Page 146 - Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoritical Foundations

Chapter 12
Biodiversity and Sustainability

Communication

Maik Adomßent and Ute Stoltenberg

Abstract Biodiversity can be seen as an exemplary issue for sustainability
communication. In addition the conflictual relationship between conservation and
sustainable use will be illustrated using selected examples. From the perspective of
successful sustainability communication, this chapter will show not only the com-
plexity of cause and effect but also the options there are to conserve biological
diversity. Special importance is attributed to the systematic relationship between
biological and cultural diversity, since this is given a key role in the formulation of
recommendations for developing sustainability communication.

Keywords Biodiversity • Biological diversity • Cultural diversity • Human-nature
relationships • Sustainability communication

Background

Biodiversity as a decisive factor in economic, social and cultural development and
biodiversity as the integrity of an intact natural world make this topic a central
issue in sustainable development. It is a problematic field with such a variety of
causal interrelationships that it can be seen as exemplary for networked thinking, a
skill that is crucial for shaping the future responsibly. ‘Conservation and sustain-
able use’ – two principles that are contested in current political strategy debates –
are connected with economic interests, cultural values and global distributive

M. Adomßent (*)
Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication,
Leuphana University Lueneburg, Scharnhorststrasse 1, D-21335 Lueneburg, Germany
e-mail: adomssent@uni.leuphana.de
U. Stoltenberg
Institute for Integrative Studies, Leuphana University Lueneburg,
Scharnhorststrasse 1, D-21335 Lueneburg, Germany

J. Godemann and G. Michelsen (eds.), Sustainability Communication: Interdisciplinary 129
Perspectives and Theoretical Foundations, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1697-1_12,
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011