By Jakub Kronenberg
Conservation debates today have much to learn from the past. Indeed, conservation is not a linear story of continuous refinement of ideas but rather a cyclical one, with the same arguments reappearing in new contexts and fitting into the broader system of socio-economic priorities.
This paper investigates how the conservation movement started, struggling with similar challenges it still faces today. The women who set up the Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889 (which became the RSPB in 1905) fought against fashion and trade that exploited birds for their feathers. Towards the end of the 19th century, feathers were the dominant decoration on women’s hats, driving the wholesale destruction of birds and threatening some species with extinction. Trade interests were important enough to resist regulation until the 1921 Plumage Act prohibited imports.
What the (R)SPB achieved over that period was much more than ‘just’ preventing feather fashions. Through a large-scale campaign, the (R)SPB addressed issues such as cruelty to birds, sentimentality and morality, and the economic benefits birds provide. The campaign also challenged the scapegoating of women and promoted meaningful relationships with birds. Together, these efforts helped transform British society’s relationship with birds, and with nature more broadly. The arguments and strategies used in that campaign were later reused in many other contexts, although some have only recently reappeared in discussions about relational values and building relationships with nature.
The (R)SPB campaign involved three strategies for transformative change now promoted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Primarily, it focused on shifting societal values and norms. Rather than conforming to the dominant utilitarian view of birds and advocating sustainable use, the (R)SPB championed a different worldview on how people conceive and interact with nature. Furthermore, the campaign argued for a systemic change in the key sector responsible for bird loss, and lobbied for the establishment of a legal and social system to protect birds.
This historical case was fascinating to explore, with unforgettable visits to the RSPB Library in the Lodge, Sandy, and digging through historical material at Cambridge University Library and in online archives.
Relational Thinking 