Environmental management in development : the evolution of paradigms

In the past quarter century, environmental management has increasingly become a concern of governments. More recently, the traditional split between developers and conservationists has begun to break down. Conceptions of what is economically and technologically practical, ecologically necessary, and politically feasible are rapidly changing. This report discusses the implications of five paradigms of environmental management in development. The author notes that the remedial legalistic approach of environmental management is breaking down. Instead, interest in the more economically integrated approach of resource management has recently taken hold. Several interdependent forces indicate that improving the economic management of pollution and resources may be a necessary but insufficient measure to create the conditions for sustainable development. The perception of tradeoffs between development and environmental quality persists in the present debate, but its necessity is greatly exaggerated, according to this paper. Finally, it is noted that paradigms may be impervious to evidence, and institutions and societies too difficult to change. Whether, when and how these issues are resolved may be modern civilization's most significant test.