Aboriginal people in Australia view wilderness, or what is called "wild country," as sick land that's been neglected and not cared for. This is the opposite of the romantic understanding of wilderness as pristine and healthy—a view which underpins much non-Indigenous conservation effort.
In a recent opinion piece published in the journal Nature, several ecologists question recent efforts to delineate areas of wilderness and intactness around the world to define conservation targets. Click on the link below to read the full article.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia and the Wildlife Conservation Society in NY, paints the first global picture of the threat to the world's remaining wildernesses - and the image is bleak.
Crisis has enveloped the more than 200,000 nationally and regionally protected natural and cultural heritage sites around the world.