What is preservationist ethic?

Answer 1

Preservationist Ethic is a philosophy of Conservation founded by John Muir (1838 - 1914) and his colleagues.

The philosophy was originally founded as a basis for conservation management. Its fundamental view of Nature is that it is God's work and therefore, inherently perfect and has intrinsic value. Therefore, in order to conserve the land, one must keep an ecosystem constant in form and function. To fail to do so is, according to Preservationist Ethic, is a failure to preserve God's work.

This view point, however, was drafted before Scientists recognized the dynamic process of ecosystems, as well as the interconnectedness of natural systems, such that keeping an ecosystem "healthy" isn't as simple as Fencing it off and not touching it. It is still prone to human-induced effects. Therefore, it fell short of modern conservation.

CONSERVATION - is more appropriate and applicable, because it attempts to manage an ecosystem, but with recognition that management is needed and the interconnectedness of systems. It respects an ecosystem as "a collection of evolving relationships among evolving organisms in an evolving world". In short, it recognizes that maintaining an ecosystem is not about not using, or stepping in it.