Jon Christensen’s Recent Comments

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  Freedom and environmental protection

  Dear Ronald,

  I would like to see more studies of the relationship between good governance -- which should include at the most basic level free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, a free press, and property rights (and I think would encompass political rights and civil liberties) -- and protection of environmental services and conservation of biodiversity. I suspect there is a positive correlation. The study published in Nature indicating a correlation between corruption and loss of habitat and biodiversity is the only study I know of that directly investigates this relationship. If there are others, I would love to hear about them. And I hope there will be more studies, and not just of the correlation between measures of good governance and the environment, but of the many specific ways in which governance encourages or hinders conservation at the grass roots. As so many of the folks who have responded to this column have pointed out, that's where it really counts.

  Yours truly,

  JonOn Why aren't conservationists fighting poverty? posted 4 years, 2 months ago 23 Responses

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  On the radar screen

  Dear Steve,

  You're right. Generalizing is a risky business. My observation about what seems to be happening at one scale (conservation is conspicuously lacking voices in the international development dialogue), has been taken by some to be a criticism of locally-based organizations working on conservation, sustainable development and good governance. As I said above, nothing could be further from the truth. Such efforts are not only on my radar screen, they are inspirations to me, and I have written a lot about them. That I could only guess at the group you work for and not be sure, indicates that there are many groups like yours around the West and that's a good thing, but also that such groups need to be better known and have a higher profile on all of our radar screens.*

  That you identify your work as being "trying to protect the environment, work for sustainable development, and press for good governance," is very interesting. My argument is that this is precisely the kind of approach that could be productive at the international scale too: particularly the focus on good governance and its fundamental importance for development and conservation. Thanks for joining in the conversation.

  Yours truly,

  Jon

  * This is in the absence of Google, of course. Now I can find out in an instant. Over the years, I have heard many good things about the work of the Northern Plains Resource Council. Although  I have never written about it, it is on my radar screen. Still, it was nice to be reminded that there are many more groups like yours out there, and without Google I couldn't have been sure which it was. Keep up the good work.On Why aren't conservationists fighting poverty? posted 4 years, 2 months ago 23 Responses

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  Different campaigns to make poverty history

  Thanks for expanding my worldview. The view of the Campaign to Make Poverty History in the UK is indeed very different from the view from One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History in the US. Curiouser and curiouser. On Why aren't conservationists fighting poverty? posted 4 years, 2 months ago 23 Responses

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  white plastic, ivory towers and good governance

  I agree that dumping white plastic bracelets on the Sahara won't do much good. But I don't' think that's the plan. And for anybody thinking that there's a pot of gold under the ivory tower on the rainbow road to a PhD in history, I got news for you.

  As for real conservationists and environmentalists working hard in the real world, tell me more about them. Many of them are real heroes and heroines to me. And I didn't mean to cast any aspersions their way. What I meant was to suggest that governance--which is being actively discussed, debated, reformed, and funded--might be a productive way for conservationists to get back into the big game at the moment.

  For the record, I'm also a fan of small ball. I just happen to think that good governance at all scales might improve the prospects for conservation and the environment and people at the grass roots. On Why aren't conservationists fighting poverty? posted 4 years, 3 months ago 23 Responses

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  nature

  "If we want to attain a living understanding of nature, we must become as flexible and mobile as nature herself."
  --GoetheOn A walk on the slippery rocks posted 4 years, 3 months ago 15 Responses