Question

Explain the concept of triage within the context of conservation and why some conservation scientists would be for this approach and others would oppose it.

Answer 1

The meaning of triage is to sort, This concept primarily finds it's use in medical emergency where during a medical emergency, doctors decide to divert their attention and resource to save more number of less critical patients from less number of more critical patients because of limited resource (No of beds, ventilators, medicines etc).

Triage in context of conservation biology means that one should use resources for saving more species which are less critically endangered rather than using resources in saving less number of extremely endangered species. The concept takes practical approach in terns of cost benefit return. For example- Proponents of triage will use resources to save 10 antelop, 10 elephants rather than saving one lion with the same resource.

Concept of triage revolves around two factors-

Limited resource

Maximum return or conservation in this case.

However consevation scientists are divided on the applicability of this approach

For

We can not have unlimited resource so, it is better to use the limited money prudently

Saves more no of species

Governments also encourage this approach as there is continous struggle between Government's developmental approach and envioronmentalist's conservation approach

Against-

Conservation should not be without ethics

Ethical conservationalist will never concern with number game. For those opposing triage- loss of one species is not mathematical loss of one number only.

They root for holistic conservation and hence they seek more resource for saving all the species rather than adjusting with whatever is available and deciding whom to save and whom to let die.