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SUMMARY:No Going Back: The Scientific and Political Ethics of Ecological N
 ovelty - Professor Paul Robbins\, International Fellow\, from University o
 f Wisconsin-Madison
DTSTART:20140213T163000Z
DTEND:20140213T180000Z
UID:TALK47450@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jasper Montana
DESCRIPTION:This presentation argues that Ecological Novelty\, a condition
  where new species and mixes of species come to form persistent communitie
 s with no precedent\, holds unavoidable implications for science. It argue
 s that the “Edenic” sciences focusing on these ecologies— conservati
 on biology\, invasion biology/ecology\, and restoration ecology—though e
 xtremely valuable\, are inherently political. Though this has always been 
 the case\, the rapid changes in environments around us have made the polit
 ical implications of these sciences harder to ignore or disguise. As such\
 , these fields will necessarily need to evolve an ethical procedure to adj
 udicate between ecological interventions\, rather than depending on restor
 ative or originary criteria. Further\, the evolution of these criteria and
  standards will necessarily be rooted in principles that come to terms wit
 h the political implications and character of scientists and scientific pr
 actice within broader diverse publics. The presentation concludes with a b
 rief puzzle for consideration: the ethics of producing and managing biodiv
 ersity in the economically productive plantation landscapes of labor-scarc
 e rural India.
LOCATION:Small Lecture Theatre\, Department of Geography\, Downing Site
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