I agree that the Dutch example is well worth investigating. Would that there were even serious discusions of such management back home in the US (where Congress is instead talking about removing restrictions so the plundering can begin!). I would suggest two concerns about the implementation in The Netherlands that may also apply to other places. 1. There is a ground swell of support for 'nature development,' the creation or reclaimation of areas to a 'natural' state. In flood plains, for instance, this activity will include extensive excavations of river deposited clay. In planning this process there has been little effort to consider the impacts on historical archives which reside in these strata. This area has been densely inhabited and intensively used for a very long time and this history is archived in the earth. Digging it up distroys this archive. There does not appear to be any systematic attempt to document this archive as it is being removed. So in this enthusiasm there is significant (potential) loss of historical knowledge. Must the decision be _either_ nature _or_ history? Are we not responsible for both? 2. As with all nature management, there is a kind of 'hubris' that the 'facts' and 'figures' are acurate and valid. When one talks to the makers of the models, they understand that they are modeling the 'potential' for some critter, say badger. However, in practice it gets translated into 'this is the area we need to maintain badger' -- but who knows, it is just a model. I think that this is a general criticism of natural resource managment in general. For instance, most forest plans assume that whatever their proposal for establishing regeneration will work and do not have a backup when it fails. To give the Dutch researchers their due, there is significant interest in monitoring the progress of nature development. However, I am concerned that the political interest will wane and it will be severly cut back. 'Thacherism' did not disappear with Margaret and Ronald. I make both these comments in the context of an overwhelming respect for the quality of Dutch research and implementation in these areas. I can only hope to do half as well in the US context. Jim Palmer, on sabattical at the Staring Centre, Wageningen. Normally at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
Mail converted by
MHonArc 1.1.0