Peace Parks: Conservation and Conflict Resolution
Published by MIT Press, September, 2007
From the Editor's Preface:
The famed naturalist Aldo Leopold was appointed as the first conservation advisor
to the United Nations soon after the end of World War II. Yet little is known about
Leopold’s mandate for this short-lived position that ended with his death in 1948.
During my days as a student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies, I often passed by an aging photograph of this illustrious alumnus and frequently wondered how to find a confluence between Leopold’s conservation ethic
and conflict resolution. I assumed, perhaps naı¨vely, that the appointment of a conservationist as an advisor to the United Nations would only be to serve the goals of conflict resolution.
As I proceeded through academe, I became increasingly aware that such a confluence
is indeed possible, despite the onslaught of literature that diminishes the salience
of environmental factors in the higher politics of war and peace. In particular,
the possibility of using areas of environmental significance as a common territorial
asset is beginning to show promise in various parts of the world and deserves further
attention.
Endorsements for this book from E.O. Wilson, Achim Steiner and George Schaller can be found on the book's web site at MIT Press:
The famed naturalist Aldo Leopold was appointed as the first conservation advisor
to the United Nations soon after the end of World War II. Yet little is known about
Leopold’s mandate for this short-lived position that ended with his death in 1948.
During my days as a student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies, I often passed by an aging photograph of this illustrious alumnus and frequently wondered how to find a confluence between Leopold’s conservation ethic
and conflict resolution. I assumed, perhaps naı¨vely, that the appointment of a conservationist as an advisor to the United Nations would only be to serve the goals of conflict resolution.
As I proceeded through academe, I became increasingly aware that such a confluence
is indeed possible, despite the onslaught of literature that diminishes the salience
of environmental factors in the higher politics of war and peace. In particular,
the possibility of using areas of environmental significance as a common territorial
asset is beginning to show promise in various parts of the world and deserves further
attention.
Endorsements for this book from E.O. Wilson, Achim Steiner and George Schaller can be found on the book's web site at MIT Press:
