Environmental studies and ecological sustainability - Assignment Example

Environmental Studies: Response Paper Article This article features the work of three authors writing on the issue of environmental studies for the Rangeland Journal. The first author, Cameron Muir, is a lecturer at Fenner School of Environment and Society in Australian National University. Deborah Rose works for the Center for research on Social Inclusion at the Australian Macquarie University. The article’s third author, Phillip Sullivan, works for the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the Department of Environment, at Oxley Street, Bourke. Throughout their writing, the authors focus on the aspect of indigenous knowledge concerning ecological preservation, and the trends adopted on the same aspect in modern perspectives. Some of the key words used by the authors are Aboriginal people in the society. In this context, the authors present the Aboriginal people as members of the society living along Darling River in the Bourke region of NWS, Australia (Muir, Deborah and Sullivan 261). The paper highlights the role played by Aboriginal people in appreciating the similarities that existed between social relationship and ecological relationship in their undertakings. Indigenous knowledge, also referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge, features as another dominant phrase within the paper. The authors acknowledge the resourcefulness of indigenous knowledge in approaching the issue of environmental management. In addition, the authors mentions the term Western-culture on several occasions. Western culture manifests substantially in the concept of Western ecological theory, which was widely employed in environmental management during the 20TH century. The main themes include the element of place and time in constituting environmental management knowledge. Apparently, the Aboriginal people took into consideration the importance of place in developing their indigenous knowledge on ecology. The authors assert that these people derived their ecological relationship principles by recognizing the influence of the variable and complex lowland river ecology of the Darling River system around their habitat (Muir, Deborah and Sullivan 262). One area of interest is when the writers develop a contrast on the aspect of place between western cultures and that adopted within the indigenous knowledge. It creates a distinction between western theories and indigenous principles. In addition, another theme that develops within the text regards human conflict of interest and ecological management. Based on principles adopted by indigenous knowledge, specifically the Aboriginal people of Australia, the state of environment reflect the nature of human beings living within that eco-system (Muir, Deborah and Sullivan 264). This theme extrapolates the connection between social and ecological system within any given society. Article 2 Janis Alcorn and Antoinette Royo are the primary authors of the articles on a reputable social movement of the Dayak village in Indonesia. Both authors work for Washington’s Biodiversity Support Program. The program, which is supported by numerous non-profit organizations including USAID, deals with programs aimed at addressing challenges facing the world’s biological diversity. The body seeks to create awareness on environmental issues concerning natural resources and its state with respect to human encroachment and exploitation. The authors publish research works from different sources covering on the role played by self-motivated social movements in addressing ecological requirements. One of the keywords featuring in the text is social movement. Janis Alcorn acknowledges the force exerted by social movements in counteracting a degrading ecological system within their habitat. The author focus on an objectively structured indigenous organization witnessed among the Dayak people of Indonesia. Dayak’s social movement aimed at supplementing defense mechanisms meant to counter the effects of erosion of ecological resilience (Alcorn and Royo 34). Social movements within the Indonesian society address the influence of new technologies and globalization on their local ecosystems. Another keyword within the text is “Adat”. According to the authors, Adat refers to some collective beliefs and practices shared by members of an indigenous society prior to influence from colonial or post-colonial forces (Alcorn and Royo 28). Adat principles bounds members of any given society to some predetermined responsibilities relating to ecological relationship. In this case, failure to incline one’s actions towards Adat practices calls for punitive actions. Typical punitive actions arising from non-compliance to Adat include Adat fines, among others. Another phrase, political turbulence, features during the implementation of Adat principles in modern societies. Within Dayak society, there is a pronounced influence by national governance in Adat implementation. One interesting theme within the text involves collective social responsibility of ensuring ecological conservation. The case of Dayak illustrates the extent to which a determined society stretches its limits in ensuring ecological resilience in their ecosystem. People living within Dayak village ensured existence of a structured administration mean to oversee adoption of social practices in environmental conservation. All legible members of Dayak society, together with the national government support, elected an Adat leader adapted from one generation to another (Alcorn and Royo 58). Article 3 Karl Sveiby publishes his work for a national journal on the issue of Aboriginal principles and sustainable development. The author is a professor of Knowledge Management at Hanken School of Economics. Karl acknowledges the role of traditional knowledge in developing sustainable mechanisms for environmental studies. The author highlights the intersection between ideas of modern industrial societies and those adopted by indigenous societies in sustainability management. Karl postulates that modern societies should learn from Aboriginal people on issues regarding to social and economical sustainability. Aboriginal people still features as one of the key words in Karl’s text. However, Karl refers to the principles adopted by the Nhunggabarra people of Australia. In this context, Nhunggabarra people are known to adopt an effective sustainability model in managing their economic and social aspects of the society (Sveiby 7). Another dominant keyword is sustainable development, commonly abbreviated as SD. This phrase refers to the ability of a society to meet their present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their subsequent needs. Ecological sustainability features as an interesting theme throughout the article. The author extrapolates his ideas by highlighting sections constituting ecological sustainability in both indigenous and modern societies. Such sections include dichotomies like weak versus strong sustainable development and holism versus fragmentation dichotomy in sustainable development. With respect to the Aboriginal people of Australia, ecological sustainability remained one of their key principles in life. Nhunggabarra emphasized that humanity should ensure maintenance of all forms of life within their immediate ecosystem. Every member of their society was charged with the responsibility of ensuring implementation of a “keep all alive” mission in social undertakings (Sveiby 51). In this regard, ecological sustainability features as a fully developed theme in the article. Works Cited Alcorn, Janis B. and Antoinette G. Royo, eds. Indigenous Social Movements and Ecological Resilience: Lessons from the Dayak of Indonesia. Washington, DC: Biodiversity Support Program, 2000. Print Karl-Erick Sveiby. Aboriginal Principles For Sustainable Development: As Told in Traditional Law Stories. Journal of Sustainable Development, 2009, 17, 1-27. Print Muir, Deborah and Sullivan Phillip. From the other side of the knowledge frontier: Indigenous knowledge, social–ecological relationships and new perspectives. New York: CSIRO Publishing. The Rangeland Journal, 2010, 32, 259–265. Print Read More