Can nature be restored to a pristine state through deliberate action? Must the preservation of wilderness always subordinate the interests of humans to those of other species? Can indigenous peoples be entrusted with the guardianship of their own wild resources? This collection of international writings tackles tough questions like these as it expands wilderness conservation beyond its American roots. One of the first anthologies to consider wilderness as a global issue, it takes a stand against the notion that wilderness is a northern colonialist conceit and is irrelevant to the plans of third world countries. Contributions from all over the planet— Nepal, Borneo, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, South Africa, India, and the United States— show instead that wilderness has an important place in the environmental thought and policy of any nation, industrial or developing. The World and the Wild boldly advances the idea that our concept of wilderness must expand to take in new vistas. It breaks fresh ground in global environmentalism and is essential reading for anyone concerned with development issues related to conservation. Contents
Foreword: Whither World Wilderness? / Vance G. Martin
Introduction: Wilderness in the Rest of the World / David Rothenberg
How Can Four Trees Make a Jungle? / Pramod Parajuli
The Unpaintable West / Zeese Papanikolas
Restoring Wilderness or Reclaiming Forests? / Sahotra Sarkar
For Indian Wilderness / Philip Cafaro and Monish Verma
In the Dust of Kilimanjaro / David Western
Why Conservation in the Tropics Is Failing / John Terborgh
"Trouble in Paradise": An Exchange / David Western and John Terborgh
Zulu History / Ian Player
Bruno Manser and the Penan / William W. Bevis
Roads Where There Have Long Been Trails / Kathleen Harrison
Volcano Dreams / Tom Vanderbilt
Recycled Rain Forest Myths / Antonio Carlos Diegues
The Park of Ten Thousand Waterfalls / Dan Imhoff
Mapping the Wild / Edward A. Whitesell
Earth Jazz / Evan Eisenberg
They Trampled on Our Taboos / Damien Arabagali

David Rothenberg is Associate Professor of philosophy at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is the author of Hand’s End: Technology and the Limits of Nature and Is It Painful to Think? Conversations with Arne Naess, and editor of the award-winning journal Terra Nova: Nature and Culture.

Selected as one of the best environmental books for 2001 by planeta.com"Usually, debates about wilderness include the voices of development interests and 'traditional' preservation advocates, with the recent addition of conservation biologists. In this highly recommended, readable collection, many other kinds of voices prove that wilderness is not merely an American concept; that the concept needs expanding, perhaps exploding; that past debates have been too narrow, incomplete." —Choice"When it comes to writings on wilderness, this is refreshing, engaging, and humbling. . . . crucial for those interested in issues of conservation, sustainability, the wild, creatures, and international development." —Parabola"The diverse and unique focus of this book make it an essential read for those involved or interested in conservation and development of wildlands and resources." —Electronic Green Journal"For the unconverted, it serves as an introduction to the range of thought and approaches to environmental philosophy and environmental management, and thus will expland the concept(s) of wilderness for some. As a bonus, it happens to be very well written." —Environments