Are parks a force for good? We asked Sierra Dakin Kuiper, a socio-cultural anthropologist who focused her Masters research on the social impact of large landscape conservation in North America. Sierra grew up near, and worked for, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in southern Alberta and knows better than most the power and pitfalls of parks in an increasingly divided society. And her findings, which she’s presented at Tedx Talks and at academic conferences, offer a glimpse into conservation consultation and underscore the challenges of bridging differing perspectives in land-use decision making processes.
A former senior associate at Waxman’s Strategies and currently is the senior manager at Foundation and Donor Relationships, Environmental Law Institute, Sierra took the time to speak with Nature Labs by Skype.
What do you think?
- Do you think parks are a force for good? Or are they problematic?
- Do we, as a country, do meaningful consultation well? Do we need to do it better?
- Is it now a necessity to look at issues holistically: land and people, social justice and the environment, economic development and conservation?
- Will this approach lead to better compromises and more broad-based support, or simply watered-down solutions?
- How can we perfect flawed processes without losing good ideas that might yield important, positive results? Or, in other words, how do we ensure perfect doesn’t become the enemy of good?