Beyond the Environmentalist's Paradox and the Debate on Weak versus Strong Sustainability

Sammanfattning

Environmentalists generally argue that ecological damage will (eventually) lead to declines in human well-being. From this perspective, the recent introduction of the "environmentalist's paradox" in BioScience by Raudsepp-Hearne and colleagues (2010) is particularly significant. In essence, Raudsepp-Hearne and colleagues (2010) claimed that although ecosystem services have been degraded, human well-being-paradoxically-has increased. In this article, we show that this debate is in fact rooted in a broader discussion on weak sustainability versus strong sustainability (the substitutability of human-made capital for natural capital). We warn against the reductive nature of focusing only on a stock flow framework in which a natural-capital stock produces ecosystem services. Concretely, we recommend a holistic approach in which the complexity, irreversibility, uncertainty, and ethical predicaments intrinsic to the natural environment and its connections to humanity are also considered.

Nyckelord

ecology; natural resources; assessments; sustainability

Publicerad i

Bioscience
2012, volym: 62, nummer: 3, sidor: 251-259
Utgivare: AMER INST BIOLOGICAL SCI

SLU författare

• Ang, Frederic

  • Universiteit Hasselt

UKÄ forskningsämne

Nationalekonomi
Ekologi

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.3.6

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/79448