Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life

In Chapter 10, Wilson turns his focus to true conservation science, which is not anti-humanity, as some new conservationists suggest. In fact, many leading conservation organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the Nature Conservancy, have developed policies that “bring humanity to center stage” (84), including efforts to provide healthcare and economic support to people living in and near nature reserves. 

A critical part of conservation science is understanding ecosystems. Wilson describes the case of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is one of the best-studied nature reserves in the United States. The number of species within the park is between 60,000 and 80,000. The park consists of “specialized organisms braided and woven together” (88), like any other ecosystem. Extinctions cause ripples throughout the entire ecosystem, potentially leading to its collapse. According to Wilson, the study of ecosystems is in its infancy, yet this field is critical to saving the planet’s biodiversity. Wilson closes the chapter by emphasizing that the only way to “give the rest of Earth’s life a chance” is to study and discuss its ecosystems and avoid “quick fixes” that will likely do more harm than good to biodiversity (89).