Conservation in Practice

Abstract

Even before Linnaeus was appointed to his first post, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution were evident. One might argue, therefore, that the Linnean Project, the cataloguing of the components of the biosphere, began too late, since before we have finished, species have been lost to pollution, urbanisation and the intensification of agriculture. What conservationists have to recognise is that the Industrial Revolution, as an economic engine, has been adopted by almost every country in the world and that it is against such a background we have to sustain, in our own interest, the well-being of the biosphere. We do not have the option of choosing at, say, national level either conservation or industrialisation. We need both.