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applied in practice. This is because each part of the principle involves
interpretation of some kind:
It is clear that beyond the question of threshold of
scientific evidence of potential harm, the application of the
precautionary principle will be influenced by a number of
other factors. These include perceptions of what constitutes
a threat to the environment, what we regard as serious and
irreversible and what type and level of precautionary measures
are appropriate. (Harding and Fisher, 1999: 15, emphasis in
original)
Disputes over the terms of the precautionary principle are further
complicated by how 'uncertainty' is linked to the notion of 'threshold'
in environmental management and environmental law.
Moreover, objective and subjective conceptions of risk tend to further
complicate assessments of how best to respond to real and potential risks.
The objective interpretation of risk refers to the relative
frequency with which a particular outcome occurs, given
a class of events of relatively similar conditions. The
subjective interpretation of risk refers to a degree of belief
or confidence about the likelihood of a certain event
occurring. (Lin, 2006: 962)
With most phenomena, however, there is limited knowledge and thus
a degree of uncertainty - and hence we operate in terms of subjective
risk (as defined above). As Lin (2006: 968) points out: 'risk refers to the
probability that harm will occur. Uncertainty, in contrast, refers to the
potential for error in estimating a risk.' How we deal with 'uncertainty',
therefore, has enormous implications for policy development and legal
practice in regards to environmental harm and risk.
Indeed, the anticipatory role of environmental risk assessment is
complicated from the start by the ingrained difficulties of prediction
in relation to the environment. Ecological systems are by their very
nature complex. Furthermore, given the focus on 'nature', any criteria
of prediction will be based upon speculative, indefinite criteria. What
is important is that such assessments rarely, if ever, take into account
the past record of companies and individuals that plan to undertake
activity affecting particular environments.
Action or inaction on environmental threats has been legitimated one
way or the other by claims of scientific uncertainty. The uncertainty
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