A perceptive new paper by Dan Doak and colleagues in the journal TREE (link) critiques the “New Conservation Science” (NCS). NCS is a trend by some scientists and environmental NGOs to prioritize human-centered goals such as ecosystem services, and view as outdated efforts to protect biodiversity for its own sake. The authors conclude that the movement towards NCS is driven by values rather than science:
Despite claims that NCS approaches are supported
by biological and social science, NCS has limited
support from either. Rather, the shift in motivations and
goals associated with NCS appear to arise largely from a
belief system holding that the needs and wants of
humans should be prioritized over any intrinsic or inherent
rights and values of nature.