October 5th, 2010
From Green Right Now Reports
What to do if a species seems doomed to extinction in the face of climate change? How about an assisted change of scenery?
In the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Ecological Applications, Arizona State environmental ethicist Ben Minteer and ecologist James P. Collins take a look at Managed Relocation, otherwise known as Assisted Colonization, Assisted Migration and Assisted Translocation.
Whatever you call it, the process involves the physical relocation of endangered or threatened species of plants and animals, by humans, to new geographical locations.
“New approaches to conservation, such as MR mean the need for a new ‘ecological ethics’ geared toward problem-solving in ecological research and policy,” says Minteer. “Beyond asking ‘should’ we do it, there’s the more pragmatic ethical question: what separates a ‘good’ from a ‘bad’ MR activity?”