Environmental Value Systems: What is Nature?

Environmental Value Systems: What is Nature?

• Many view nature as land untouched by humans, a paradise unmarred by human influence. This "first" nature is seen as pristine and without human presence, embodying a human-nature dichotomy (distinct concepts). This idea is connected to religious concepts of "Eden".
• "Second" nature is viewed as a resource beneficial to humans, highlighting its utility. Examples include expanding housing developments (Waterloo) and valuing protected areas for groundwater recharge and wetland functions. This connects nature to human labor and use for productivity, health benefits, and extraction for consumption.
• "Third" nature sees nature as a commodity. Examples include ecotourism, emphasizing nature's role in health and well-being. The desire for wilderness experiences, escaping urban life, is also highlighted.

Human-Nature Relationships

• Religions have significantly influenced attitudes towards nature. Judeo-Christian traditions often emphasize human dominion over nature, with a creation meant to serve human needs.
• Another perspective, stewardship, is also prominent. Modern examples are Pope Francis' encyclical "Our Common Home."
• Enlightenment thinkers argued for land ownership improving human productivity in various cases, although this perspective has been critiqued.
• Other worldviews, like Islamic and Animist perspectives, place humans as stewards and spiritual interconnectedness with nature. Animist perspectives see balance as crucial—imbalances can be punished.
• Buddhist perspectives emphasize interconnectedness and coexistence.

Why Value Nature?

• Instrumental Value: Nature's value is based on its benefits to humans. This includes ecological services, survival, sustainability for future generations, and human well-being. However, this value can fluctuate based on human needs, like the changing perception of wetlands.
• Intrinsic Value: This suggests inherent value in non-human species and ecosystems, independent of their usefulness to humans. This view considers nature's rights.
• Relational/Collective Value: Indigenous perspectives highlight a relationship with nature and a responsibility to it. This emphasizes a strong connection to the land and social community. This contrasts with views emphasizing replaceability or interchangeability.

Case Study: Te Awa Tupua

• The Whanganui River (New Zealand) is a living example of a different ecological value system; Indigenous Maori perspectives and beliefs are prioritized in the treatment of the river.
• Te Awa Tupua is grounded in deep cultural ties and the concept of Mauri (all living things considered as kin). The river has legal personhood and rights under New Zealand law, which led to the recognition of the river's ecological well-being as part of a whole entity, in legal cases.
• Complex power dynamics and resource use issues between the Crown (government) and indigenous populations are still present. The law is not perfect. There are attempts at reconciliation, but these reconciliation efforts are not without ongoing difficulties.
• There is a growing global movement advocating for "legal personhood" for non-human entities.