People vs. Wildlife A pragmatic approach to environmental decision making

Abstract

The condition of the environment is in a dire shape. All over the world, the natural environment is losing territory and, unfortunately, will continue to do so. More and more conflicting situations of wildlife and humans are arising. With these changing developments humans have an important role for the future and well-being of the planet. Environmental ethics is investigating the right attitude of humans towards nature. This thesis will search for the best theory to effectively come to conclusions for policy concerning natural environments. Based on the examples of the Albertine’s Rift in Africa and the Hedwigepolder in the Netherlands, this thesis aims to prove the worth of a pragmatic approach to environmental decision making. Only with the collaboration of different stakeholders based on agreement and compromise is there a way to find solutions for conflict situations of scarce land and resources. For the sake of the environment it is imperative that humans stick up for values pertaining to the natural environment and that these values are taken into account in policy making decisions.