Environmental Protection and Sustainability: UMWELT
The term UMWELT has been used to describe the environment from the perspective of an individual organism or species. UMWELT is a German term used to describe the environment in which an organism lives and interacts with its surroundings (Thiessen & Hoffmeister, 2011). It is derived from two German words, um (around) and welt (world), and it can be translated as “surrounding world” (Pelikan, 2018). UMWELT is a concept that has been used to describe the unique perspectives of species in relation to their environment.
The concept of UMWELT was first proposed by the German biologist Jakob von Uexküll in the early 20th century (Thiessen & Hoffmeister, 2011). He used the term to describe the individual perspectives of species on their environment. Uexküll proposed that each species has its own unique way of perceiving its environment, or UMWELT, which is based on the species’ sensory and cognitive abilities. He argued that these individual perspectives influenced how organisms interacted with their environment and that it was important to consider these perspectives when studying their behavior.
The concept of UMWELT has been used to inform the study of environmental protection and sustainability. It has been argued that in order to effectively protect the environment and ensure its sustainability, it is important to consider the individual perspectives of species and the unique ways in which they interact with their environment (Thiessen & Hoffmeister, 2011). By understanding the unique perspectives of species, scientists and policy makers can better understand the ways in which species interact with the environment and the potential impacts their activities have on the environment.
In addition to the environment, UMWELT can also be used to understand the perspectives of humans on the environment. Humans have their own unique view of the environment that is based on their cultural and societal values (Pelikan, 2018). By understanding the unique perspectives of humans, policy makers and scientists can better understand the ways in which humans interact with the environment and the potential impacts their activities have on the environment.
In conclusion, UMWELT is a concept that can be used to inform the study of environmental protection and sustainability. It is based on the idea that each species has its own unique perspective of the environment that is based on its sensory and cognitive abilities. This concept can also be used to understand the perspectives of humans on the environment and the ways in which they interact with their environment. By understanding the unique perspectives of species and humans, scientists and policy makers can better understand the potential impacts their activities have on the environment and ensure its sustainability.
References
Pelikan, J. (2018). Uexküll’s Umwelt concept and its implications for ecological research and sustainable development. Ecological Indicators, 91, 295–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.10.010
Thiessen, D. D., & Hoffmeister, T. S. (2011). The Umwelt concept: A tool for conservation and sustainability. Conservation Biology, 25(2), 369–379. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01624.x