by Nancy
Harris and Emily Cloyd
As the first speaker in the Women
in Scientific and Environmental Professions series, Dr. Eleanor Sterling
gave a presentation on January 29, 2002 in 139 Baker entitled “Conserving
Biodiversity in Vietnam and Bolivia: The Need for Adaptive Management” that
attracted a crowd of over 70 attendees.
Dr. Sterling currently acts as Director for the Center for Biodiversity and
Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where
she manages biodiversity projects in various locations including Madagascar,
Bolivia, Vietnam, and Guatemala. Dr.
James Gibbs, Sterling’s long-time friend and colleague, gave a short but
effective introduction, stating that Eleanor “has what it takes to make
conservation biology work all around the world.”
The focus of
Eleanor’s hour-long presentation was split between the seemingly disparate
nations of Vietnam and Bolivia. In fact,
Eleanor emphasized the differences between the two areas from a biodiversity
perspective: while the majority of Vietnam is vastly populated and “built out”
leaving protected areas as small and scattered plots of land, Bolivia has
plenty of ‘protectable’ land but no people to protect it. Population density is low, and thus there are
few domestic scientists to collect biological information. The goal in both countries is to set aside
reserves that harbor biodiversity. In
Bolivia, however, better biological data must first be obtained. In both countries, conservation biologists
are forced to make key decisions in the face of uncertainty.
The common objective of conservation biologists in developing
countries, Sterling stated, should be to strive towards ‘adaptive management’
when making conservation decisions. One
specific example cited was the need to develop material, such as textbooks in
the country’s native language, which developing countries can use for education
and awareness. Sterling also stressed
the need to be wary of the spiritual, cultural, political and economic
interactions that native people have with the landscape, and was quick to point
out that what works on paper may not necessarily work in application. Interaction between scientists and natives is
an important and necessary component for the program’s success.
Among the colorful pictures and innovative ideas of Sterling’s
presentation, the increased contribution of technology to the field of
conservation biology was made clear. GIS
maps, camera traps, remote sensing data and GPS data were all displayed and/or
mentioned as being advantageous tools that facilitate the decision-making
process.
A common problem in both Vietnam and Bolivia, Sterling noted, is the
view that once a decision has been made, the program must continue along the
preplanned course of action. Through her
continued efforts, Sterling hopes to turn this notion on its head; if an action
fails, it becomes necessary to take a step back and come up with an alternative
management strategy that works. For the
most part, the route taken from point A to point B is not as important as getting to point B. This approach seems logical, yet perhaps it
took a woman like Eleanor Sterling to make it work.
