The EU Water Quality Directive takes a similar approach and refers to
"pristine conditions" as the standard. Not all scientists agree that
pristine conditions are ideal - for example, is it really bad to make a
highly oligotrophic water body more productive? Natural conditions do not
arise from any goal-seeking behavour but can come about by accident. What
about deserts of basaltic rocks left by volcanoes?
And speaking of deserts, how far back should we look to define naural
conditions? It has been suggested that the Sahara was lush and green before
humans overgrazed it. The fires that destroyed the forests of northern
Newfoundland may have been caused by humans or by lightning, we have no way
of determining which. And what about the depradations of our ancestors,
early hominoids who hunted many animals to extinction. If we could bring
back the wooly mammoth, would that enhance or destroy natural conditions?
Aside from issues of ambiguity, I think that referring to any change from
natural conditions as adverse is unrealistic. The idea that we should return
the wheatfields that feed human populations to savannah may be
philosophically intriguing, but it won't happen and we should instead try to
find ways of making the real world function optimally. What the optimum is
poses a difficult set of questions, but natural conditions are not the
answer.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Geoffrey Patton" <gwpatt...@yahoo.com>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 3:09 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] "Natural" systems
It is with deep regret that I am unable to cite the specific reference for
what I am about to write. I have frequently attributed it to John Clark's
Ecosystem Management while knowing that's inaccurate. However, the quote
I've constucted is "Any alteration of the natural situation is, by default,
an adverse effect or change." Paraphrased, Nature took millenia to achieve
the current dynamic balance of plants and animals, predators and prey,
entropy and enthalpy. Any alteration at Man's hand away from the natural
order of things conflicts with the balance and is adverse. Thus, we should
try to our last breath to make things as conducive to nature's way as
possible.
