Conserving Nature, but to What end?

Abstract

The author examines various cases of conservation policies in practice, and the implication of those practices in terms of the ecologies they support, showing, in the end, that the “nature” being preserved is not always the one intended. In doing this, insights are also gleaned to inform how we should do environmental sociology, and what lies in environmental sociology's future if we work toward this end. The author argues that environmental sociology needs to become more environmental: to be willing to understand sociobiophysical relationships in all their complexity, even in those cases that require a well-grounded understanding of ecosystem processes. Thus, although retaining focus on the historical subject, which shapes conceptions of and ultimately practices toward ecology, we must also begin to view this subject as also an ecological object. The implications of such an analytic move, in terms of what it means for environmental sociology's future, are then discussed.