tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post4595964384267916119..comments2024-03-27T11:23:59.903+01:00Comments on Society for Conservation Biology Europe Section: Wood-pastures in Hungary – the herders’ perspectiveBege Jonssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05285161907669574201noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-28668647628180555582012-07-02T01:00:53.809+02:002012-07-02T01:00:53.809+02:00Dear Simon
Thank you very much for your comment! I...Dear Simon<br />Thank you very much for your comment! I am sorry for my late answer, nowadays I do not have a proper internet connection.<br />In May I visited wood pastures in Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. So I am sure you can find some practical and living examples in France! <br />Just in case I send you two interesting French webpage address:<br />http://www.agroforesterie.fr/<br />http://www.agroof.net/<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />Anna VargaAnna Varganoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-26760964224570776492012-06-30T11:54:46.045+02:002012-06-30T11:54:46.045+02:00Hi Barbara,
The base of the transformation that we...Hi Barbara,<br />The base of the transformation that we are all dealing with in one way or another is the inappropriate expectation that personal human returns from activity are somehow different from the returns (value added in financial terms)that are found in the older systems that your group is studying.<br /><br />It is imperative that those who understand the growth curves of natural systems find a way to speak out about the inherent differences we find between the unrestrained compound interest calculations [ fv=pv x (1+i)*n ] and the normal heavily constrained natural growth curves found in all biological systems.<br /><br />Every organism has a growth path that is constrained unless it somehow escapes the normal constraints and takes on the cancerous ability to multiply at will. Invasive plant colonizations are examples of a sector of biology that has escaped the constraint of local pathogens and predators.<br /><br />Today the differences between industrial agriculture and agroforestry must be described as a financial cancer with examples that anyone who cares to can understand.<br /><br />The promise of unrestrained compound interest is that any investor can achieve an infinite return just by holding a savings account long enough to have it go through more than ~twenty doublings.<br /><br />The truth of the matter is that in a finite world if anyone (or any group) has an infinite amount of anything then everyone else has nothing. This is both unfair, impossible and very bad policy. Yet this is the basis for all bank transactions!<br /><br />The connections may seem tenuous but I guarantee that when short term returns are more important than the long term stability of a well constrained natural population you will end up with a cancerous condition which will end itself with the death of the host. We need to understand that the life support systems of our planet are now the "host" that our cancerous financial system is attacking for profit.<br /><br />We must find a way to remove the profit from these irresponsible actions. The only recourse that I have found is to expose the lie that is the promise offered in the compound interest formula [ fv=pv x (1+i)*n ] and demand that a reasonable appropriately constrained system for calculations of returns be required for all official / legal dealings. <br /><br />Your work to describe how these old systems work and the values that come from them is an important part of understanding where the reality stops and the lie of unrestrained growth takes off. The removal of high taxation rates on excessive personal income sought by global investors is one way that the financial community has used to escape these constraints. Replacement of appropriate progressive taxation is one way to resolve this issue , but it is not the only one and the discussion of how personal income relates to the support given by all sectors of life support [mothers, family, community, local ecology / geology / climate,,,] appears to be the place to start. These support systems are “infrastructure” and have a different time horizon than most other normal human activities and are worthy of much different treatment by the sovereign power.Alan Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422638302630819268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-52453799845953053182012-06-30T11:45:04.393+02:002012-06-30T11:45:04.393+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alan Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422638302630819268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-68801969301274504622012-06-30T11:31:29.920+02:002012-06-30T11:31:29.920+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alan Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422638302630819268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-14267842407582618482012-06-29T07:20:26.729+02:002012-06-29T07:20:26.729+02:00Hi Alan
Thank you very much for your comment! (It ...Hi Alan<br />Thank you very much for your comment! (It is important to note that the author of this post was Anna Varga - see her contact in the post.)<br />What you mention is actually the precise challenge many of the traditional landscapes in Europe is facing. Our recent post on a study in Conservation Letters clearly addresses this problem. Incentives for land-use practices should support the maintainance of traditional landscapes - but in many cases, the productivity of that particular landscape is the most important aspect takent into consideration.Barbara Mihokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07351187493765077589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-39968899831442103372012-06-29T07:12:48.818+02:002012-06-29T07:12:48.818+02:00Simon: that is a great idea - I am sure that tradi...Simon: that is a great idea - I am sure that traditional knowledge on e.g. pasturing can be still found in the European landscape. Anna Varga is the author of this post, who is doing actually the research on these very interesting habitats - you can find her email in the post. Looking forward to hear from you about your experiences!Barbara Mihokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07351187493765077589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-53651798498498320692012-06-27T12:48:34.759+02:002012-06-27T12:48:34.759+02:00Hi Barbara,
Growing trees in central New England, ...Hi Barbara,<br />Growing trees in central New England, USA involves working with lands that were treated as you observed as much as 150 years ago. All openings are gone and the "wolf" trees that you show are frequently also gone, but their effect still is apparent.<br /><br />One option for ecological preservation of this type of open space against both encroachment by development and climate change is to try to enhance the productivity of the site for trees and to retain increased amounts of carbon as soil applied charcoal which is chemically recalcitrant (~inert at normal soil temperatures). <br /><br />The question you have not addressed is how does one do this in a money centered economy when the money values do not include the values that come from a particular use? The current Euro crisis is precisely this issue as well since the source of all value has been transferred to private banks rather than the common good of the region that is tapped in traditional ways.<br /><br />The problem that all developed countries face is that the external banks are "miners" of local value and when the value is gone they go someplace else and do the same thing.<br /><br />Good luck with trying to maintain these areas. <br />Alan PageAlan Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422638302630819268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-32565262737730042832012-06-26T15:59:17.258+02:002012-06-26T15:59:17.258+02:00Hello Barbara
What an interesting article. How co...Hello Barbara<br /><br />What an interesting article. How could we do this realistically? We have a 2500 sq metre woodland garden and have been wondering about keeping some sheep. We are in rural France and think it could be great to keep some animals. I would be happy to find out how things happen here in France and maybe write a blog post for your blog<br /><br /><br />Best regards<br /><br />SimonSimon O'Corrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03934926762221771025noreply@blogger.com