Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7
Informing ecological governance
7.1 Introduction
My proposals for ecological governance move away from exclusive reliance
on the accurate prediction of impacts of planned activities and proposed
development for preventing harm to ecosystems. Growing appreciation of
the complexity of ecosystems, of their innate dynamism, and of our ignorance
of how cumulative stresses affect them or of whether they are exposed to the
risk of structural breakdown have combined to erode historic con
dence in
science
s ability to establish whether activities can be pursued without having
negative effects. It would not, in any event, be appropriate under a system of
governance that is founded on a prioritisation of ecological values to stake
the health of ecosystems on the exactitude of conclusions reached through
scienti
'
c research when, in practice, these will always be provisional. The
failure of established regulatory practices that are based on scienti
c input to
stem ecological degradation only serves to reinforce this point.
It is for these reasons that I have argued for an approach to governance
that observes due caution and respect for ecological values in applying
regulatory controls. That said, ecology does have a key supporting role to
play in the reduction of stresses that socioeconomic systems place on the
natural world. Concerted efforts to improve our understanding of resil-
ience and of how systemic processes and the different components of
ecosystems contribute to this may enhance our ability to determine the
compatibility of proposed policies, plans and projects with the over-
arching goal of supporting their functionality. Even if they do not,
heightened awareness of our ignorance would serve a purpose by rein-
forcing the need for normative precaution in governing human activities.
I do not presume to suggest what research should be conducted. Rather,
the focus in this chapter is on exploring how law can be used to ensure that
information is produced which may advance the objectives of ecological
governance. I comment in the following section on the particular dif
culties
that would confront efforts to generate information for governing activities
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