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Abstract
At a time when being green is fashionable for corporations, one company has taken the idea to the extreme. Earth Sanctuaries Limited (ESL), based in Stirling, South Australia, is the only public company in the world whose business is conservation.
| The firm creates habitats for ecotourists. |
The business strategy of ESL, founded in 1969 by John Wamsley, is simple: build 80 fenced reserves, one in each of the recognized biogeographical regions of Australia; reintroduce native plants and animals; and then make money from ecotourism, concession sales, overnight accommodations, contract and consulting work, and wildlife sales. Five months after the company was first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, ESL has four sanctuaries open to the public and six more in development - and the company is turning a profit.
The Idea
This straightforward approach to conservation is a direct reflection of the company's founder. It doesn't take a long conversation with Wamsley to discover that he has little patience for bureaucracy or failure, or that he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect wildlife. Growing up on the east coast of Australia, Wamsley says, "I saw all the animals disappearing and nobody caring. It became my life work" to reverse that trend.
| Since Columbus, 1/3 of extinctions have been in Australia. |
What Wamsley observed as a child was the most rapid loss of mammalian species in the world. Of all the mammalian species that have gone extinct worldwide since Columbus discovered the New World, one-third are Australian. And two of those species, the mala (also called the rufous hare wallaby) and the eastern barred bandicoot, have become extinct in the wild in just the last ten years.
Australian mammals are suffering from habitat degradation, a problem common to much of the modern world, and from the overwhelming success of introduced species, particularly the fox and the domestic cat. In Wamsley's view, these exotic species, both effective small predators, have damaged native populations in two ways: first, with their voracious appetites they have decreased the populations of many smaller mammals, and second, this reduction in small prey has stressed the native predators.
Although Wamsley and ESL have focused on mammals in their publicity, it is clear that other animals and native plants are suffering as well. And in Wamsley's opinion, the best way to protect them all is to save the habitat. Hence, ESL's approach to building sanctuaries free of exotic plants and animals.
The Sanctuaries
Development of the sanctuaries, which currently range in size from 84 to 160,000 acres, is a time-consuming process requiring the removal of invasive species, both plant and animal. Before any habitat restoration can take place, a specially designed fence has to be built along the entire perimeter to protect the native habitat from reinvasion by the exotic species.
| The fox-and-cat-proof fence excludes invasive species. |
In fact, the design of a fox-and-cat-proof fence is one of ESL's success stories and illustrative of how Wamsley approaches the issues of conservation. No one knew how to keep these particular animals out of an area, although it was clearly necessary to do so. So Wamsley simply put a fox in a box and watched it climb, testing various fence designs until he found one that the animal couldn't scale. ESL now makes a significant portion of its income by fencing property for others with fences of this design, after refining the design so that the fence is only slightly more expensive than a standard ranch fence.
Once fenced, the sanctuary land is then replanted with indigenous plants. After the plants are established, the native animals are reintroduced. From there the results are remarkable. "Give the animals a bit of Australia like 200 years ago" and they thrive, says Wamsley.
| Native species thrive in Warrawong. |
Warrawong, the most established of the ten sanctuaries, was fenced in 1982 and opened to the public in 1985. Overall, the company has reintroduced 12 species of mammals, nine species of fish, two species of tortoises, and several hundred species of plants into Warrawong. The success of this unique conservation approach can be seen in the growing numbers of individuals of each species. For example, the woylie, the smallest kangaroo, increased from an original Warrawong population of just six individuals to over 50, while the southern brown bandicoot population increased from four to over 100.
Given the small numbers of animals originally introduced into the sanctuary, it is apparent that most of the genetic diversity the species once had is not represented in the sanctuary population. But Wamsley points out that really the diversity had already been lost because the total number of individuals in these species was already so small. And he notes with a tinge of humor in his voice, "Only 12 rabbits were brought to Australia and they don't have any problems."
| On the Web: Warrawong's wine list. |
Tourist facilities at Warrawong, which is situated in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, include cabins for overnight lodging, conference facilities, and a native-plant nursery. The sanctuary has won multiple tourism awards, and perhaps nothing more needs to be said to demonstrate the company's commitment to their tourism business than to note that the wine list for Warrawong's Shed Cafe can be found on the Web site.
A General Model?
ESL's achievement with Warrawong is not an isolated occurrence. The Yookamurra and Scotia sanctuaries have had equal success in generating conservation dollars via tourism and in rebuilding damaged habitats. But is this a model for lasting conservation and will it translate successfully to other locales? Although these questions remain unanswered, Michael Soulé, science director of the Wildlands Project in Hotchkiss, Colorado, says "the number of regions where ecotourism is really a viable option is limited worldwide," so we have to come up with other mechanisms to fund the work. In the meantime, though, it is clear that ESL is accomplishing its goals, and the animals are benefiting from the effort.
| The cat is the real reason for mammal extinctions. |
ESL has fought successfully to change two laws in favor of conservation, which will have a lasting effect in Australia. Prior to 1990, it was illegal to intervene with feral cats, but ESL worked to change the law, allowing the company to remove feral cats from sanctuary land. While lobbying for this legal change, Wamsley was known to wear a Daniel Boone-style hat made of cat fur to call attention to the problem. "It was more of a political problem than anything. Conservationists picked on everyone - farmers, miners, chippers [loggers] - but the cat is the real reason we have the worst record for mammal extinctions."
More recently, the company has worked to change tax laws so that wildlife and rare animals can be considered financial assets. This change, according to Gretchen Daily of Stanford University and her collaborators, has significant implications for conservation in Australia - and more closely reflects the true economic value of a rare commodity.
| ESL has been criticized for selling wildlife. |
In fact, one of the company's revenue streams is wildlife sales. Wamsley says they've received some flak from other conservation groups suggesting that they are selling animals for profit, but he characterizes this work differently. He says ESL is putting wildlife back on the land and showing others how to manage it, including several aboriginal groups.
No one thinks that ESL's work will ever return wildlife to its natural pristine state. That question is no longer up for debate. "There is no such thing as wilderness anywhere in the world today," says Wamsley. "There will never be a hands-off approach anywhere, and we'll never be able to just leave it." Thus even Scotia, the largest of the sanctuaries, will have to be actively managed to keep the wildlife and habitat healthy.
| Even the largest preserves are too small. |
Soulé agrees with Wamsley's assessment, noting that "even the largest national parks in the United States, like Yellowstone [which is 2.2 million acres], are too small to support the keystone species, like grizzlies and wolves, and without them the system collapses ecologically."
Regardless, Wamsley and ESL have succeeded with some species where other conservation groups have failed - a point Wamsley does not hesitate to make. For example, the platypus was notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to keep in captivity, but the Warrawong team has succeeded not only in raising platypus, but in setting up productive breeding colonies as well. Significantly, their method has been successfully replicated in several zoos.
| If he needs to "snitch" the mala to save it, he will. |
One of the endangered animals Wamsley is currently focusing on is the mala, of which there are only 130 animals left in the world, all in captivity. Thus far ESL's requests for a breeding pair have been refused, according to Wamsley, despite the company's successful track record. He says that once ESL has a species in their possession, then other conservation organizations are willing to exchange individuals to increase breeding diversity. But otherwise "they guard their species jealously and won't let us have them." Showing his single-mindedness in favor of wildlife, Wamsley says that if he needs to "snitch" the mala to save the species, he will.
Public Involvement
Beyond Wamsley's own energy and the practical approach of ESL is another important reason for the company's success: people want to participate in saving wildlife. "If you invest in this company you are investing in wildlife preserves," says Roger Short of the University of Melbourne. "You can invest in the project and the land, and own it. No zoo has done this; no government or state has done this. But John Wamsley has done it. There are many of us who would love to put our money where our mouth is, but we haven't known how to do it before now."
Rabiya S. Tuma is a freelance science writer based in Oregon and New York.
Julia Kuhl has done illustrations for the New Yorker and the New York Times, among others. She now lives in Heidelberg, Germany, with her neurobiologist husband and is working on a comic book - a Fulika atra (coot) version of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
John Wamsley's Earth Santuaries - transcript of an interview with Wamsley. From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Environment Australia Online: Biodiversity Group - offers extensive information on biodiversity in Australia, including the National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity. From the Department of the Envionment and Heritage.
Wildlife Report - a report on the commercial use of wildlife from the Parliament of Australia's Senate Rural and Regional Affairs References Committees.
Capitalizing on Nature: Protected Area Management and Spreading the Profits - and the Pain - of Wildlife Protection - abstracts of recent articles that focus on wildlife management. From Science magazine. Paid subscription required for full-text access.
World Wide Web Virtual Library: Ecology and Biodiversity - an extensive collection of online resources.
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