TheCaseAgainstSpeciesRevivalbyStuartPimm(adaptedfromNationalGeographic)

Conservation of species still alive should take precedence

Thespottedowl'shabitatisthreatenedbytheloggingofoldgrowthforestsanindustrythathaslawmakers
inquiringaboutmorehightechmeasurestosavethebirdsinanefforttojustifymoredeforestation.

Deextinctionintendstoresurrectsingle,charismaticspecies,yetmillionsofspeciesareatriskof
extinction.Deextinctioncanonlybeansmallpartofsolvingthecrisisthatnowseesspeciesof
animals(somelargebutmosttiny),plants,fungi,andmicrobesgoingextinctatathousandtimestheir
naturalrates.

WhereDoWePutThem?
Thoseofuswhoattempttoreintroducezoobredspeciesthathavegoneextinctinthewildhaveone
questionatthetopofourlist:Wheredoweputthem?Huntersatetheibex(atypeofwildgoat)to
extinction.Reintroducearesurrectedibextotheareawhereitbelongsanditwillagainbecomea
desiredcommodity.

"Butwait"claimdeextinction'sproponents."WewanttoresurrectpassengerpigeonsandPyrenean
ibex,notdinosaurs.Surely,theplantsonwhichtheseanimalsdependstillsurvive,sothereisno
needtoresurrectthemaswell!"Yes,thesetofplantsaliveacenturyorsoagowhenthepassenger
pigeonwentextinctareprobablystillhere.Isthepigeon'shabitatintact?Surelynot:Thelanduse
changessincethenhavebeenfartooextensive.

WhySaveSpeciesIfWeCanJustBringThemBackLater?
Deextinctionismuchworsethanawaste:Bysettinguptheexpectationthatbiotechnologycanrepair
thedamagewe'redoingtotheplanet'sbiodiversity,it'sextremelyharmfulfortwokindsofpolitical
reasons.

Fantasiesofreclaimingextinctspeciesarealways
seductive.Itisafantasythatrealscientiststhose
wearingwhitelabcoatsareusingfancymachines
withknobsanddigitalreadoutstosavetheplanet
fromhumanity'sexcesses.Inthisfantasy,thereis
nothinginvolvingtherealworldrealitiesofhabitat
destruction,oftheinherentconflictbetweengrowing
humanpopulationsandwildlifesurvival.Whyworry
aboutendangeredspecies?Wecansimplykeep
theirDNAandputthembackinthewildlater.

WhenItestifybeforeCongressonendangeredspecies,I'malwaysasked,"Can'twesafelyreduce
thespottedowltosmallnumbers,keepingsomeincaptivityasinsurance?"Themeaningisclear:
"Let'slogoutalmostallofwesternNorthAmerica'soldgrowthforestsbecause,ifwecansave
specieswithhightechsolutions,theforestdoesn'tmatter."

HowAreWeSpendingResearchMoney?
Thesecondpoliticalprobleminvolvesresearchpriorities.Toomanyuniversitiesequateexcellence
withfundsgenerated,notwithsocietalneedsmet.Overmycareer,molecularbiologistsflourishedas
universityadministratorsdrooledovertheirlargegrantsandtheirexpensivelabs.Fieldbasedbiology
withered.Manyotherwiseprominentuniversitieshavenoschoolsoftheenvironment,noecology
departments,noprofessorsofconservation.Itwasalltooeasytoequate"biology"withmolecules
andstripfacultypositionsandfacilitiesfromthosewhoworkedinthefield.Deextinctioneffortscan
onlyperpetuatethattrend.

Conservationisabouttheecosystemsthatspeciesdefineandonwhichtheydepend.Conservationis
aboutfindingalternative,sustainablefuturesforpeoples,forforests,andforwetlands.Deextinction
simplydoesnotaddressthesecoreproblems.Atworst,itseducesgrantingagenciesanduniversity
deansintothinkingtheyaresavingtheworld.Itgivesunscrupulousdevelopersaveiltohidetheir
destruction,withpromisestofixthingslater.Itdistractsusfromguaranteeingourplanet'sbiodiversity
forfuturegenerations.