Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
1.7 Structure
The preceding sections provide a broad outline of the topic
s structure.
48
'
To recapitulate brie
y, I consider in
Chapter 2
what aspects of ecosys-
tems we should concentrate on protecting, why economic growth should
be constrained to further this end, and what methods and principles
should be employed and adhered to in governance with a view to preserv-
ing ecosystem functionality. In the
rst part of
Chapter 3
, I argue that a
normative precautionary approach to governance should be adopted to
address the challenges that endemic uncertainty presents for our capacity
to regulate activities effectively. This would involve a permanent effort
to reduce the cumulative ecological stresses that socioeconomic systems
generate. It would also replace the failed practice of attempting to
balance economic and environmental concerns through the prediction
of development
s likely ecological effects.
I then go on to explore how a system of governance that embodies and
gives practical form to normative precaution would be structured. In the
second part of
Chapter 3
, I propose a legal framework for policy-making
whose purpose is to produce packages of policies that collectively drive
progressive reductions in risks of harm to ecosystems and strategies
for their implementation. In
Chapter 4
, I consider how arrangements
for governance would be structured to involve all levels of government
and all sectors of society with collaborative decision-making over how
ecological stresses can be reduced. The legal system for strategic plan-
ning that I present in
Chapter 5
provides a framework for the collective
decision-making structures and processes that I call for in the preceding
chapter. I argue in
Chapter 6
that public participation in decision-
making should be conducted through deliberative fora. Involvement
with deliberative discussion and debate is most likely to promote
public understanding of and the formation of positive attitudes towards
measures that would impinge signi
'
'
lifestyles, and to
engender change in their values and behaviours. I complete my pro-
posals for ecological governance by examining, in
Chapter 7
,howlaw
canbeusedtoensurethattherequisite information is generated and
research conducted to support the system
cantly on peoples
'
s operation.
48
Chapter 1,
Sections 1.3
-
1.6
.
