Concept Check #7

 The utilitarian approach to environmental conservation emphasizes what key point about
ecosystems and biodiversity?

That we need to assign the proper value to the benefits biodiversity provides to humans

 In “Milking the Rhino”, locals erase footsteps in the sand before new tourists arrive in
order to meet tourists’ expectations. Which of the following concepts we discussed best
explains why they do this?

The myth of wild Africa (i.e. the notion that 'nature' is pristine and untouched)

 In the film, Milking the Rhino, the eco-lodge in Namibia gives 8% of their profits to the
community in exchange for staying on communal land. This illustrates which of the
following problems with community-based conservation (CBC)?

The benefits of CBC are not necessarily distributed equally

 As discussed by Orlove and in class, the key difference between a ‘national park’ and a
‘national reserve’ is one involves _________ while the other does not.

Resource extraction

 According to Orlove, why was the PELT project (“Proyecto Especial Lago Titicaca” i.e.
Special Lake Titicaca Project), which sought to map out the Titicaca region and develop
projects for each mapped zone, problematic? It:

Reflected a top down approach that lacked any sort of local involvement

"there was an evident gap—a top down approach lacking an kind of local participation
and involvement, he sugggested they should speak their native language in meeting and
they didn't think it was important." (s1)

 According to the Reisner reading, "A Semidesert with a Desert Heart," most of the water
in California is used for:

Irrigation

 In Reisner's chapter in, “Cadillac Desert: The American West and its disappearing
water”, what evidence does Reisner use to suggest the long-term sustainability of the
south-western U.S. is precarious?

The lack of survival of desert civilizations into modern times, besides Egypt
 According to lecture, which of the following is NOT part of Hardin's argument
surrounding "tragedy of the commons"? Common pooled resources:

can be sustainably managed by local resource users