Evolving values of wilderness in the Age of Extinction

Title
Evolving values of wilderness in the Age of Extinction
Publication Date
2021
Author(s)
Bible, Vanessa
Howard, Tanya
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2837-8529
Email: thoward9@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:thoward9
Editor
Editor(s): Robyn Bartel, Marty Branagan, Fiona Utley and Stephen Harris
Type of document
Book Chapter
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Routledge
Place of publication
London, United Kingdom
Edition
1
Series
Routledge Studies in Conservation and the Environment
DOI
10.4324/9780429299025-4
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/53115
Abstract

In the epoch of the Anthropocene, faced as we are by unprecedented global environmental change, the word 'wilderness' can no longer be used without an interrogation of all that it implies. This chapter investigates the notion of wilderness through an environmental humanities lens, querying whether notions of wilderness are still relevant, and how this might influence and inform environmental campaigning in Australia, and beyond. This chapter interrogates the concept of wilderness within the context of forestry and community action in the north-eastern New South Wales region, which has been an exemplar of shifting and changing understandings of wilderness. These experiences illustrate that striving for environmental values has the potential to connect individuals to each other through shared experience, building community in the face of a perceived threat. We argue that defining and redefining wilderness values is necessary for each new generation, and consider how rights to protest and rights for nature might inform a common and shared understanding of wilderness values. As the Age of Extinction is declared and humanity faces the reality that no part of the globe has been left untouched by human influence, we ask: what does the wilderness in the Age of Extinction look like?

Link
Citation
Rethinking Wilderness and the Wild: Conflict, Conservation and Co-existence, p. 31-49
ISBN
9780429299025
9780367615901
Start page
31
End page
49

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