Laura Westra

Perspectives on Ecological Integrity

1. Introduction J. Lemons, L. Westra. Conceptual dimensions of integrity. 2. Ecosystem integrity and sustainability: the foundational value of the wild L. Westra. 3. Ecological integrity: reclaiming lost connections J.R. Karr, E.W. Chu. 4. Embracing complexity: the challenge of the ecosystem approach J.J. Kay, E. Schneider. 5. Ecological integrity and sustainability: buzzwords in conflict? R.F. Noss. 6. Ecosystem integrity: a causal necessity R.E. Ulanowicz. 7. Ecosystem integrity in a context of ecostudies as related to the Great Lakes region H.A. Regier. 8. Universal environmental sustainability and the principle of integrity R. Goodland, H. Daly. Integrity: science, ethics, and policy. 9. Hard ecology, soft ecology, and ecosystem integrity K. Shrader-Frechette. 10. Science for the post normal age S.O. Funtowicz, J.R. Ravetz. 11. The value of integrity M. Sagoff. Case studies and practical consequences of applying integrity. 12. Ecological integrity and national parks J. Lemons. 13. The importance of landscape in ecosystem integrity: the example of Everglades restoration efforts D.M. Flemming, et al. 14. Integrity, sustainability, biodiversity and forestry P. Miller. 15. The global population, food, and the environment D. Pimentel. 16. Sustainable development and economic growth J.E. Reichart, P.H. Werhane. 17. Ethical obligations of multinational corporations to the global environment: the McDonalds Corporation and conservation J.D. Nations, et al. Index.

Ecological Sustainability and Integrity: Concepts and Approaches

Part I: Sustainability in Relation to Science, Law, and Ethics. 1. The Concept of Sustainability: A Critical Approach L.K. Caldwell. 2. Sustainability and Environmental Ethics K. Shrader-Frechette. 3. Ecological Sustainability as a Conservation Concept J.B. Callicott, K. Mumford. 4. Investigating Individual Motives for Environmental Action: Lexicographic Preferences, Beliefs and Attitudes C.L. Spash. 5. Biocentrism and Ecological Integrity J.P. Sterba. 6. Burden of Proof Requirements and Environmental Sustainability: Science, Public Policy, and Ethics J. Lemons. Part II: Sustainability and Ecological Integrity: Problems in Natural Resources. 7. Water Resources: Agriculture, the Environment, and Ethics D. Pimentel, et al. 8. Canadas Model Forest Program: The Manitoba Experience P. Miller. 9. The Ratchet Effect C.F. Jordan. 10. Sustaining World Fisheries Resources: An Ethical Dilemma C.F. Cole. 11. Traditional Sustainability: A Case Study of Floodplain Fisheries Management in West Africa R. Victor. Part III: Approaches to Public Policy. 12. The Federal Ecosystem Management Initiative in the United States C.R. Malone. 13. Sustainability, Growth and Distributive Justice: Questioning Environmental Absolutism T. Schrecker. 14. Environmental Sustainability in Agriculture: Bioethical and Religious Arguments Against Carnivory R. Goodland. 15. Why We Need a Non- Anthropocentric Environmental Evaluation of Technology for Public Policy L. Westra. 16. Coping with 2050 R.A. Carpenter. Index.

Ecosystem Integrity and Sustainability: The Foundational Value of the Wild

The concept of ecosystem integrity figures prominently in a large number of regulatory and legislative documents. From the time of the 1972 Clean Water Act to the recent vision and mission statements following the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the term and concepts of “integrity” have appeared in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1978), the Canada Park Service Regulations (1988), the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board Report (1991), Agenda 21, Ascend 21, the draft Montana Environmental Protection Act (1992), Environment Canada’s Mission Statement (1992), UNCED documents (1992), World Bank reports (particularly in the bank’s 1992 discussion of biodiversity), and many other documents, including the Constitution of Brazil (Chapter 6, Meio Ambiente).

Post-Normal Science, the Precautionary Principle and the Ethics of Integrity

Present laws and regulations even in democratic countries are not sufficient to prevent the grave environmental threats we face. Further, even environmental ethics, when they remain anthropocentric cannot propose a better approach. I argue that, taking in considerations the precautionary principle, and adopting the perspective of post-normal science, the ethics of integrity suggest a better way to reduce ecological threats and promote the human good globally.

Environmental integrity, racism and health

Environmental degradation seriously affects human health. Thus, a close relationship exists between the protection of ecosystem integrity and wilderness on one hand, and human health on the other. However, there is an overarching, holistic perspective in laws and regulations--as well as morality--to to maintain a healthy relationship between the two. Problem areas focused on in this paper are: (a) climate change and global warming; (b) food production; and (c) global equity. This paper argues for the principle of integrity, which provides an holistic perspective, suggested as a better approach than that of current regulations to mitigate against associated threats to human health.

Ecosystem integrity and the “fish wars”

The problems of fisheries and aquatic ecosystems in Canada have been analyzed primarily from the standpoint of the conservation of these resources, without much emphasis on the value of aquatic ecosystems for themselves, including their life-support function, vital to all the biota within them. This represents a purely anthropocentric approach, that is flawed from the standpoint of sustainability practically and theoretically (Westra, 1996; Norton, 1995). Without entering in the anthropocentrism debate, the intent of this study is to indicate the apparent conflict between theoretical legislative and regulative aims, and most forms of “management principles”, even when these are presented in their most enlightened forms. Starting with the examination of a recent Canadian case, the failure of present management practices is outlined, even when these are democratically chosen and support worthwhile social goals. The Canadian “fish wars” example shows clearly why the ethics of integrity provide better guidelines for public policy, as they alone take as primary biological and ecological objectives.

The principle of «Integrity» and The Economy of the Earth

Binational legislation (U.S./Can.) posits the goal of “restoring integrity”, through the ecosystem approach. In essence, what is proposed is a concept which is philosophical, rather than purely scientific. It is also a holistic concept, intended to engender harmony among all parts of the biota (including humans). It represents a “vision”, or ideal embodying a value beyond the economic realm. From this starting point, based on the value of “integrity”, I propose a new principle for ethics which places life-support systems first in moral considerability.

Introduction to Perspectives on Ecological Integrity

Recently, concepts of ecological integrity have been proposed to facilitate enhanced protection of biological and ecological resources against the threat of human activities. The promotion of ecological integrity as a basis for public policy and decisionmaking stems from scientists and others concerned about the threats of human activities to ecosystems and species, and from philosophers attempting to derive a more suitable ethic to the relationships between humans and the nonhuman environment.

The notion of immunity for pre-birth harms: maternal and beyond

ABSTRACT This paper is based on the new understanding of children’s health relating to recent science regarding the work of Philip Landrigan and Ruth Etzel on children’s environmental health. The main concern is the presence of chemical exposures that result in grave harms from birth to early childhood. I argue that these discoveries cast a different light on the question of immunity for prenatal harms, and the right to healthy development from before birth.

The Child’s Life, Health and Development Rights

This early document states the basic necessity in child law very clearly: “the child must be given the means requisite for its normal development”. This universal statement is intended to be applicable to every child, not only to those who are convenient, or not due to arrive at a time when then pregnant woman would prefer to avoid their survival. The starting point remains clear: there is neither scientific evidence nor any other research that produces a logical argument why a developing human infant should be deprived of the right to life and normal development, or why she should be deemed to be alive and possess rights only when outside a mother’s body and breathing on her own.