Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 1 The importance of wilderness and wildland Lecture outline: experiencing wilderness wilderness values wilderness and sustainability seminar: why is wilderness necessary for global survival?
31
Embed
Lecture 2GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments1 The importance of wilderness and wildland Lecture outline: n experiencing wilderness n wilderness.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 1
The importance of wilderness and wildland
Lecture outline:
experiencing wilderness wilderness values wilderness and sustainability seminar: why is wilderness necessary
for global survival?
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 2
- an experience?“Wilderness is what men think it is.” (Nash,
1982)“One man’s wilderness is another’s roadside
picnic ground.” (Nash, 1982)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 3
2. Wilderness values
Multiple values ascribed to wilderness- Natural
• ecosystems• wildlife habitat
- Scientific• gene pool• natural laboratory
- Sociological• recreation• psychological
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 4
“I had trouble deciding on where the wildest place I have ever been is, since the wildest place
and what felt like the wildest place may necessarily not coincide. I eventually decided to
opt in favour of the latter, as it was a more interesting experience!”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 5
“..the island is not very big but there was still a sense of remoteness at times and being in certain
parts of the landscape could still make you feel very small and insignificant.”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 6
“Looking out and seeing nothing but trees and rocks until the horizon made it feel wild. It is such an enormous area with no human interruption… I remember it being almost silent too, apart from
the sound of a few birds and other wildlife.”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 7
“…being out in a wilderness has a certain satisfaction about it. It gives you a chance to get some fresh air and helps to relieve some of the stress of living in modern
civilisation.”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 8
“Compared to the U.K. the area was a wilderness; there were no roads, footpaths or houses to be seen during the six weeks, if we needed to be
rescued it could take days or even weeks, and the fact that a riffle needed to be carried around with party in order to ensure our safety against wild
animals all added to the wilderness experience.”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 9
“I think that Rannoch Moor has shaped my idea of wilderness as being a place where I am completely
alone and very vulnerable to what nature can throw at me, also being a place where you can see no refuge or way out makes it feel very desolate.”
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 10
Preservation on the basis of value- many wilderness values based on use
- e.g. US Wilderness Act (1964) that wilderness is to be preserved for the...
“use and enjoyment as wilderness... (by) the American people of present and future generations.”
- “Anthropocentric” view
- most threats to wilderness from human use
- need to understand wilderness use in order to manage effectively
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 11
Types of use:- many types of wilderness use
- variety of use reflects variety of values
- varying dependence
Problem:- how measure degree of wilderness
dependency?
- subjective
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 12
Categories of wilderness use:- recreational
- commercial
- scientific
- educational
- therapeutic/developmental
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 13
Recreational use- Most obvious and common
- Greatest impact
- Greatest management challenge
- Wilderness recreational activities:• hiking and horse riding• river trips• mountaineering• ski touring• hunting and fishing
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 14
Impact varies with group size Sub-categories of recreational
activities:- public
- commercial
- indirect
Most peoples experience is indirect
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 15
• TV programmes and films• reading material and lectures• staying at resorts near to wilderness
- 3 associated wilderness values:1. option value (option to visit)2. existence value (knowing its out there!)3. bequest value (saving it for out children)
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 16
Clawson (1963) - more to the wilderness experience than just being there
Phases of wilderness experience:- planning and anticipation
- travel to wilderness (outbound)
- being there
- travel from wilderness (the return home)
- recollection (memories)
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 17
Scientific use- Wilderness as a laboratory offering natural
and unmodified conditions
- Increasing importance with shrinking wilderness areas
- Wilderness dependent
- Examples:• pollution monitoring• predator-prey relations• global environmental change
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 18
Educational use- Wilderness often used for education:
• field trips• study areas for theses/dissertations• source of instructional examples
- Specialist courses teaching wilderness skills and values
• NOLS in USA• Outward Bound in UK
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 19
Commercial use- Commercial uses include:
• mining and oil/gas • logging• water developments• livestock grazing• recreational developments
- Limited in number
- Zero (mostly) wilderness dependency
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 20
Therapeutic/developmental use- Wilderness setting for therapeutic and
personal development programmes
- Deliquents and mentally ill (supposedly) benefit from such programmes:
• relief from everyday stresses• group support and independence
- Normal healthy people also benefit:• personal development and self discovery• self reliance and personal awareness
2. Wilderness values (cont’d)
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 21
Thought:
What about wilderness for wilderness’ sake?
i.e. a “biocentric” view
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 22
3. Wilderness and sustainability
Uneven distribution of wilderness- spatial pattern and scale
- maps
Scarce resources need protection Protection requires management Wilderness management is COMPLEX Many problems - many potential
solutions- compatibility issues
- depending on geographical context and institutional setting
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 23
13 principles of wilderness management1. Manage as one environmental extreme2. Manage as a composite resource3. Manage under a non degradation concept4. Set carrying capacities to prevent unnatural change5. Manage in co-ordination with adjacent lands6. Apply only minimum tools to achieve objectives7. Focus on threatened sites/damaging activities8. Involve the public in all stages9. Manage users rather than the environment10. Manage to produce environmental and human benefits11. Favour wilderness dependent activities12. Guide management with written plans13. Monitor to evaluate effectiveness of actions
Lecture 2 GEOG3320 – Management of Wilderness Environments 24
3. Wilderness and sustainability (cont’d)
The “Management Paradox”- To manage or not to manage?