Birding and activism are strange bedfellows. The Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) refers in one of the books to three categories of birders: hardcore and ornithologists, serious birders and the birdwatchers. For eco-tourism the second category is the most interesting as these people will wine and dine, engage local guides and book travel. Birdwatchers are least likely to travel to see birds and the first hardcore category only wants birds and will forego basic sustenance or shelter. Kenn Kaufmann doing a big year surviving on dog food, essentially. These people do not read my posts, so I will continue to address my customary readers (hi Mum!).
Recently, this website witnessed a polemical discussion in the comments section of a Location Profile on Sulawesi. Should birders be more concerned about conservation? I don’t believe the neo-liberal idea to let companies resolve all issues through their activities holds any truth. However, I do believe birders can contribute to a more diverse local economy. Pristine rainforest is pretty, but also pretty useless. Dig a mine in the middle of said forest and jobs are being created, value is generated (including corruption) and the economy grows. It’s a strong argument for development, but this type of development destroys the forest and with it, the birds.
Birders (and eco-tourists) will monetise the value of the pristine forest. Jobs will be created and value generated. Being of a more diffuse nature, this type of economic activity also reduces the potential for bribes and rent seeking. Next time you are traveling to see birds make a little list (you love lists) of all the people that have a job supporting you. Housekeeping, waiters, guides, drivers, baggage handlers, shop assistants, et cetera. Now realise they need to be supplied too: farmers, laundries, factories making the trinkets you bought. And all these people have dependents. Compare that with e.g. mine staffing. According to Google small-scale, narrow-vein mining can operate with 2–3 people, an average hard-rock underground mine may have around 100 people per shift and surface mines may operate with 11-person crews, or even 1–3 people in small operations. In 2020, there were about 300,000 miners in the United States. The US leisure and hospitality sector employs approximately 17 million people. In other words, if you want to protect the habitats in a developing country or region like Sulawesi, go birding!
The pictures of endangered birds (including the Fairy Pitta in the header photo) were taken by Kai Pflug, bringing beauty and meaning to the readers of this blog. This post’s title has been optimised using Artificial Intelligence. It doesn’t contribute anything in terms of aesthetics, meaning, results or truth, but apparently that’s the world we want to live in.
So interesting. Before even reading Peter’s essay, I questioned, are birders really showing up at protests? Now I know the answer. No, but AI liked this title and, well, it certainly got me reading. This said, I like Peter’s analysis. Often, well usually when I am on a plane traveling to a distant destination for birding, I think about all of the pitfalls to travel and how I am contributing to the ills of the world. It’s a heavy feeling. I often think about the cost of things and how the price I pay is supporting those who made, built, grew, cleaned, laundered, etc. the products and efforts that made my trip possible. When it is cheap, I think great, I’m going to buy this or do that thing, etc. Then I consider how little the guy at the end of the long line is being paid. On a recent birding trip, the leader had a love affair with Magnum ice cream. More than once he purchased a Magnum for everyone on the trip. I had never had a “Magnum” and agreed that it was very good. But, ice cream makes me thirsty, so it was easy to decline future offers. Some months after this experience, I listened to an analysis by an economist break down the profit centers for the production of Magnum ice cream. Startling.