Wild Hope

As humanity stumbles into the graveyard of climate change, what tune shall we whistle? Andrew Balmford suggests seven possibilities, each based on a successful conservation effort. Balmford traveled the world to examine and report on efforts such as preserving rhinoceroses in Assam, eliminating invasive plants in South Africa, and recovering landscape at Australian mines. The examinations are detailed, covering the problem, the analyses, the resolution, and the consequences. Balmford also spends time with the people involved: the instigators, the participants, the opposition, and often the opposition who became participants.

This review's opening is completely unfair: Wild Hope is about conservation, not climate change (although preserving Ecuadorian fog forests involved a collective action large enough to inspire a little hope, as does, to a lesser extent, the global marine stewardship established to rein in over-fishing). The book also offers jumping off points for philosophical speculation. Preserving a beetle in California’s Central Valley required cages to protect berry bushes from deer and beavers, which made me wonder where conservation ends and cosplay begins. On the other hand, conservationists restoring Dutch wetlands rely only on nature, resulting in some indigenous cattle and horses starving to death during the winter, which agitated animal-rights activists. It could take a century to eliminate invasive plants from South Africa; isn't that a little like dressing now for weather a century from now? If it does make sense, when does conservation turn into nature at that time scale? Balmford doesn’t get too philosophical, but his presentation is clear and even-handed, making these matters apparent, to be picked up by the interested reader.

If you’re reading this before ’21 Oct 1, you can get free copy of Wild Hope as a DRMed e-book from the University of Chicago Press.