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In-Depth Information
likely to be accepted by those affected by them because the processes by
which they are reached are considered to be legitimate.
12
This context
sensitivity is, as I noted above, one of the arguments presented in favour
of structuring governance around ecosystem boundaries. I agree in part,
on grounds which I explore at
Section 4.6
, with the arguments that have
been made for enhancing both the role of local governmental institutions
and of the public in the development of solutions to ecological problems.
However, the key questions are whether exclusive authority for decision-
making is to be conferred and, if so, are the problems that local author-
ities are being asked to resolve ones which can sensibly be dealt with by
them alone?
Elements of these devolutionary proposals would contribute to reduc-
ing the pressures we place on the natural world. The creation of institu-
tions for regulating resource-extraction activities within a particular
ecosystem would clearly be desirable where these pose a threat to its
functionality. As the introduction of an ecological orientation would also
requirechangeateverylevelofsociety,itisessentialthatlowerlevelsof
government should be able, through planning processes, to shape the
development of more sustainable communities and to control activities
on an ecologically coherent basis. However, they do not offer a model for
governance that would provide suf
cient support for those involved with
decision-making to take effective action against ecological problems.
This is because they fail to recognise that their sources stem from a
plethora of linkages in the highly complex society we have constructed
which connect localities with other localities, localities with regions and,
ultimately, localities with national and international currents. There are
four particular respects in which deconstructing governance or reshap-
ing structures along ecological lines would fail to provide actors with the
powers they would need to act against these problems. These, as I discuss
below, highlight the need for cooperative working between levels of
government rather than the distribution of authority in a way which
would denude devolved units of, or fail to provide them with, the ability
to tackle issues that emanate from beyond their limited spheres of in
uence.
They also point to the need for the state to take the lead in governing
activities so that their impacts on ecosystem health are reduced.
The
rst is that the devolutionary arguments tend to wish away
hundreds of years of economic growth and the organisation of societies
around this goal instead of grappling with the ecological challenges that
12
Lundqvist,
'
Ecological Governance
'
, pp. 10, 17.
