Ecologists and Ethical Judgements

How we see the world - our attitudes and assumptions about it - profoundly affect the way we deal with it. This book is written by an interdisciplinary team of ecologists, nature conservationalists and environmental philosophers. It seeks to make the connection between the theoretical approaches to the valuation of the natural world and how that works in practice. It provides insights into resolving difficult decisions in the context of conservation priority setting. It has been written primarily for the practising environmental scientist but is also useful for the professional environmental philosopher. It is also designed as a supplementary text for students on environmental science courses (for example ecology, nature conservation, wildlife management) and those interested in environmental issues in a social science context (for example environmental philosophy, science policy, theology). Based on papers given at the recent INTECOL congress in Manchester, the chapters of this book are also being published as a special issue of the journal "Biodiversity and Conservation". This book should be of interest to ecologists, environmental scientists, environmental ethicists, conservation scientists, wildlife managers, NGO experts in conservation and environmental lobby groups.