Conservation: Not by skill alone. The importance of a workable concept in the conservation of nature

Summary

Indonesia has a long history of conservation activity, particularly within its original religious customs (adat), and since the beginning of the twentieth century, it has become institutionalized under colonial rule. From 1969 onwards Indonesia has been provided by the World Wildlife Fund, IUCN, FAO and the Netherlands Development Cooperation (in the form of a Training School). Initiated by the FAO programme, the combined assistance has resulted in the establishment of new conservation areas, and the extension of thoee already existing, and the drafting of management proposals. These activities have initiated an unfortunate shift in the meaning of the conservation concept from a protective to a utilitarian approach, according to theWorld Conservation Strategy. The utilitarian approach is apparently ambiguous, inviting opportunistic interpretations which put a burden on the task of the conservation manager and is likely to result in accelerated destruction of conservation areas. Drawing from the customs of his own culture, the Indonesian manager should know that protection of nature is not a foreign, ‘modern’ concept, and that it complies withadat in a stronger sense than any rights of u tilization a person might claim. A plea is made to IUCN to revise its recent concept of conservation so as to make it serve the survival of nature's diversity rather than politics, and to stress the underlying cause of decline of natural diversity, namely over-population in combination with irresponsible application of advanced technology.