I think that a main challenge in managing shared urban - wild spaces is the lack of knowledge or lack of awareness of the people inhabiting and sharing the space. In shared areas it is almost a certainty that some of the inhabitants will be unaware, uneducated or naive towards problems that are occurring and arising. This creates a huge problem because these same people are ones who are able to best improve and fix the situation so if there is not a way for them to be informed it or contribute it will create loop where more problems arise and current problems worsen. If I were a manager of an area facing these problems, I would push to provide more places, areas and opportunities for education outreach and for people to get more informed on the current situation. If you don't know that a problem is occurring than there's no way that the problem will be fixed or resolved so I think having a way to affectively spread information and educate others is key.
With regards to paring our desire to be among wilderness and natural resources with the requirements for protecting habitats I have a very mixed and conflicting viewpoints. On one hand I am a believer in natural selection and think that we should stay away from natural habitats, letting them be and try to have as little influence as possible however I think the opportunity for this to be an option is too far gone. Humans have already had too much of an impact on natural areas and affected them in negative ways that if we leave them alone negative outcomes will only continue to increase. With this being said I think it is also important to limit the influences we have. It may sound blunt, but some species are not meant to continue being around anymore and no matter how charismatic some may be not all of them are worth the time effort and resources of protecting them. These situations beg the question when are we doing too much for a single species as we spend money and alter environment to save a single species that overall may not have any net benefit but to increase biodiversity by one species. Not to mention the process of saving it may cause several others in the same ecosystem to suffer, as well as the time and resources spent that could be put into something else.
A different conflicting viewpoint to all of this however is that we as humans are part of the natural selection process and therefore whatever we do is valid as we are part of the cycle. This philosophy I am not a fan of as overtime humans have lost many of the aspects that go into the natural selection process that are still evident in the wild and therefore should be looked upon as separate. With all of these conflicting ideals and philosophy's it becomes impossible to find a solution. Refocusing on the question of pairing desires and protection I think there are also benefits to enjoying nature and its influence on people improving health and education, so it is important that it not be left alone. Even with the benefits nature provides there is a breaking point in my opinion, leading me to the conclusion that it necessary for us to find the "Sweet spot" between enjoying nature, using it for resources, education etc. and exploiting it however with underlying issues such as tragedy of the commons this point most likely will never be reached.
Picture Source:YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAM, https://www.commongroundrelief.org/wetlands-programs/youth-environmental-education-outreach/.
Hi Patrick! I enjoyed reading your post about finding a balance between conservation and recreation. I agree with your idea that there should be more educational opportunities that allow people to interact and understand more about their natural surroundings. However, targeting youth participants might have a greater effect than targeting adults because sometimes it's hard for them to change their ways of life. I also like your idea of finding a "sweet spot" for the balance between conservation and nature enjoyment. Are there any other challenges rather than a lack of education that might contribute to a tragedy of the commons scenario?
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