1. Perceptions about Nature
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Perceptions about Nature
Freerk Wiersum and Gerard Verschoor

2. What is nature? Nature as an ecological object
(Semi-)natural ecosystem
Spontaneous development
No human impact
Ecologically-defined types of nature
Nature as a social construction
What people see around them and experience as (almost) untouched by men
Images of nature

3. Nature-Culture dichotomy as central dogma in western culture
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nonhumans
humans
Nature
Culture
dichotomy

4. But still variable meanings of Nature
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Nature as ecosystem
Wilderness
Equilibrium system
Non-equilibrium system
Nature as biodiversity
Nature as Arcadia

5. Nature as a ecosystem (1)
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Hierarchy of organization
Principle of integrative levels
Cycles of energy and material
Ideal example: the wilderness

6. Ecosystems as predictable and ultimately stable systems Succession Equilibrium
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7. Nature as a non-equilibrium system
Variability in time & space
complex dynamics, uncertainty, surprise

9. Nature as biodiversity
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Diversity of life
Hierarchy of organization
Landscapes
Species
Genes
Measurable units
But also metaphor for threatened species

10. Nature as Arcadia Opposite from ‘resourcism’
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Opposite from ‘resourcism’
Partnership between nature and people
Stewardship over nature
‘Religious’ veneration for all natural things
Romantic traditions
Arcadian landscapes from past centuries
Holistic relation between indigenous people and nature

11. Partnership with Nature

12. Alternative meaning: Nature as resource
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sustenance base: fulfilment material needs
‘unlimited bounty’ for utilitarian capitalism
1970’s: sustainable conservation

13. Nature as resource living space living space supply depot waste
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living
space
living
space
supply
depot
waste
repository
supply
depot
waste
repository
global carrying capacity

14. Nature as resource Corporate views of natural resources
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Corporate views of natural resources
Commoditization of natural resources
Privatization of natural resources

15. Problems with dualist & materialist views
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What about non-western views about Nature?
Perspectives of different main religions on Nature
Is this a problem? Yes, because
No adequate understanding of manifold interactions between various cultures and different forms of nature (spiritual, ritual)

16. Theories beyond Nature-Culture dichotomy (1)
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Co-evolution
biological evolution, comparison of human & nonhuman behaviour, process of hominisation
relation organism/environment reciprocal, not one-way

17. Co-evolution: Nature as hybrid networks

18. Theories beyond the Nature-Culture dichotomy (2)
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The first Great Divide: Internal
Nature
Society
natures/
societies
‘Them’
‘Us’
The second Great Divide: External

19. More than ever: Nature as something made
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For some
“end” of Nature
question: how to defend “pristine” Nature
For others
humanity’s relationship with Nature subverts dualism
human intervention not by definition “unnatural”
question: how are social natures transformed, by whom, for whose benefit, and with what social and ecological consequences

20. Conclusion Nature as something imagined & real;
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Nature as something imagined & real;
external yet made; outside history
but fiercely contested at every turn;
everywhere and nowhere

21. 29/08/2018
Break!
© Wageningen UR

22. Gerard Verschoor and Freerk Wiersum
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People as ‘wrong doers’ or ‘do-gooders’ The role of people in narratives about the relationship between people and their environment
Gerard Verschoor and Freerk Wiersum

23. Two contrasting narratives on impact of man on nature
People as wrong doers
People as do-gooders

24. People as ‘wrong doers’
Self-interested people rule, sometimes in despotic manner, over nature
Overexploitation of natural resources
People easily spoil nature
People unduly influence nature as a non-equilibrium system
Degradation of natural resources

25. Nature: a resource to be used at will by by mankind

26. Common negative impact of mankind on ecosystems
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Loss of biodiversity
Loss of ecological integrity

27. Theorised negative impact of man on nature
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Eco-scarcity and the limits to growth
Malthus: human populations grow out of proportion
‘Tragedy of the commons’
Hardin: It makes sense for individual people to individually overuse communal resources

28. People as ‘do-gooders’ Alternative theories on harmonious relations between man and nature
‘Deep ecology’
People should respect nature for its intrinsic value
The ‘noble savage’

29. Deep ecology
from anthropocentrism to biocentrism

30. Deep ecology: problems involved
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Emphasis on protection of ‘unspoiled nature’
No consideration of ‘real problems’
Protection of ‘noble savages’

31. “The Once and Future Resource Managers” (WWF)
The “noble savage”
“The Once and Future Resource Managers” (WWF)

32. Reality or stereotype? The Noble Savage But also the Ignoble Savage
Stereotype for members of native tribal groups living in harmony with nature
Based on romantic association emphasizing the holistic lifestyles of nature-dwelling natives
But also the Ignoble Savage
Stereotype (from the past?) for people from tribal groups characterized by menacing malignancy:
fiercy fighters,
blood-thirsty cannibalists

33. Indigenous people as ‘noble savages’?
A new romanticism?
of people in urbanized areas
a nostalgic interpretation that at least some people are still living in harmony with nature
A reinvented history of politically-aware people?
fighting for their human rights of self-determination
striving to regain control over ancestral lands

34. Conclusion Narratives on people – nature relations
Contrasting narratives
Changing narratives
Narratives often underpinned by theories
Theories based on paradigms

35. 29/08/2018
Thank You!
© Wageningen UR