Ecosystem Policy and the Problem of Power

Abstract

The purpose of ecological policy is to introduce environmental considerations into human decision making so as to protect the environment, which is really to say, so as to protect mankind against environmental disasters and to enable man to live in a comfortable symbiotic relationship with his metabolic and physical environment. The thrust of ecological concern is that man has abused and damaged his environment in ways and to an extent that can only further redound to damage man’s own well-being. Man should instead think out the ecological implications of his behaviour and adjust his activities so as to reflect environmental considerations and to inflict the minimum damage, especially the minimum irreversible damage, on his environment. The result of this current position has been a widespread call for the design and management of environmental protection systems. Such suggested solutions have varied extensively, and include the mandatory imposition of waste disposal, the creation of pollution rights as a new subset of property rights, the creation of new organizations and institutions, citizen education, and so on.

Originally published in Environmental Affairs, vol. 2 (Winter 1972).