Page 154 - Sustainability Communication Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoritical Foundations

12 Biodiversity and Sustainability Communication 137

Fig. 12.2 Ecological, social and socio-economic values of protected areas (Source: EEA 2010b)

Opportunities to take action can also be found in classic nature conservation,
which can also be involved in sustainability communication (Rientjes 2000).
National parks and other protected areas can be used as examples of biodiversity
and create a relationship for individuals to this issue. Environmental associations
that involve their members and others in monitoring actions (for example bird cen-
suses in a number of countries) provide opportunities for public engagement. From
a sustainability point of view biosphere reservations are very good subjects for sus-
tainability communication, as locations for finding ways of life that harmonise
biodiversity and business (see Fig. 12.2).
The conservation of biodiversity must not however be limited to protected areas.
Cultivated landscapes are a challenge for the conservation and possibly also the
development of biodiversity. Sustainability communication can make use of these
relationships, showing how both biotope and species and genetic diversity are a
necessary element of culture (UNESCO 2008). The example of the water cycle in
the high plains of Ecuador and Peru shows how sustainability communication can
accompany sustainability development (Rivadeneira et al. 2009). The human rela-
tionship to water is a cultural product. Colonial influences have led to a ‘forgetful-
ness of water’. A more sensitive relationship to water, the careful development of
agro-cultures is experienced as the stabilisation of cultural and biological system. It
creates an awareness of ecosystem services, food security and biodiversity.
Alliances at a regional level need to be found that are capable of organising sus-
tainability communication as a process of communication. This includes farmers