Book Reviews

Collaborating for a Shared Purpose

Refounding Environmental Ethics: Pragmatism,Principle, and Practice. Minteer, B. A. 2012. TempleUniversity Press, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. 198 pp. $28(paperback). ISBN 978-1-4399-0084-0.

Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements andthe Politics of the Environment. Johnston, L. F. 2013.Equinox Publishing, Sheffield, U.K. 283 pp. $30 (paper-back). ISBN 978-1-908049-82-7.

Sacred Species and Sites: Advances in Biocul-tural Conservation. Pungetti, G., G. Oviedo, and D.Hooke, editors. 2012. Cambridge University Press, NewYork, U.S.A. 472 pp. $64 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-521-12575-8.

The benefits of collaborative approaches to addressingecological problems from multi-disciplinary perspectiveshave been explored in recent academic publications,and studies of religious groups demonstrate their eager-ness to be scientifically well informed when advocatingthe resolution of problems from their faith perspectives(Schaefer 2014). Underscoring this trend, the Society forConservation Biology recently initiated the Religion andConservation Research Collaborative to investigate issuesthat require involvement of both communities and sub-sequently established the Religion and Conservation Bi-ology Working Group to collaborate with religious com-munities in areas where problems are occurring.

Ben Minteer, associate professor of EnvironmentalEthics and Policy at Arizona State University, enters thisdiscussion critical of the field of environmental ethicsfor turning inward theoretically instead of focusing onproblems that need to be resolved. In Refounding Envi-ronmental Ethics, Minteer draws on the social sciencesand especially on the conception of democracy profferedby John Dewey, the philosopher, psychologist, and edu-cational reformer, to identify a pragmatic philosophicalapproach that attempts to accomplish the original goal ofthe environmental ethics field—to help people recognizetheir environmental values and their choices as moralagents within the community of Earth.

In nine chapters, Minteer makes an impressive case forreorganizing environmental ethics as a branch of appliedphilosophy. Beginning with a historical overview of thefield of environmental ethics, which he describes as hav-ing become “arid theorizing and parochial” (p. 11), he ar-gues for an empirical, dynamic, adaptive, and integrativeproblem-solving approach. He proceeds in subsequent

chapters to justify democratic life as an essential condi-tion for intelligent problem solving and to specify interestamong members of the public as a prerequisite for mak-ing and acting on policy. He reviews non-anthropocentricvalue theories (e.g., intrinsic valuing) but favors Dewey’sunderstanding of “natural piety” (a posture of humilitytoward other living and inanimate entities with whomhumans constitute Earth), which does not require be-coming entrenched in mere theorizing. Turning to animalrights theories, he examines the conflict between holisticenvironmental ethics and individualistic animal rights ap-proaches, which have resulted in intellectual stalemates,and advocates a move toward dispute resolution and con-sensus building. He advances several pragmatist tenets,including the inclusion of many views when addressingan environmental problem, consideration of its naturalcontext, and the use of social and natural science meth-ods for understanding and analyzing the problem froman ethical perspective.

Minteer concludes his monograph by pointing to theneed for a new model of conservation policy and actionthat is necessary to address problems that have globalramifications (e.g., climate change). Because traditionalpreservationist arguments for saving species and wilder-ness areas will become increasingly untenable as environ-mental change occurs, a view other ethicists share (e.g.,Sandler 2012), he proffers a model that is inclusive of in-terests and perspectives and that is relativistic, dynamic,and builds toward consensus. He is hopeful that this newmodel will guide decision making and restrain destructivehuman behavior. His model may achieve these goals ifsome rules of involvement and engagement are estab-lished, if scientific and other pertinent information ismade readily available and understandable to the partiesinvolved, if their views (including the faith-based under-pinnings that motivate their involvement) are respected,and if a skillful dispute-resolution practitioner facilitatesthe discussion.

Lucas Johnston looks at religious groups that are col-laborating under the widely used but variously groundedand nuanced term sustainability. In Religion and Sus-tainability: Social Movements and the Politics of theEnvironment, the assistant professor of Religion andEnvironmental Studies at Wake Forest University turnsto secular, religious, and interfaith communities to ex-plore their specific definitions of sustainability, theirgoals, and their advocacy practices. He concludes thatsustainability cannot be described as a concrete goal to beachieved. Instead, he insists persuasively that sustainabil-ity is “a conceptual device” for connecting community

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values, strategizing, and positing “an ideal state towardwhich political processes, exchange activities, and socialformations move” (p. 25).

Johnston presents his subject in 10 chapters dividedinto 3 sections. In the first section, he demonstrates themodel he developed for investigating the role of religionin social movements. Based on his investigation of reli-gious groups, he illustrates the religious dimensions ofthe concept that motivate and guide members to actindividually and collectively in their communities. Sus-tainability becomes “a contagious meme” (p. 31) thatcaptures the faith-based appeal of the concept throughwhich the groups express their values. His historical re-view of contributions that religious leaders and groupshave made to public discourse on sustainability issuesis informative and perceptive. Especially insightful is hisdiscussion of the emotive and spiritual language usedby faith-based advocacy groups (e.g., relationality andinterconnection) which correspond with language usedby social scientists.

Particularly impressive in Johnston’s concluding sec-tion are his explanations of the ethnographic data derivedfrom his investigations when observing participants, in-terviewing them informally, and conducting 25 in-depthinterviews of leaders who represent religious, interfaith,and secular non-governmental organizations that focus onsustainability issues. He carefully identifies the commonthreads that run through these diverse groups and pointsto core values expressed by their members that motivatetheir collaboration.

Recognizing the importance of collaborating with reli-gious communities to protect sites that have both sacredand biological diversity significance, Gloria Pungetti (Re-search Director of the Cambridge Centre for Landscapeand People), Gonzalo Oviedo (Senior Advisor for SocialPolicy at the International Union for Conservation of Na-ture), and Della Hooke (honorary fellow at the Institutefor Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences atthe University of Birmingham) compiled and edited 28essays that comprise Sacred Species and Sites: Advancesin Biocultural Conservation. Their efforts follow the bio-cultural diversity movement affirmed by the IUCN WorldConservation Congress in Barcelona in 2008 and the pub-lication in 2010 of Biocultural Diversity Conservation: AGlobal Sourcebook (Maffi & Woodley 2010) that linkedcultures to ecosystems.

Four well-researched essays appear in each of the sevenparts of Sacred Species and Sites. Beginning with a theo-retical preamble to valuing biocultural diversity and cur-rent directions in biocultural diversity conservation, theessays in the first part explore spiritual values and con-servation practices among indigenous peoples of SouthAmerica, varied management strategies at sacred sites inprotected areas around the world, protected areas andsacred lands and waters that have much in common, the

spiritual role of waters in some ancient traditions, and therelatedness of these topics to Christian and pagan sites.Essays in subsequent parts of this exemplary anthologyexplore the spiritual value of various types of landscapesin Italy and England; the bonds between sacred sites andindigenous peoples in South America and New Zealandwho are striving to live sustainably; the role of taboos andtraditional beliefs in aquatic conservation in Madagascar;sacred species of national marine sanctuaries of the WestCoast of the United States; sacred animals (lizards forthe Maori in New Zealand, pheasants for Sichuanese inChina, and bears for ethnic groups in Russia); and sacredtrees in India, Ghana, and ancient England. Through-out these sections, many pictures and graphics facilitateunderstanding.

The essays in the final part convey enthusiasm for man-agement strategies that recognize and build on the linksbetween conservation biology goals and cultural values.Study projects are underway throughout the world toassess possibilities for collaborative strategies that con-serve biocultural diversity. An added bonus is informa-tion on how indigenous societies use natural sourcesprudently and with restraint in their daily lives. Thoughthe authors are optimistic about biocultural diversityconservation, some expressed concern that youngermembers of indigenous societies may no longer sub-scribe to traditional practices and rituals through whichtheir values are conveyed, that migrants will changethe social fabric of their cultures as the global climatechanges, and that cultural values will become lost aspeople are forced to move from places they considersacred.

Like Minteer, several essayists underscore the need fora democratic decision-making process that involves allrelevant religious, indigenous, and conservation commu-nities. The authors also point to the need for encour-aging indigenous and religious communities to educatetheir youth about their traditions of valuing their sacredspecies and places and about their rituals through whichthey show their values so they can be passed on to futuregenerations. The insight in this section and findings thatare shared astutely in all other essays should inspire abroad research agenda for the emerging field of biocul-tural diversity conservation.

Together, these three books point to the increased like-lihood of achieving mutual goals when diverse commu-nities genuinely collaborate to address shared ecologicalproblems. All should be added to academic libraries andmade available to students seeking degrees in environ-mental studies, science, and ethics.

Jame Schaefer

Department of Theology, Marquette University, Marquette Hall 329,1217 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA, email schae-ferj@marquette.edu

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Literature CitedMaffi, L., and E. Woodley. 2010. Biocultural diversity conservation: a

global sourcebook. Earthscan, Washington, D.C.Sandler, R. L. 2012. The ethics of species: an introduction. Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.Schaefer, J. 2014. Religious motivation for mitigating human-forced

climate change: scientifically informed, politically astute, and col-laborative. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies andManagement 6(1):34–46.

Noted with Interest

Conservation Biology: Voices from the Tropics.Sodhi, N. S., L. Gibson, and P. H. Raven, editors. 2013.John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K. 264 pp. £34.99(hardcover). ISBN 978–0–470–65863–5.

Navjot Sodhi, one of the world’s most prominent con-servation biologists, passed away in 2011: far too early.This book is a tribute to him written by his colleagues.Fittingly, it tells the story of Navjot’s legacy but does soindirectly by giving voice to those he likely influencedmost: conservationists who work, live, and conduct re-search in more than 20 countries in the tropics. Thiscollection of their hard-won experiences in conservationextends beyond science to the social challenges in thatvast region. It argues cogently that conservation practicesmust be truly integrative and participatory if they are tosucceed. Highlighted cases are wide ranging, provocativequestions are posed in short, punchy, chapters, and bothsuccesses and failures are well represented. This book isa rich, sobering, and thought-provoking snapshot of thestate and challenges of tropical conservation.

Our Once and Future Planet: Restoring the Worldin the Climate Change Century. Woodworth, P. 2013.The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, U.S.A. 515pp. $35.00 (hardback). ISBN 978–0–226–90739–0.

Woodworth is a seasoned investigative journalist whotransfers his experience writing about human conflict tothe field of restoration ecology. This is not a technicalanalysis; rather, it is an insightful reflection on the sci-ence, practices, and controversies of a new disciplinein flux. The book is extraordinarily readable and drawson a broad collection of both obvious and paradoxicalcase studies of restoration worldwide. Anyone involvedin restoration, or who thinks about its central task (whichwould include most readers of this journal), would ben-efit from the observations and conclusions drawn inthis “outsider’s view” of where ecological restoration isgoing.

Biogeography of Australasia: A Molecular Analysis.Heads, M. J. 2014. Cambridge University Press, NY, U.S.A.493 pp. $112.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978–1–107–04102–8.

Australasia’s unique biota has long fascinated scien-tists. Heads summarizes and assesses the state of knowl-edge about the distribution of the region’s flora andfauna through molecular research and application of theapproach of panbiogeography (i.e., integrating plant andanimal geography with geology to produce a spatial ac-count of the history of species distributions). The bookbegins with a comprehensive introduction to conceptsin molecular evolutionary studies (complemented witha clear glossary) and then proceeds geographically, de-scribing taxonomic patterns and histories of differentlocales throughout the region. This book is certainlyreadable for a non-specialist, but the detail in the place-specific content will make it of much greater interest toreaders looking for specific information about the regionitself.

The Chicago Guide to Writing about MultivariateAnalysis. 2nd edition Miller, J. E. 2013. The Universityof Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, U.S.A. 553 pp., $45.00(paperback). ISBN 978–0–226–52787–1.

This is not a statistics text, nor a general guide onhow to write. Rather, it is a specialized book for thosewho must present complex quantitative information thatlikely requires extensive explanation. The book beginswith basic principles and common tasks (e.g. creating fig-ures and tables) but covers very specific topics too, suchas event history analysis and hierarchical linear models.Miller is an accomplished author on the topic of commu-nicating science, and the evident care and detail in thisvery practical book clearly shows why. If you work withmultivariate techniques and publish your findings, youwill appreciate this guide.

The Politics of Species: Reshaping Our Relation-ships with Other Animals. Corbey, R., and A. Lanjouw,editors. 2013. Cambridge University Press, NY, U.S.A. 295pp. $103.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978–1–107–03260–6.

This is a provocative book, challenging establishedideas about appropriate human-animal relationships ona number of fronts. It is organized as an edited collec-tion of essays on three inter-related topics: moving be-yond “speciesism” (a term with more definitions thanI would have guessed), sentience and agency in ani-mals, and exploration of diverse undertakings towardrespectful coexistence between humans and other ani-mals. Although there is a wealth of thought-provokingcontent in this book, it becomes clear that indigenousconceptions of human-animal relationships are highlyinstructive, and this topic could have been exploredfurther.

Conservation BiologyVolume 28, No. 4, 2014