Introduction - Ecological Governance - page 8

ecosystem health in circumstances where con dence in our ability to

comprehend ecosystem behaviour is itself signi cantly eroded.

1.4 Normative precaution
Growing appreciation of our dif

culty with predicting how proposed
action may affect highly complex natural systems has been recognised in
the evolution of the precautionary principle. 29 This provides a guide for
decision-makers in circumstances where there is uncertainty about the
effects of development. However, the principle in its current form and
the direction that it gives fall far short of what is required to assist with
addressing a situation that combines the certainty that human interven-
tion has the potential to fundamentally alter ecosystem structures with
our limited understanding of how anthropogenic stressors interact
to undermine resilience. I argue in Chapter 3 that a new conception of
precaution is required which is attuned to prevailing uncertainty both
over the impacts that our actions have on ecosystem functionality and
over whether ecosystems are at risk of failure. 30 A recon gured precau-

tionary principle would require that steps be taken as a matter of course
to reduce levels of anthropogenic stress with a view to alleviating threats of
harm to ecosystems. Normative precaution would institute stress reduction
as the default position in decision-making over what goals we should
pursue as a society, and on how their pursuit should be conducted.
Additionally, new legal and institutional structures are required that
establish the maintenance of resilience as the core objective of policy-
making, policy implementation and regulation. I propose a legal frame-
work for policy-making in Chapter 3 that is built around this objective,
and which uses two key mechanisms for exploring how ecological stresses
can be reduced. The

rst is the assessment of different options for achieving
policy objectives with a view to identifying those that would most likely be
compatible with ecosystem functionality. 31 Principles of governance would
require that the least ecologically consequential options be preferred and
used where possible in policy formation (substitution 32 ), and that options
deemed to be too incompatible with the overarching objective of main-
taining resilience for continued use should be phased out (sunsetting 33 ).

29 See my discussion of the precautionary principle at Chapter 3, Section 3.2 .
30 Chapter 3, Section 3.2.3 . 31 Chapter 3, Section 3.3.3 .

32 Chapter 3, Section 3.3.2.3 . 33 Chapter 3, Section 3.3.2.4 .