In this serious and challenging contribution to environmental decision-making, that stays alive to the often neglected issue of implementation, Mark Ryan constructs a partnership between the Precautionary Principle and the concept of Ecosystem Health that, at one stroke, brings clarity to the Precautionary Principle, gives traction to the concept of Ecosystem Health, and breathes new life into the sustainability agenda – altogether a signal achievement.

- Alan Holland, Emeritus Professor, Lancaster University,

It is widely acknowledged that we have a duty to protect the environment. Yet, current environmental policy discussions demonstrate that fulfilling this in practice is a difficult, complex, and costly task. There are many ethical questions arising from such discussions. Should we care about the environment because it is economically valuable or because nature has intrinsic value? How do we establish an ethical trade-off between our current needs and those of future generations? Should we protect individual species or entire ecosystems instead? What way should we discuss societal values and ideals, or should scientific analysis take precedence within decision making practice? This book aims to tackle some of these thorny sustainability issues and responds to them with a cohesive, original alternative in the form of the precautionary ecosystem health principle (PEHP). It provides a detailed philosophical approach and advocates that a PEHP approach is able to overcome many of these stark and challenging difficulties within sustainability theory and environmental policy.
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Should we care about the environment because it is economically valuable or because nature has intrinsic value? This book gives a clear overview of some of the main theoretical problems within environmental ethics and offers definitive solutions and alternatives.
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1. Introduction / 2. The Origin and Development of Ecosystem Health / 3. Weak Anthropocentrism and Contributory Value / 4. Health is Objective (Empirical and Measurable) / 5. The Value of Health / 6. The Precautionary Principle / 7. The Trigger, Decision, and Application Stage/ 8. Conclusion / Bibliography / Index
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781783487974
Publisert
2016-10-07
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield International
Vekt
476 gr
Høyde
239 mm
Bredde
157 mm
Dybde
22 mm
Aldersnivå
UU, UP, 05
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
220

Forfatter

Biographical note

Mark Ryan is a Teaching and Research Associate in Philosophy at the National University of Ireland, Galway.