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The Precautionary Principle Revisited: Its Interpretations And Their Conservation Consequences

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  • CLEM TISDELL

    (School of Economics, The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, 4072, Queensland, Australia)

Abstract

The precautionary principle was included in 1992 in the Rio Declaration and is part of important international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Yet, it is not a straight-forward guide for environmental policy because many interpretations are possible as shown in this paper. Its different economic versions can result in conflicting policy recommendations about resource conservation. The principle does not always favor (natural) resource conservation (e.g., biodiversity conservation) although it has been adopted politically on the assumption it does. The principle's consequences are explored for biodiversity conservation when the introduction of new genotypes is possible.

Suggested Citation

  • Clem Tisdell, 2010. "The Precautionary Principle Revisited: Its Interpretations And Their Conservation Consequences," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 55(02), pages 335-352.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:serxxx:v:55:y:2010:i:02:n:s0217590810003754
    DOI: 10.1142/S0217590810003754
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tisdell, Clem, 1990. "Economics and the debate about preservation of species, crop varieties and genetic diversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 77-90, April.
    2. Tisdell, Clem, 1970. "Implications of Learning for Economic Planning," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 177-192.
    3. Tisdell, Clement A., 2006. "Poverty, Political Failure and the Use of Open Access Resources in Developing Countries," Economics, Ecology and Environment Working Papers 55094, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    4. Gatzweiler, Franz W. & Volkmann, Jorg, 2007. "Beyond Economic Efficiency in Biodiversity Conservation," Institutional Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources Discussion Papers 7704, Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    5. Clem Tisdell, 2002. "The Economics of Conserving Wildlife and Natural Areas," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2526.
    6. Clement A Tisdell, 2009. "Resource and Environmental Economics:Modern Issues and Applications," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number 6980, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tisdell, Clement A., 2012. "Sustainable Development Planning: Allowing for Future Generations, Time and Uncertainty," Economics, Ecology and Environment Working Papers 125210, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    2. Shyama V. Ramani & Mhamed-Ali El-Aroui, 2020. "On application of the precautionary principle to ban GMVs: an evolutionary model of new seed technology integration," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1243-1266, September.
    3. Tisdell, Clement A., 2012. "Biodiversity Change and Sustainable Development: New Perspectives," Economics, Ecology and Environment Working Papers 125211, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    4. Tisdell, Clem, 2014. "Genetic Erosion in Traditional Food Crops in the Pacific Islands: Background, Socioeconomic Causes and Policy Issues," Economics, Ecology and Environment Working Papers 168374, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    5. Clem Tisdell, 2013. "Economics, ecology and GMOs: sustainability, precaution and related issues," Chapters, in: M. A. Quaddus & M. A.B. Siddique (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning, chapter 5, pages 91-118, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Clement A. Tisdell, 2017. "Bounded Rationality, Satisficing and the Evolution of Economic Thought," Economic Theory, Applications and Issues Working Papers 264873, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    7. Tisdell, Clem, 2014. "Genetic Erosion in Traditional Food Crops in the Pacific Islands: Background, Socioeconomic Causes and Policy Issues - WP193 Amended," Economics, Ecology and Environment Working Papers 183260, University of Queensland, School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Biodiversity; conservation; climate change; flexibility; learning; precautionary principle; uncertainty; Q2; Q28; Q3; H43;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q3 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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