The conflict between economic growth and nature conservation always seems to be the opposite argument for capitalist development. Mining resources from the land for diverse economic development are typical for the global environment, such as the exploitation of coal mining, precious metal, and stone mining, to the long-term land resources for nutrients, pasture, and growing cash crops. Humans are prone to earn more and more from the land, especially in areas that are not developing regions. They are prone to have more beautiful natural resources than the development city region; however, due to residents’ lack of awareness of the protection environment or yield to short-term limited profit, they tolerate the “development proposal.”
As a result of my research, the cultural and economic value of cattle on Terceira Island appears to be a prominent example. There are 56,000 people inhabitants in Terceira, and the number of cattle is twice of it, consisting of the rare caramel-colored Ramo Grande breed. The main reason is that the government encourages the Bel institution to launch a program in the Azores, “Milk from Happy Cows” . While the gradual and rapid growth of cattle has deepened the local unique cattle culture, people have also ignored or acquiesced in overgrazing, which has increased the land load to some land resources that are already sensitive and unsuitable for grazing such as peatland. According to the research produced by McDougal, If the cattle population grew, the peatland would gradually disappear and have the risk of facing the danger of spontaneous combustion. As a landscape architect, I am concerned with more than just the temporary profit resulting from cattle, and the landscape economic proposal should be adapted to sustainable criteria. Thus, the balance between the human need to maintain production and the need to protect the condition of sensitive peatlands has made it necessary to develop the theory of degrowth.
We take the critical problem, and all species elements of the site meshwork them as uniformities. The landscape strategies are like a method to knit a sweater, we give an equation to nature, and with the dynamic time process, it would weave its process just like a sweater. In this project, I weave the central theme with culture and economics as a human and social aspect and weaving with the specific land character-peatland and specify species as a dynamic meshwork.
Rethinking my project in a broader societal context, I want to bring the conversation about the global economic growth is not necessary to damage our natural treasure in the theme of degrowth. It is possible for symbiosis between natural treasure with economic development, and the resident could really feel the symbiosis and growth in their meaningful life in the temporary world.
