#220 | Don't Shoot The Messenger!: Halting The War On Invasive Species w/ Dr. Khalil Avi

Intro: 9:00 | Outro: 1:15:00

In this episode, I speak with Social Anthropologist Dr. Khalil Avi, author of the article ‘Don’t Kill The Messenger!: Invasive Species and Halting Biodiversity Loss’ published at Gods & Radicals.

Avi addresses some of the underlying (colonialist, nationalist, and provincial) assumptions that surround the efforts to halt biodiversity loss in our age of abrupt climate change and environmental catastrophe. He challenges our notions of what it really means to halt biodiversity loss, in particular when it comes to the widespread practice of eliminating so-called invasive species in their respective environments as a means of addressing this crisis. As global climate disruption forces biological life to rapidly adapt to the changing environment, our efforts to halt biodiversity loss should include abandoning our unexamined and deeply held assumptions of what our responses to the environmental crisis should be.

“Halting biodiversity loss is demanded by [Extinction Rebellion] alongside other climate movements. But who decides what halts biodiversity loss? Most of these movements directly address established governance actors. At best XR proposes legally binding citizen assemblies informed by expert knowledge. So who is going to hear these demands in these organisations or enact the decisions of these assemblies? What is the status quo amongst these organisations and their experts for halting biodiversity loss? The same questions can be asked for all of the demands of contemporary climate mobilizations. Hence, the status quo on how climate demands are enacted is critical. What is the status quo?” (http://bit.ly/2qHsl5m)

Dr. Khalil Avi is trained in Social Anthropology and Social Science Research Methods and works with practitioners and academics from multiple fields. “If you want to step into the messy spaghetti of reality and enjoy the feast, I invite you to dine with me.” Dr. Avi focuses on how human-environmental and human-human relations shape each other over time, and has conducted interdisciplinary research on fisheries, historical ecology, hunting and environmental management.

Episode Notes:

- Follow Avi’s work: https://khalilavi.org

- Read ‘Don’t Kill The Messenger!: Invasive Species and Halting Biodiversity Loss’ at Gods & Radicals: http://bit.ly/2qHsl5m

- Watch/listen to Avi’s reading, featured in the introduction: https://youtu.be/l0Ecq-PoCKg

- The songs featured are “Ringz” and “78” by MIGHTYHEALTHY from the album Bad Ideas.