Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
they would also be used to inform
nal decision-making on policy
contents.
The framework applies the two key principles for macro-level
decision-making that are proposed in
Chapter 2
: the under-utilisation
of resources and minimising reliance on activities that are most likely to
provoke changes in ecological states.
10
rst principle
by providing that policy options which place least stress on ecosystems
should be prioritised and that strategies should explore how these
might be promoted. It encompasses the second principle by requiring
that reliance on options which are assessed to present unacceptable risks
of ecological harm should be reduced with a view, ultimately, to their
cessation. I discuss the application of principles for substitution and sun-
setting under the proposed framework and their antecedents in Swedish
chemicals policy at
sections 3.3.2.3
and
3.3.2.4
.
The introduction of such a legal framework would require reform of
the processes by which policy is made. Historical and current opposition
to extending environmental assessment to policy-making indicates that
this would encounter institutional resistance.
11
It has been argued that it
would be inappropriate, and, indeed, unrealistic to constrain complex
practices involved with weighing up a multitude of con
It advances the
icting values
and determining what actions should be taken in the national interest
within an environmental
.
12
However, my response to this
'
'
strait jacket
argument is that the prized
exibility of policy formation is incompatible
with the rigour that is required in decision-making if the degradation of
ecosystems is to be halted, and that it must, to an extent, be sacri
ced to
ensure that policies contribute to reducing risks of ecological harm.
I make proposals in
Section 3.4
as to how the loose and informal
approach that prevails in policy-making might be reformed with a view
to ensuring that ecological considerations are prioritised. Aspects of
current practices that my proposals address include the lack of system-
atisation that results in policies that are implicit as well as those which
are formally presented as representing governmental positions, and the
division of responsibilities amongst ministries which makes it dif
cult
to achieve a coherent response to issues whose resolution requires
national direction. These might be addressed by adopting a
'
whole of
government
approach involving the review and periodic reappraisal of
options for action in different policy areas under the leadership of a
'
10
Chapter 2,
Section 2.6
.
11
Chapter 3,
Section 3.4
.
12
Ibid
.
