UNESCO - WHA

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UNESCO - WHA

Postby geoskid » Wed 22 Mar, 2017 8:47 pm

A couple of links to start:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tourism
http://whc.unesco.org/en/managing-natur ... -heritage/.

Lots of reading , but note Universal Natural Values is current, no mention of Wilderness Values - simply because Wilderness is old hat and is recognised as no longer existing
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Re: UNESCO - WHA

Postby geoskid » Wed 22 Mar, 2017 8:56 pm

Never mind. If you want to read it, it is in the first post
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Re: UNESCO - WHA

Postby FootTrack » Wed 22 Mar, 2017 9:54 pm

Has "wilderness" ever existed though? Or is the term little more than a romantic notion? Except for perhaps pre-exploration Antarctica, there are likely few places on Earth that have never felt a human hand. Australia alone is thought to have a 40,000-60,000 year old Aboriginal history, so that is hardly consistent with wilderness ideals of being "untouched". I read this article a little while ago, which I found interesting (https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/hunt-for- ... er-places/)

What are we trying to imply when we use the word?
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Re: UNESCO - WHA

Postby SergeantMcFly » Thu 23 Mar, 2017 7:24 am

As addressed in the article as well, the 'untouched' aspect is just one way to view it. Overall, very enjoyable read even if I disagree with a few of the points, mainly Spearpoint's that wanting the untouched nature is somehow anti-man. I view this more as the phenomenon of discovery, achievement and accomplishment. Reaching places with little visible human impacts seems like an adventure, one that clearly not everyone has done. This ties in with how inclined we are towards hero and expedition stories, ranging from Odyssesus to Douglas Mawson. In many aspects, wilderness is subjective and in the same token, has existed for everyone at some point or another, even if it was just in idea. I've met plenty of people who believe state run camping grounds are the great outdoors and the perfect representation of nature and all that is wild. While we personally may feel different on that, its about place, be it physical or mental and each individual will have varying perspectives on that.

By using the word wilderness, you still conjure the image of something special. A return to form of earlier man and increased natural values, as your livelihood depended on it. Universal Natural Values is a more comprehensive term to view these issues I believe, as it gets closer to the wide understandings and relations people have towards nature, but with that comes the slow removal of wilderness as it also carries implications of the unknown, foreign and alien landscapes. Wild is the antithesis of civilization, and can be seen as standing at odds with our societies as we develop. In many instances of famous expeditions, it was done so to expand boundaries, civilizations and to 'conquer' nature. While I'm still torn on the ideology, perhaps removing 'wilderness' removes the notion of something to be 'against' or to pursue until it is known. Creating and fostering better relations between man and nature is what helps create more environmentalism, as the connections to these places are improved the concepts of preservation, conservation and experiencing are much more relatable and personal then they were before. This will hopefully be achieved by using more inclusive terms such as 'natural values'.
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Re: UNESCO - WHA

Postby LachlanB » Thu 23 Mar, 2017 6:36 pm

I don't think that wilderness has ever meant 'untouched'. I think it just implies an area has been less impacted by human activity than surrounding areas, and doesn't have to exclude a history of human use (be the Indigenous or not). Wilderness is a very real and valuable notion.


However, I do think that the paradigm shift from conservation to sustainability that is suggested in the first link is dangerous. It is the tip of the iceberg of potentially commercialising some of the most precious parts of our planet.
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