Dr. Eric Higgs, in Part 2 of his address at the LRIGS lecture, talks about reclamation and restoration principles and practices and the dynamics of change. He thinks our shifts in cultural values towards nature is very important in the dynamics of change. For example, we now talk about "ecosystem services". Dr. Higgs talks about novel and hybrid ecosystems and how their emergence signals new functions and whether we can get historical functions restored.
Dr. Higgs makes the point it is not a choice of either novel ecosystems or historical ecosystems. There are multiple trajectories as landscapes are restored. Whether reclamation can live with that tension is the question as we confront rapid change. History and historical knowledge as an anchor is becoming less reliable. He summarizes the virtues for land reclamation specialists in the future (fidelity, humility, sensitivity, self-restraint, historicity). Connecting people to ecosystems is one of the roles of reclamation science.
Dr. Eric Higgs gave the second lecture in the Land Reclamation International Graduate School (LRIGS) lecture series at the University of Alberta, April 3, 2013. Dr. Eric Higgs is a professor in the School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, British Columbia.
This is part 2 of 2. View part 1 here.
