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Papers Accepted
- with Nicole Hassoun. ""Conserving Nature, Preserving Identity"." Indigenous Knowledge (2008).
Abstract:
What can environmentalists say about the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands? Fundamental approaches to environmental ethics currently seem polarized between two broad varieties: the “conservationist” approach on which we should conserve the environment when it is in our interest to do so and the “preservationist” approach on which we should preserve the environment even when it is not in our interest to do so. Some people worry that preservationism has led to the removal of indigenous peoples such as the Batwa people of Uganda and the Masaii people of Eastern Africa from their ancestral lands because these lands and their wildlife have been declared in need of protection. Conservationism would seem to pose a lesser threat to the interests of indigenous peoples since it starts from the idea that nature can be used for human interests. However, like preservationism, conservationism can also provide a reason to remove people from their lands when it is difficult for indigenous peoples to use their lands wisely. In this essay we deploy a third approach to dealing with environmental problems “relationalism” that we believe is friendlier to indigenous peoples. Relationalism starts from a relational conception of human identity. The basic idea is that the nonhuman world may enter into who we are, just as other human beings and communities may enter into who we are. If we, as persons, have value, whatever is bound up with us in positive ways ought also be valued. This gives us reason to care for nature while respecting the identities of indigenous peoples whose identities are often closely tied to their lands.
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