Frank Golley’s Perspectives on Environmental Ethics and Literacy: How to Avoid Irreversible Impacts of Hydro-Power and Inter-Oceanic Canal Development on Mesoamerican Tropical Ecosystems

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Frank Golley’s Perspectives on
Environmental Ethics and Literacy:
How to Avoid Irreversible Impacts
of Hydro-Power and Inter-Oceanic
Canal Development on Mesoamerican
Tropical Ecosystems
Alan P. Covich1
Odum School of Ecology
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States
Introduction
Having recently celebrated the Centennial of the Ecological Society of America
(ESA), it is timely to look back into history as well as to the future regarding how
ecologists can eectively inform other scientists, decision-makers, and their own
communities about the need for objective ecological information. ESA’s focus on
Earth Stewardship extends ecological thinking to further dene environmental
sustainability (Chapin etal., 2015) and facilitates ecologists’ continuing contribution
to clarifying the fundamental ecological principles underpinning environmental
literacy (e.g., Berkowitz etal., 2005; Golley, 1991, 1998). ese principles developed
over the last 100 years, with the many contributors emphasizing the importance
of people being part of natural ecosystems. As the impact of humanity on the
functions of our complex adaptive ecosystems is an ongoing and increasing problem
today, both the early and current ideas of ecology remain important. Ecologists also
continue to create new approaches for resolving these complex problems to avoid
unexpected and unwanted consequences (Levin, 1999; Taylor, 2005).
From the perspective that it is important to consider how single individuals have
contributed to transforming how both professional ecologists and the public change
their thinking about the environment and its dynamic uncertainty, this paper
focuses on one individual who served ESA in myriad ways during his long career.
is contribution included a major research project on a proposed sea level canal
across Darien, Panama (Covich, 2015a, 2015b), which is especially timely to revisit
given the recent centennial celebrations for the Panama Canal. Frank Golley inspired
numerous students and colleagues to think at multiple scales and to work with other
1 Author contact: alanc@uga.edu

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40
disciplines to innovate and educate the widest possible audiences. A central theme
of Golley’s research was the essential importance of connectivity. He emphasized
that dening the many connections among people and their understanding of
natural systems was critical for resolving environmental problems, from local to
global. Golley actively participated in exploring local issues that emphasized how
individuals value their historical connections to the land. Forexample, he enjoyed
being a part-time farmer to raise some of his own food for his family. Headvocated
for protective buer zones around a local reservoir and many other local and
regional issues related to environmental design and planning. At the national
andinternational scales, Golley pioneered the development of landscape ecology
and the use of isotopic tracers in detailed food-web studies to demonstrate the
importance of biogeochemistry and the bioaccumulation of toxins. His building
of new research programs at the University of Georgia’s Institute of Ecology and
the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory created an academic environment with
worldwide intellectual connections (Golley, 2001).
Golley recognized that the challenge was to develop programs that would foster
the necessary appreciation of nature by society at large. To be eective, these
“nature-centered” programs would also need to include ecological fundamentals for
people to achieve both environmental and economic well-being. is challenge to
clarify the fundamentals remains, although more students and more among the
public are now aware of the critical importance of environmental education and
literacy. Forexample, eective networks among educators, such as the Council of
Environmental Literacy, bring together economics, ecologists, and others to exchange
information, which in turn provides the public with a science-based perspective on
current environmental issues. However, many people still have only a supercial
knowledge of what Golley called “connectivity” among environmental issues.
Aiding more students, citizens, and policy-makers to obtain objective information
on these issues and to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to understand
them remains an enormous challenge, especially in developing countries.
Golley’s own work to develop international academic programs and his leadership
with numerous professional societies and world organizations, from the United
Nations Educational, Scientic, and Cultural Organization to the International
Society for Ecology, provide an important framework for use today in resolving
increasingly complex global problems. Golley recognized the importance of helping
the next generation of ecologists learn from rsthand experience about the human
dimensions of environmental literacy and environmental ethics. For example,
Golley met Stanley Heckadon-Moreno, then a graduate student working on the
impacts of deforestation in Darien, at an international meeting in Panama City.
Golley encouraged him to seek a career in ecology that would connect the many
issues related to tropical deforestation with migrations of poor farmers seeking
new lands to convert to pastures. Since those early discussions, many studies by

Frank Golley’s Perspectives on Environmental Ethics and Literacy
41
Heckadon-Moreno and others in Panama have analyzed the sustainability of the
Panama Canal’s operation and management of the surrounding rainforest (e.g.,
Condit etal., 2001; Dale etal., 2005; Heckadon-Moreno, 1993, 2005; Heckadon-
Moreno etal., 1999). Public outreach and educational programs drawing on the
work of these researchers, such as Aqua Salud, have helped to improve policies that
retain rainforest cover. enatural vegetation sustains the watersheds and improves
the water quality of runo during intense tropical rainfall (Stallard etal., 2010).
Golley also helped to stimulate innovative ideas in environmental ethics among his
faculty colleagues, such as the environmental historian Paul Sutter. Sutter (2007,
2009), who has examined a series of human environment issues related to disease
control in the early development of the Panama Canal, emphasized the importance
of considering multiple viewpoints when reecting on how people have changed
their environment.
Golley’s work demonstrated that the basis of environmental stewardship and
environmental justice rests on having adequate and objective ecological information
to propose alternative solutions to large-scale, complex problems. Most signicantly,
his research and leadership encouraged many of his colleagues and students to
expand their perspectives to include public outreach and to focus on the values of
environmental ethics based on sound environmental literacy. Golley (1998) also
understood the need for people to connect with each other as global environmental
citizens because many issues extend well beyond local, regional, or national
boundaries. e growth of environmental education throughout the world has
increased awareness and changed how generations relate to the many environmental
issues in their communities.
Golley took a landscape approach to understanding the linkages between terrestrial
and aquatic components of tropical ecosystems. In the 1960s, many sub-disciplinary
specializations in ecology were developing. Golley noted that these sub-groups were
too often focusing only on the “trees” and were beginning to literally lose sight of
the “forest” as a natural habitat. Golley’s view was that natural ecosystems included
human interactions along with the many species of plants and animals. His interest
in forest structure and function, as well as the succession that followed disturbances,
was closely linked to biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and the roles of humans
in those cycles. As a biologically trained ecologist, Golley’s later development of
strong interests in environmental literacy and environmental ethics allowed him
to synthesize these areas in a way that continues to engage students, teachers, the
public, and professional ecologists.
Golley emphasized that some rare species do have special value and need to have
their habitats protected and managed long term. Assemblages of species and their
interactions also have high value; management of nature reserves requires a landscape
perspective. To achieve and sustain protected areas, Golley emphasized the need
for the public to appreciate the value of these areas and to develop an interest in

Human Ecology Review, Volume 23, Number 2, 2017
42
their long-term stewardship. In his own ecological research, he highlighted the
many ecological and socioeconomic connections aecting ecosystems, especially
in tropical regions with exceptionally high biodiversity and signicant risk of loss
of unique habitats. He expressed concern that policy-makers and planners were
not suciently aware of these complexities, which needed consideration in large
development projects.
What can we learn about the impacts
ofoodingrainforests?
e 2015 Centennial of the Panama Canal generated interest in how the rst inter-
American canal was completed (e.g., Carse, 2014; Keiner, 2017), and especially
in the completion of the current canal expansion project (Rivera & She, 2013).
e creation of Lake Gatun in 1913 by damming the Chagres River and Lake
Alajuela (Madden) in 1934 by damming the Madden River led to the need to
manage the region’s tropical rainforests and reservoirs to sustain the water supplies
for the Panama Canal (Carse, 2014, 2016; Heckadon-Moreno, 1993; Zaret, 1984).
Several ongoing, long-term studies analyzing the environmental impacts of these
earlier projects provide sources of data. is information could help to estimate
some of the costs and benets of future large-scale construction projects. As any
such estimation needs to consider a broad scope of socioeconomic factors, expanded
interdisciplinary collaboration is needed well beyond what was available a century
ago. Previous research from a long series of studies in Panama provides insights
into how tropical ecosystems function. ese studies have analyzed, among other
things, forest succession and restoration following deforestation and construction,
variable water and nutrient budgets, and projections on climate change. Current
forest protection programs sustain hydro-ecological functions that provide the
freshwater supplies needed for the operation of the Panama Canal and for municipal
uses (e.g., Carse, 2012, 2014; Condit etal., 2001; Dale etal., 2005; Ibáñez etal.,
2002; Stallard etal., 2010).
A proposed inter-oceanic sea level canal
across Darien, Panama
Golley’s studies, along with others from the Darien proposal, illustrate how this
perspective could help future generations to transform interdisciplinary studies on the
loss of tropical habitats because of mega-projects, such as those that ood rainforests.
Golley’s study of the rainforest ecosystem of Darien, Panama, was conducted in
conjunction with the review of a proposed sea level canal as part of a project to
be funded by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (Covich, 2015b).

Frank Golley’s Perspectives on Environmental Ethics and Literacy
43
Golley’s rainforest study contributed to a holistic, landscape-level analysis (Golley
etal., 1969, 1975; McGinnis etal., 1969). is proposed additional inter-oceanic
canal was intended to complement the existing Panama Canal, which was thought
to require a wider channel. More than 50 years since that original proposal, some
new wider locks are being added to the original locks from 2016 (Davis et al.,
2015). Over time, it became apparent that a new canal through Darien, Panama,
was not needed, and that the existing Panama Canal could be expanded safely and
with much less environmental impact. Results from the research of Golley and his
colleagues contributed to a decade-long series of controversial debates regarding the
impacts of the proposed canal as part of Project Plowshare (e.g., Kaufman, 2013;
Keiner, 2017; Kirsch, 2005; Rubino, 1968). Reecting on Golley’s research on
the proposed Darien canal is particularly timely because the collaborative, holistic
approach that he developed is still appropriate for mega-projects today.
From Darien, Panama, to the proposed
inter-oceanic canal across Nicaragua
Environmental research-based discussions of decision-making processes are
especially relevant now in evaluating the potential impacts of a proposed inter-
oceanic canal to cross Nicaragua. is project would involve dredging a channel
across Lake Nicaragua (Lago Cocibolca) and ooding rainforest habitats in the
construction of large reservoirs (see Figure 1). e canal dredging would disrupt
protected Ramsar wetland sites near the eastern lakeshore. e eastern section of
the canal would also intersect the currently protected areas and lands occupied by
indigenous and Afro-American groups (e.g., Jordan et al., 2016). If completed, this
canal project would be the largest civil excavation ever undertaken. e project,
which is being planned by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Group, would
ood large areas of rainforest and aect water quality (through increased turbidity
and salinity) in Lake Nicaragua and its outow to the Caribbean via Rio San Juan
(Environmental Resources Management Group [ERM], 2015). e canal would
require construction of a series of large storage reservoirs and hydroelectric production
reservoirs to provide a reliable supply of vast amounts of freshwater to sustain use
of the locks. However, even the most water- and energy-ecient lock designs are at
risk during prolonged dry periods. e water budget and biodiversity of the regions
will be signicantly aected by how the tropical forests and watersheds are managed
to sustain the necessary water supplies to operate the locks (Condit, 2015; ERM,
2015). Reviews by the Nicaragua Academy of Sciences (Acosta, 2015; Huete-Pérez
et al., 2015, 2016) and by an independent group of scientists concluded that further
detailed studies are needed of the most likely impacts (e.g., Covich et al., 2015).

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Figure1:Theproposedrouteofaninter-oceaniccanalbeingplanned
bytheHongKongNicaraguaDevelopmentGroup
Source: S. Espinoza, A. Centeno and C. Solano, in Huete-Pérez et al. (2015), with permission.
Given the increasing uncertainty regarding changing climates and global economics,
there is a need for long-term studies of the eects of the project. Excavations for
construction of the proposed Brito locks along the western canal route would
likely have extensive social and environmental impacts. e canal would link the
Brito River and the Las Lajas Rivers for the rst time (Muñoz Ardila et al., 2017),
resulting in the bi-directional movement of freshwater species between these two
river drainage basins and Lake Nicaragua. Mixing of native and non-native invasive
species could greatly alter the biodiversity and food web of the lake. Impacts of
the proposed excavations on freshwater sh continue to be identied, but much
more study is needed (Härer et al., 2017). Large environmental impacts on the
Brito River Estuary and unique western tropical dry forest ecosystems are also
highly likely (Muñoz Ardila et al., 2017). Moreover, the eastern locks and canal
construction would intercept migratory species that rely on the MesoAmerican
Biological Corridor and the various river drainages that connect with Lake Nicaragua
(e.g.,Jordan et al., 2016).
e use of brief snapshots to model ecosystem dynamics has proven inadequate.
Many species interactions and socioeconomic responses are non-linear and
characterized by tipping points. Consequently, responses to environmental changes
can be sudden once thresholds are exceeded or cumulative resulting in the disruption
of expected outcomes based on short-term monitoring. is uncertainty can result
in major surprises created by complex direct and indirect relationships. For example,
a combination of events can change how tropical ecosystems respond to the timing
of seasonal and inter-annual variations in extreme rainfall. Natural disturbances such
as droughts, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes can further complicate

Frank Golley’s Perspectives on Environmental Ethics and Literacy
45
possible cumulative impacts, making it impossible to be prepared for all possible
outcomes (e.g., Bommer & Rodríguez, 2002; Kanamori & Kikuchi, 1993; Pielke
etal., 2003).
e likelihood of some alternative future shipping through a northern sea route
creates additional ambiguity regarding the economic values and environmental
impacts of the proposed canal construction (e.g., Liu & Kronbak, 2010; Smith
& Stephenson, 2013). Although considerable uncertainties continue to slow the
proposed canal construction, economic geographers have developed several scenarios
based on the potential for future shipping through the proposed canal and the
savings related to the cost of fossil fuel and carbon accumulation in the atmosphere.
Yip and Wong (2015) concluded that “large net benets are likely to occur from
this new canal” (p. 12). However, they did not include any consideration of the
social and environmental costs that would likely occur in Nicaragua if the canal
were constructed. Nor were the potentially signicant costs of marine pollution
considered (Chen et al., 2016). Much more interdisciplinary research is needed to
evaluate fully how these types of mega-projects can create irreversible environmental
and cultural losses before estimating the actual long-term net benets.
What lessons are learned?
Golley conducted fundamental research for many decades on how ecosystems
function. is experience led to his understanding of the need for regional and
global scales of research related to large development projects. Comprehensive
study of mega-projects at regional scales using integrated approaches and long-
term studies provides the types of insight needed for eective evaluation of these
projects and the information necessary to avoid catastrophic local impacts (Covich,
2015a). eresults of Golley’s research in the 1960s provide an example that can
inform current studies of similar mega-projects. It is critically important to avoid
the irreversible impacts that these projects can have on natural ecosystems, and
especially the people who live in them. e sense of place that multiple generations
acquire over their lives is usually undervalued by cost–benet analyses. e loss of
land and the diculties of relocation can oset benets and leave local communities
impoverished in the long term (Carruthers, 2008; Nygren, 2004). e removal
of people from their land to make way for large construction projects in tropical
landscapes creates a cascade of disruptions over many years that can include
diminished public health and well-being (Wali, 1989).
More than four decades have passed since Golley and others rst expressed their
concerns about the implementation of large development projects in the tropics
without sucient environmental analysis. eir goal, expressed at that time, remains
relevant today: “Our aim is to work within the natural processes and to maintain their

Human Ecology Review, Volume 23, Number 2, 2017
46
conservative impacts on the physical degrading process of the planet, with adequate
and sustained production” (Golley & Medina, 1975, p. 3). Further, the many
excellent studies over the last ve decades mean there is a growing recognition of the
value for achieving this goal of holistic approaches that integrate socioeconomic and
ecological research into equitable policies. e need for objective science coupled
with a concern for transparency and engagement of diverse stakeholders was a main
tenet of Golley’s ecological perspective. His approach to linking research and policy
is needed now as in the past to resolve current environmental issues. Understanding
these issues still requires a deep understanding and appreciation for scientic
concepts by a wide range of people (Elliott, 2017).
A need for environmental ethics and justice
Ecologists and other scientists have responded to both the environmental and
ethical consequences of economic developments over many decades through their
participation in international and interdisciplinary research projects and global
eorts to provide environmental justice, especially in Latin America where sustaining
biodiversity remains an important concern (Carruthers, 2008; Rozzi, 2015; Wakild,
2013). ese interdisciplinary interests focus on how dicult choices can be made
that reconcile the needs of conserving habitats while also ensuring people’s economic
and social well-being (e.g., McShane etal., 2011). Measures that can provide insights
regarding the costs and benets of large construction projects include human well-
being and societal values of biodiversity. Evaluating the benets of ecosystem services
focuses on the value of sustainability for protecting and managing biodiversity
(Brandon, 2014; Dale & Polasky, 2007; Simonit & Perrings, 2013). is approach
is useful in the analysis of stewardship and managing biodiversity at local and global
scales (Golley, 1994; Hall etal., 2011; Mace etal., 2012).
Bioregional, landscape, and local place scale connections
Golley recognized that comparisons among bioregions must consider the
cultural history and current economic concerns that limit options for ecosystem
management and sustaining habitat protection in those regions. e combined
approach of enhancing the public’s basic understanding of ecology through well-
developed environmental literacy and the professional education of policy-makers
and natural resource managers can lead to more sustainable ecosystems. Golley
(1991) noted the importance of focusing on beginning students, who can, in turn,
inform their families. However, it is dicult to make generalizations that assist in
transferring lessons learned in one community or country to another, especially
given the enormous dierences in biological and cultural diversity that often
generate contradictory values. Cultural identity reects a sense of place, which
includes attitudes and values associated with natural resources and biodiversity,
among other attributes. Consequently, local, national, and international eorts

Frank Golley’s Perspectives on Environmental Ethics and Literacy
47
to build a resilient understanding of environmental literacy require a recognition
of the dierent ways that people value their “place” in nature. In some cases, this
important link to the land can lead to a strong local consensus on how to sustain
ecosystems, but in other cases, the results are increased fragmentation and loss of an
integrated approach to bioregional sustainability. is conundrum continues to be
a challenge for developing an eective pluralistic environmental literacy. Comparing
international perspectives on sustainability and stewardship provides opportunities
for learning from successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Too often environmental
considerations of mega-projects and economic development in Panama have only
had a forestry-centric perspective related to impacts on a few types of diversity.
Recent calls to expand the scope of these tropical studies emphasize the need for
more comprehensive analyses (e.g., De León & Lopez, 2016; Velásquez Runk,
2009, 2015, 2017).
A need for long-term studies
Many developing countries in the tropics, such as Panama and Nicaragua, continue
to need evaluation of large-scale development projects, which can result in declining
biodiversity and loss of ecosystem services. Planning for sustainable stewardship
requires interdisciplinary collaboration to conduct the long-term studies needed for
dening the values of dierent ecosystem services that can be sustained by well-
designed development projects. Environmental history demonstrates that reviewing
the full values of development projects often includes multi-generational studies
that document conditions before and after project completion. Implementing
these studies requires interdisciplinary expertise and comprehensive educational
innovations, such as the emphasis on environmental ethics across higher education
curricula that Frank Golley championed. Many of the benets associated with
tropical ecosystems are based on cultural use and non-use values, which are often
lost when only short-term gains are considered. Knowledge-based planning requires
that the current and next generation of ecologists actively engage in communicating
what information and values are known in order to avoid irreversible losses.
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is text is taken from Human Ecology Review,
Volume 23, Number 2, 2017, published 2017 by ANU Press,
e Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
dx.doi.org/10.22459/HER.23.02.2017.05