I don't see how the CBD definition excludes humans. We and our artifacts are part of the environment with which we and other organisms interact. (The part of the definition I have trouble with is "interacting as a functional unit." I think most of these functional units are artifacts of the ecological discontinuities we've imposed on the landscape.)
That said, I wouldn't agree with anyone who said we are "just another animal," and I don't think the remedy to the damage we've done by considering ourselves special is to consider ourselves completely unremarkable. People who want to exclude other species from moral consideration can and will exploit either position. As we've seen, the uniqueness of humans has long been used as an excuse to treat the natural world as if it were made to serve our desires. On the other hand, if we're just another animal, then everything we do is just another amoral natural process. We can make ourselves out to be just another animal doing what we can to thrive, ignoring our unusual capacity to identify the consequences of our actions and form moral opinions about actions based on their consequences. I think we need to both recognize that we are part of nature and recognize that we are an animal with unusual abilities and impacts. In short, I advocate the Spiderman approach to nature: we are creatures of great power, and with great power comes great responsibility. Jim Crants >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news on behalf of >>> Fabrice De Clerck >>> Sent: Fri 6/25/2010 11:20 AM >>> To: [email protected] >>> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Humans in the definition of ecosystems >>> >>> Dear Friends, >>> >>> An environmental economist colleague of mine is disappointed with the CBD >>> definition of ecosystems which gives the impression that only pristine >>> areas >>> are ecosystems. Can anyone point us to a more recent definition of >>> ecosystems that explicitly includes humans as an integral part of the >>> definition? >>> >>> Here is the original question: >>> >>> The CBD defines ecosystems as a dynamic complex of plant, animal and >>> micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting >>> as a >>> functional unit. >>> >>> I find this boring, as it leaves us humans, as special animals, out of >>> the >>> picture. When you read it, it is easy to think of pristine environments. >>> Has >>> there been any reaction or correction of this definition? I need an >>> authoritative quote that balances the CBD愀 >>> >>> All reactions welcome, and citations welcome! >>> >>> Fabrice >>> ******************************************************** >>> Fabrice DeClerck PhD >>> Community and Landscape Ecologist >>> Division of Research and Development >>> CATIE 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica 30501 >>> (506) 2558-2596 >>> [email protected] >>> >>> Adjunct Research Scholar >>> Tropical Agriculture Programs >>> The Earth Institute at Columbia University >>> ******************************************************** >>> >>> >> >>
