Calls for more broad-based, integrated, useful knowledge now abound in the world of global environmental change science. They evidence many scientists’ desire to help humanity confront the momentous biophysical implications of its own actions. But they also reveal a limited conception of social science and virtually ignore the humanities. They thereby endorse a stunted conception of ‘human dimensions’ at a time when the challenges posed by global environmental change are increasing in magnitude, scale and scope. Here, we make the case for a richer conception predicated on broader intellectual engagement and identify some preconditions for its practical fulfilment. Interdisciplinary dialogue, we suggest, should engender plural representations of Earth’s present and future that are reflective of divergent human values and aspirations. In turn, this might insure publics and decision-makers against overly narrow conceptions of what is possible and desirable as they consider the profound questions raised by global environmental change
This paper examines the rise in militarized approaches towards conservation, as part of a new 'war for biodiversity'. This is a key defining moment in the international politics of conservation and needs further interrogation. The claims that rhinos and elephants are under threat from highly organised criminal gangs of poachers shapes and determines conservation practice on the ground. This paper offers a critique of that argument, essentially by asking how we define poachers, and if militarized approaches mean conservationists are more willing to engage in coercive, repressive policies that are ultimately counterproductive. Further, this paper examines how the new war for biodiversity is justified and promoted via reference to wider debates about intervention in a post-Cold War era; notably that the international community has a responsibility towards wildlife, especially endangered species, and that may require military forms of intervention to save them.
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