Presentation given at the RUW Foundation opening activity of 2016

1. Shades of green in nature protection
Contribution to debate RUW
Kris van Koppen
Environmental policy, Wageningen University

2. Shades of green - the one-dimensional view
despot --------------------- steward ---------------------- participant
instrumental values -------------------------------- “intrinsic values”
cultural landscapes ---------------------------------------- wilderness

3. 3
Ecosystem services
what is wild and morally
valuable also provides the
greatest economic benefits

4. 4
Socio-cultural values
Socio-cultural values, in a specific sense, refer to non-use
values in particular, and include:
 importance of nature experiences to physical and
mental health (restoration),
 aesthetic, spectacular, scenic aspects of nature
 inspiration of arts, thought
 scientific interest, knowledge
 heritage values and cultural identity ('nature
monuments', 'patrimoine')
 religious and spiritual values (sacred forests, old trees)
 moral rights of existence

5. Appreciation
of nature in arts
revives in
Renaissance,
among urban
elites ....
Er is een diepgewortelde
culturele traditie (al in het
klassieke Rome en
herlevend in de
Renaissance) waarin natuur
wordt gewaardeerd om haar
schoonheid ("beautiful") en
haar verhevenheid
("sublime") en als een plaats
van rust en bezinning
tegenover de hectiek van de
stad en het hof.
Salvator Rosa,
(1615-1673)

6. ... and spreads over larger groups of citizens from
the 18th century (industrial revolution) on
Constable
(1816),
Wivenhoe Park

7. Over the 19th century, wilderness becomes
the prevailing symbolic representation of
'real' nature.

8. Nature conservation: cultural symbols
& cultural practices
 Symbolic representations of nature - "Northern
Aesthetic" (with an emphasis on wilderness)
 Social practices of enjoying and protecting
nature - gardening, pets, nature study,
recreation, actively protecting.
 Through these practices, cultural meanings of
nature become part of everyday life in
industrializes societies

9. Differentation of meanings and
practices, from prehistoric France...
 dependency
 kinship
 enjoyment & awe
"the sorcerer", Trois
Freres cave painting,
tracing by H Breuil

10. ...to present-day Netherlands
dependency
kinship
enjoyment and
awe

11. 11
Local and global values: a more-
dimensional view
use values (regulation and
provision)
non-use values (socio-
cultural)
global / universal
values
- biosphere resilience
- genetic information
- global regulation
functions
- global stocks (e.g. fish)
- moral rights of existence
- world heritage
local values - local regulation functions
- local resource use
- locally acknowledged
cultural values

12. McShane et al. (Biological Conservation
2011) Hard choices
 Win-win solutions are often difficult to realize.
 Often trade-offs between 'human well-being' (read:
local development) and conservation goals
 "Resolving trade-offs is difficult, because social
problems - of which conservation is one - can be
perceived and understood in a variety of disparate
ways"
 Assumptions about the "right" approach often obscure
differences in power and understanding.
 Benefits, costs and trade-offs should be made explicit
and negotiated

13. 13
Many other traditions of cultural valuation
 Socio-cultural values depend on religion,
but even more on social and material
conditions
 For societies highly dependent of nature
(hunters & gatherers, peasants), socio-
cultural values and use values are
intertwined
 In many societies, elites at a distance of
nature (cities, courts) developed
'arcadian'-like values.
 A typical difference between many other
traditions and the Western one is that
they give less priority to wilderness in
comparison to cultivated landscapes.
 But this may well change with further
industrialization and modernization
Dong Yuan (~ 900)