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Do you really think that dirt poor countries are better at preserving wildlife than countries where people do not starve to death, die from diarrhea or burn eve

Do you really think that dirt poor countries are better at preserving wildlife than countries where people do not starve to death, die from diarrhea or burn every bush within reach for firewood? I think it depends a lot on what any growth is based on. If I understand this report correctly, their definition of economic complexity ranks countries with varied exports a lot higher than single minded commodities exporters. A Kenyan drug or machinery maker is unlikely to hurt wildlife much.

littletimmy 11y ago
Well, I look at it from the perspective of history. Wherever modern human development has taken hold, we've had a degradation of animal life. It happened in Europe, it happened in China, it happened in America after it was colonized. A lot of African people live in harmony with their environment. It is external development (investment from China, globalization etc.) that is hurting wildlife in their areas. Why should we accelerate the process of their development? There's absolutely no indication that an industrialized people are happier than a people living as hunter-gatherers, for example. Just let Africa be.
- fauigerzigerk 11y ago
  >There's absolutely no indication that an industrialized people are happier than a people living as hunter-gatherers, for example. Just let Africa be. I think it's for Africans to decide how happy they are watching their children die from diarrhea so that zebras have more space. They will make their choice, but for the overwhelming majority of Africans the choice is not between being a hunter-gather society once again and destroying wildlife. That's a fantasy. There are much more important (and realistic) choices to make, such as how many children to have, how to beat corruption, how to skip some of the more polluting sorts of development models, how to finance modern infrastructure that enables a modern economy, not just one based purely and digging up commodities until boom turns to bust. The way to avoid destruction of wildlife is to have to have good policies, good education, good infrastructure and modern industries like IT, telecoms, finance, pharma or entertainment. In order to go back to hunter-gatherer societies, the first thing you'd have to do is kill 95% of the population. Doesn't sound like a happy solution to me, but if you are so fond of it, please start doing it in your own country and just let Africa be.

littletimmy 11y ago

Well, I look at it from the perspective of history. Wherever modern human development has taken hold, we've had a degradation of animal life. It happened in Europe, it happened in China, it happened in America after it was colonized. A lot of African people live in harmony with their environment. It is external development (investment from China, globalization etc.) that is hurting wildlife in their areas. Why should we accelerate the process of their development? There's absolutely no indication that an industrialized people are happier than a people living as hunter-gatherers, for example. Just let Africa be.

fauigerzigerk 11y ago
>There's absolutely no indication that an industrialized people are happier than a people living as hunter-gatherers, for example. Just let Africa be. I think it's for Africans to decide how happy they are watching their children die from diarrhea so that zebras have more space. They will make their choice, but for the overwhelming majority of Africans the choice is not between being a hunter-gather society once again and destroying wildlife. That's a fantasy. There are much more important (and realistic) choices to make, such as how many children to have, how to beat corruption, how to skip some of the more polluting sorts of development models, how to finance modern infrastructure that enables a modern economy, not just one based purely and digging up commodities until boom turns to bust. The way to avoid destruction of wildlife is to have to have good policies, good education, good infrastructure and modern industries like IT, telecoms, finance, pharma or entertainment. In order to go back to hunter-gatherer societies, the first thing you'd have to do is kill 95% of the population. Doesn't sound like a happy solution to me, but if you are so fond of it, please start doing it in your own country and just let Africa be.