Rhetoric Of Conservation

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Changing the Rhetoric of Conservation
In The Ecological Thought, Timothy Morton explains that every entity is interconnected in a large, intertwining web: “all life forms are the mesh, and so are all dead ones, as are their habitats, which are also made up of living and nonliving beings” (29). Morton illustrates that no being can exist independently from the mesh; thus anything humanity does to nature will impact itself. The case of the proboscis monkeys in Borneo, clearly demonstrates this link. What is often overlooked is that when civilization encroaches into these monkeys’ habitats and destroys the mangroves that stabilize the soil around shoreline by “collecting the silt and sediment that tides carry in and rivers carry out towards the …show more content…
Many people still perceive nature to have little connection with themselves; therefore they are unable to understand why the preservation of wildlife is significant. For instance, in a personal interview with locals in Southern Kalimantan, Indonesia, where the proboscis monkey is the mascot of the province, it is discovered that despite living in close proximity with the wilderness, in regards to conservation efforts for these primates, many state, “we don’t really talk about it. It doesn’t really matter what happens to them, because it has no effect on our lives at all” (Thohir). However, as discussed above, this is not true; as in reality, what happens to the proboscis monkeys affects the community as well. Clearly, the perception that the community and nature are inherently linked has not permeated into the community, and this has hindered the viability of conservation efforts, as there is a lack of support from the people. Therefore, there is clearly a need to change the attitude towards the preservation of wildlife: from isolation to …show more content…
While individual people can do little, a union of people can make a practical change. The biggest environmental protection organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace are proof that unions of people who share the same passion for conservation can make a lasting impact on the preservation of wildlife. WWF in particular, “has been part of [many] successful wildlife recovery stories ranging from southern Africa’s black rhino to black bucks in the Himalayas” ("Wildlife Conservation"). For instance, WWF was able to effectively double the number of south-African black rhinos due to efforts such as expanding and establishing protected areas, translocating rhinos to secure populations, improving security, as well as promoting educational wild-life tourism ("Black Rhinoceros"). These successes occur from having a shared perception about the relationship between the community and nature. Hence, educational programs invoke the union of like-minded people that will then effectuate practical change to preserve national resources. Therefore, if there were more significant coalitions working to aid in the wellbeing of other animals such as the proboscis monkeys, then there is a high chance that the population of such species will
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