)
- i appreciated the focus on considering local community needs//desires. and the reminder that while focussing on the inherent value of our earth is great, it’s not realistic and we need to consider the other benefits too.
- one critique i have: the author really was not critical enough of some of the companies at times - eg the mining companies
- didn’t realise until i started reading that this book is like 20 years out of date now - it would be interesting to read some more recent case studies! and see how these case studies have been going
- really liked the ending and the reminder of the importance of individual actions. some things that stood out for me that i can do: volunteering, consuming less, purchasing more sustainable products especially food (looking out for those certifications), enjoy nature - and help others do too, compromises (eg. offsetting). my purchasing power is a big one for me now that i have a full-time job and disposable income! especially as i am considering having to reintroduce meat for health reasons - need to look to ensure i am choosing sustainable sources etc, and do more research on the environmental factors of what i eat in general.

some quotes that stood out to me
- “How can we be expected to care about what we no longer experience, what we no longer know?”
- “Nature is jammed full of such wonders, and what makes me an ardent conservationist is the desire that my children and the generations that come aer them can have their own opportunities to be enticed, amazed, and humbled.”
- “Conservation’s not supposed to be about shooting poor people, whatever they’ve done. Despite being responsible for the deaths of five rhinos and being prepared to kill his ex-colleagues, Golap Patgiri doesn’t strike me as an evil man (and I’m no longer sure he’s the real enemy). Under the same difficult circumstances how many of us would have done the same thing? And the price that Matiram and his neighbors pay year in and year out because they’re not as intolerant as the rest of us when it comes to living alongside damaging and dangerous creatures: for all our rhetoric about the need to share the planet with other species, which of us would willingly put ourselves in Matiram’s shoes? We—the mostly well- off conservationists and nature lovers who want to live in a world with rhinos and tigers and elephants—are free riders in the system, and we owe Matiram Phukon and millions like him a huge debt for their forbearance. But the tolerance of those in poor farming communities across India (and indeed, large parts of Africa and Latin America) can no longer be taken for granted, and many are beginning to argue that more of us should be foot- ing a fairer share of the bill. Conservation is responding. Concerns about its human costs are leading to changes in the way it is being practiced on the ground in Assam and beyond. Mr. Boro’s ideas about engaging with local people are becoming the norm; Uam Saikia’s more radical proposals to provide alternative routes out of poverty are becoming widespread. In some places those paying the up-front costs of conservation are beginning to receive payments for continuing to do so from distant beneficiaries.”
- “But he has a more fundamental motivation too, one borne of a profound sense of custodianship for the land. As he puts it, “while the problem is daunting now, it is still just about manageable. If I left it for the next generation, it would simply be impossible.””
- “But the problem is that only approving small operations that scarcely need to change isn’t exactly going to make a major dent in the sustainability of global fishing practices. Instead, the MSC argues, it also needs to work with less-than-perfect fisheries: finding the better operations, encouraging them to improve prior to full assessment and then, providing they score highly enough, stipulating further improvements as conditions of certification. Engaging with the imperfect rather than simply endorsing the already-virtuous.“

[Smiley C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review:
Glad I got to read this book. Written by my lecturer, so the stories and ideas are very much relevant to my studies yay! And it's not just about exams and studying of course -- this book is very accessible to a general audience, so I'd recommend it.
It's easy to be lost in a world of doom and gloom, where rainforests are cleared and species getting classed as endangered left right and centre -- however, it is still worth celebrating and reflecting on stories of conservation successes. Whether it's anti-poaching of rhinos in India, preserving forests for water in Western Ecuador villages, cutting down invasive plants in S. Africa and Working for Water, MSC certified fish to more controversial plans for rewilding in Oostvassrdersplassen and Australia jarrah forests restoration from mining company Alcoa -- these case studies highlight how conservation efforts (at least for the time being) could be successful.
I would recommend doing some further searches on the current state of those mentioned, because this book was actually kinda old now! (and I'll have to do this soon lol)




If you're interested in this topic and don't mind if I spew my ideas:
(What if I write a review that's actually an essay?)

Conservation is important. What are the challenges for conservation in recent years? And how can they be overcome? Discuss using examples.

With increasing human population and economic development, it is difficult to avoid habitat loss and species loss. However, losing these biological resources also risk losing ecosystem services they provide, in the form of clean water, food resources, and monetary benefits such as ecotourism to say the least. It is therefore important to conserve species and habitats, if not for their intrinsic value, but also the economic benefits. Challenges include increasing demand for resources acting as a driver, poverty, and failures stem from not planning well or failing to include relevant stakeholders. To overcome them, local communities and stakeholders need to be engaged, and proper evidence, diagnosis, and implementation of conservation action is needed.

Firstly, one of the main challenges conservation face is opportunity costs, which is especially prominent when the local community suffers from poverty. Opportunity costs refer to potential profits lost because the economic activity is not carried out, for example loss of income from preserving forests instead of logging for timber and firewood. Even with REDD+ programs and other carbon offsetting schemes that pay landowners for preserving forests, deforestation and land conversion would still be far more profitable. However, when including the value of ecosystem services, for example provision of clean water for farming and livelihood, the net gains from deforestation decreases. In the case of villages in Ecuador, one village decided to halt logging for charcoal and conserve forests instead, resulting in biodiversity preserved and ecosystem services of clean water provision. Compared to nearby villages that deforested their land, and lost water source and livelihood, the former village benefits from conservation. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to monetarise ecosystem services and guide local communities to see the long term benefits of conservation, instead of just short term profit, for opportunity costs to be overcome and effectively conserve a habitat.

Next, it is necessary to offer alternative livelihoods to encourage local people to take part in conservation, instead of just imposing bans. For example, in Kaziranga in India, endangered rhinos are poached for their horns. Many of the poachers are people in poverty, driven by the ludicrous income. To solve this challenge, the roots of the problem need to be addressed. For example, by recruiting caught poachers into another livelihood e.g farming, setting up a business, for alternative income. As rhinos are conserved, ecotourists are attracted and local people can be recruited as guides and this boosts local businesses from bottom-up. This shows that conservation can bring benefits to local communities, and the first step of success would be to involve them in less destructive activities and livelihoods.

On the other hand, economic growth and demand imposes challenges on conservation, in driving destruction of habitat for resource extraction or overexploitation. For example, bauxite mines in Australia are needed to provide raw materials for products, but mining destroys large tracts of forests and causing loss of faunal diversity that depend on vegetation. To solve this problem, consumer pressure and legislation helps, requiring companies to offset their damage. As mentioned in this book, Aloca mining company had restored jarrah forests after mining in those areas, putting research and resources into replanting native trees and attracting fauna. However, the company in recent years faced criticism in their land clearance and concerns restored forests are not as biodiverse as pristine ones, for example less able to support endangered bird species like Baudin's black cockatoos. (It's worth following up some case studies in the book, because this book was written like...14 years ago?!) Another example of exploitation involves fishing in High Seas, where tragedy of the commons of an open access resource causes fish stocks to be over-depleted. It means that when everyone can access the resource (fish stocks), each individual would maximise their profits, as the externalities (disadvantages of reduced fish stocks in the future) would be distributed to other individuals (e.g future generations) rather than internalised. In order to prevent further depletion of fish stocks, international agreements have been established to ensure sustainable harvesting of seafood. This comes in the form of Marine Stewardship Council certification in retail, informing consumers to choose sustainable options. Public pressure also plays a role: for example, Greenpeace revealed different supermarket chains' fish sources as sustainable or not, where Tesco's was found to be unsatisfactory. This led to calls of boycotting Tesco's, and pressured the company to sourcing more sustainable seafood a few years later. Therefore, when economic demand poses a challenge in exploiting resources unsustainably, whether for minerals or fish stocks, public pressure could play a role in preventing further exploitation.

To conclude, conservation in recent years face challenges in terms of effectively preserving habitats or species but also balancing local livelihoods and economic demands. To overcome these challenges, local stakeholders need to be engaged and involved in the conversation, while public pressure, legislation and agreements would be needed to push companies into acting more sustainably. Despite some conservation success, many challenges still remain, and it would require much effort to overcome them. It is important to look on past studies of successes and failure to inform future conservation for habitats and species, in order to maintain ecosystem services for a growing human population.

(Any constructive feedback welcome! To be honest I could've written another paragraph and get more examples in, but I've really ran out of steam. I've not planned on writing an essay today, for goodness' sake!)
A link I find useful brief summary of some case studies

[Lena Unterwegs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book that provides very practical examples of how conservation efforts succeed and the factors that contribute to their success. On top of that it takes you to a bunch of stunning places across the globe.
I wish there was a second edition that revisited the sites now, around 13 years later to see how they are fairing, plus add a few more positive examples. Unfortunately, as we are still in a troubling downward trend, these examples are urgently needed to lift our spirits!
I would also be interested to see if more/other factors for success could be added to the ones listed in the last chapter, e.g. involvement and empowerment of women as conservation stewards.

[Izzy DeGroot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for class but I enjoyed reading about this guys adventures and what he learned from them. I think the stories really help people understand how to communicate with others to go about creating change.

[Cassie Beeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully informative and personal. Incredible narrative of both the good and the bad. Its title holds true; it does give me hope for the future (and present) of conservation.

[natasha ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

fuck the climate doom mindset all my homies hate the climate doom mindset!!

[David Rudin · Rating 5 out of 5]

British Conservation Scientist, Andrew Balmford travels the world to bring us stories of hope in wildlife conservation. These stories range from Red Cockaded Woodpecker conservation on private lands in the Southeast USA to the Netherlands attempts at rewilding portions of their tiny and crowded country to the greening of mining giant Alcoa in Southwest Australia.

These are real stories of grit and determination and they show the possibility of humans changing the face of the planet in a positive direction. We need all the positive stories we can find in a time of mass extinction, climate change and human inequality and suffering.

[Chris Leuchtenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and concisely written account of several successful conservation projects that highlights the creativity, perseverance, leadership and dependence on local communities required for this recalcitrant enterprise. A glimmer of hope on a desultory world.

[Kristine Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an inspiring book showing ways that conservation efforts have succeeded in different regions of the world. It shows the importance of interdisciplinary thinking and what needs to be considered in order to make the changes we want to see in the world.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positive with some concerns

[Gabrielle Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book included some really intriguing conservation practices but it was really dense and I struggled to read it

[Mark Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I count the author of this book as a friend and therefore you might want to discount all the good things I am going to write about his excellent book – please don’t do that.

Professor Andrew Balmford FRS is one of just a handful of UK academics who understands nature conservation through doing it, talking to people who do it and thinking hard about it. As such, his book is likely to be worth reading, and it is.

The title comes from the author’s wish to concentrate on good news stories, and so he chooses conservation success stories from each continent to build a picture of ‘Yes we can!’ nature conservation. The subtitle of ‘On the front lines of conservation success’ makes this approach clear.

Each of his chosen case studies is described with clarity, with personal experiences and through conversations with the main protagonists.

I first read the American example, of red-cockaded woodpeckers, longleaf pines and the Endangered Species Act. It is fascinating, I learned a lot and it made me think about nature conservation approaches. Each chapter will do the same to you.

And I am glad that Andrew tells some of the story of the campaign to protect nature close to his home in Ely with which he has been considerably involved. He would probably quite like me to plug this event which is a fundraiser for more local action.

This book is an uplifting read. It should be on the bookshelf of all conservationists, as all conservationists sometimes need cheering up! It is thoughtful, well-written and thought-provoking.

This review first appeared at www.markavery.info/blog/ on 6 September 2012

[Mills College Library]

333.9516 B194 2012

[Nadya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading!

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of an environmental book that tells the stories of conservation successes. It was a bit slow in parts, but overall had some interesting tales to relate.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seems like it would be very interesting, but it is written so dryly and is not captivating at all.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring