Editing Environmental resource management

{{Short description|Type of resource management}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Redirect|Environmental Resources Management|the consultancy firm|ERM (consultancy)}}
[[File:Aral Sea 1989-2008.jpg|thumb|The shrinking [[Aral Sea]], an example of poor [[water resource management]] diverted for [[irrigation]]]]

'''Environmental resource management''' or '''environmental management''' is the [[management]] of the interaction and impact of [[Society|human societies]] on the [[natural environment|environment]]. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims to ensure that [[ecosystem services]] are protected and maintained for future human generations, and also maintain [[ecosystem]] integrity through considering [[Ethics|ethical]], [[Economy|economic]], and [[Science|scientific]] ([[Ecology|ecological]]) variables.<ref name=Wostl2006>{{cite journal |author=Pahl-Wost, C. |title=The implications of complexity for integrated resource management |journal=Environmental Modelling and Software |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=561–9 |date=May 2007 |doi=10.1016/j.envsoft.2005.12.024 |citeseerx=10.1.1.196.1136 }}{{rp|561}}</ref> Environmental resource management tries to identify factors between meeting needs and protecting resources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Uehara|first1=Thiago Hector Kanashiro|last2=Otero|first2=Gabriela Gomes Prol|last3=Martins|first3=Euder Glendes Andrade|last4=Philippi Jr|first4=Arlindo|last5=Mantovani|first5=Waldir|date=June 2010|title=Pesquisas em gestão ambiental: análise de sua evolução na Universidade de São Paulo|journal=Ambiente & Sociedade|volume=13|issue=1|pages=165–185|doi=10.1590/s1414-753x2010000100011|issn=1414-753X|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is thus linked to [[environmental protection]], [[resource management]],  [[sustainability]], [[integrated landscape management]], [[natural resource management]], [[fisheries management]], [[forest management]], [[wildlife management]], [[Environmental management system|environmental management systems]], and others.

==Significance==
Environmental resource management is an issue of increasing concern, as reflected in its prevalence in several texts influencing global [[Political sociology|sociopolitical]] frameworks such as the [[Brundtland Commission]]'s [[Our Common Future]],<ref>{{cite book |author=World Commission on Environment and Development |chapter=Our Common Future, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development |chapter-url=http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm |title=Development and International Co-operation: Environment |publisher=United Nations |date=2 August 1987 |id=General Assembly document A/42/427 |url=http://www.un-documents.net/a42-427.htm}}</ref> which highlighted the integrated nature of the environment and [[international development]], and the [[Worldwatch Institute]]'s annual [[State of the World (book series)|State of the World]] reports.

The environment determines the nature of people, [[animal]]s, [[plant]]s, and places around the [[Earth]], affecting behaviour, [[religion]], [[culture]] and economic practices.

==Scope==
[[File:TerracesBuffers.JPG|thumb|upright|Improved agricultural practices such as these [[Terrace (agriculture)|terraces]] in northwest Iowa can serve to preserve soil and improve water quality.]]
Environmental resource management can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. It involves the management of all components of the [[biophysical environment]], both living ([[Biotic component|biotic]]) and non-living ([[Abiotic component|abiotic]]), and the relationships among all living [[species]] and their [[habitat]]s. The environment also involves the relationships of the human environment, such as the social, cultural, and economic environment, with the biophysical environment. The essential aspects of environmental resource management are ethical, economical, social, and technological. These underlie principles and help make decisions.

The concept of environmental determinism, [[probabilism]], and [[Possibilism (geography)|possibilism]] are significant in the concept of environmental resource management.

Environmental resource management covers many areas in [[science]], including [[geography]], [[biology]], [[social sciences]], [[political sciences]], [[public policy]], [[ecology]], [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[sociology]], [[psychology]], and [[physiology]]. Environmental resource management as a practice and [[discourse]] (across these areas) is also the object of study in the social sciences.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=David L |last1=Levy  |title=Environmental management as political sustainability |journal=Organ. Environ.  |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=126–147 |year=1997 |doi=10.1177/0921810697102002 |s2cid=41646694 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Pushkala |last1=Prasad |first2=Michael |last2=Elmes |title=In the name of the practical: unearthing the hegemony of pragmatics in the discourse of environmental management |journal=Journal of Management Studies  |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=845–867 |year=2005 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00521.x |s2cid=143579908 }}</ref>

==Aspects==

===Ethical===
Environmental resource management strategies are intrinsically driven by conceptions of [[Human-Environment interaction|human-nature relationships]].<ref name=Colby1991>{{cite journal |last=Colby |first=M.E. |title=Environmental management in development: the evolution of paradigms |journal=Ecological Economics |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=193–213 |date=September 1991 |doi=10.1016/0921-8009(91)90032-A |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1989/11/01/000009265_3960928125138/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf }}</ref> Ethical aspects involve the cultural and social issues relating to the environment, and dealing with changes to it. "All human activities take place in the context of certain types of relationships between society and the bio-physical world (the rest of nature),"<ref name=Colby1991_193>{{harvnb|Colby|1991|p=193}}</ref> and so, there is a great significance in understanding the ethical values of different groups around the world. Broadly speaking, two schools of thought exist in [[environmental ethics]]: [[Anthropocentrism]] and [[Ecocentrism]], each influencing a broad spectrum of environmental resource management styles along a continuum.<ref name=Colby1991 /> These styles perceive "...different evidence, imperatives, and problems, and prescribe different solutions, strategies, technologies, roles for economic sectors, culture, governments, and ethics, etc."<ref name=Colby1991_193/>

====Anthropocentrism====
{{Main|Anthropocentrism}}
Anthropocentrism, "an inclination to evaluate reality exclusively in terms of human values,"<ref>{{cite web |title=Anthropocentrism |work=WordNet Search – 3.1 |publisher=Princeton University |url=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Anthropocentrism&sub=Search+WordNet}}</ref> is an ethic reflected in the major interpretations of Western religions and the dominant economic paradigms of the industrialised world.<ref name=Colby1991 /> Anthropocentrism looks at nature as existing solely for the benefit of humans, and as a commodity to use for the good of humanity and to improve human quality of life.<ref>{{cite journal |author=White L |s2cid=8076858 |title=The historical roots of our ecologic crisis |journal=Science |volume=155 |issue=3767 |pages=1203–7 |date=March 1967 |pmid=17847526 |doi=10.1126/science.155.3767.1203 |bibcode=1967Sci...155.1203W }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Morris |last=Berman |title=The Reenchantment of the World |url=https://archive.org/details/reenchantmentofw00berm_0 |url-access=registration |year=1981 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-9225-9 |access-date=31 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Pepper |first2=John W. |last2=Perkins |first3=Martyn J. |last3=Youngs |title=The Roots of Modern Environmentalism |url=https://archive.org/details/rootsofmodernenv0000pepp |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/rootsofmodernenv0000pepp/page/145 145] |year=1984 |publisher=Croom Helm |isbn=978-0-7099-2064-9 }}</ref> Anthropocentric environmental resource management is therefore not the conservation of the environment solely for the environment's sake, but rather the conservation of the environment, and ecosystem structure, for humans' sake.

====Ecocentrism====
{{Main|Ecocentrism}}

Ecocentrists believe in the intrinsic value of nature while maintaining that human beings must use and even exploit nature to survive and live.<ref name=Purser>{{Cite journal |jstor = 258993|title = Ecocentrism is in the Eye of the Beholder|journal = The Academy of Management Review|volume = 21|issue = 3|pages = 611–613|last1 = Purser|first1 = Ronald E.|last2 = Montuori|first2 = Alfonso|year = 1996}}</ref> It is this fine ethical line that ecocentrists navigate between fair use and abuse.<ref name=Purser /> At an extreme of the ethical scale, ecocentrism includes philosophies such as [[ecofeminism]] and [[deep ecology]], which evolved as a reaction to dominant anthropocentric paradigms.<ref name=Colby1991 /> "In its current form, it is an attempt to synthesize many old and some new philosophical attitudes about the relationship between nature and human activity, with particular emphasis on ethical, social, and spiritual aspects that have been downplayed in the dominant economic worldview."<ref>{{harvnb|Colby|1991|p=199}}</ref>

===Economics===
Main article: ''[[Economics]]''[[File:Gibraltar East Side Water Catchments in 1992.jpg|thumb|A water harvesting system collects rainwater from the [[Rock of Gibraltar]] into pipes that lead to tanks excavated inside the rock.]]
The economy functions within and is dependent upon goods and services provided by natural ecosystems.<ref name=Thampa>{{cite book |first=Dodo J. |last=Thampapillai |title=Environmental economics: concepts, methods, and policies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xaCZAAAAIAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-553577-8}}</ref> The role of the environment is recognized in both [[classical economics]] and [[neoclassical economics]] theories, yet the environment was a lower priority in economic policies from 1950 to 1980 due to emphasis from policy makers on economic growth.<ref name=Thampa /> With the prevalence of environmental problems, many economists embraced the notion that, "If [[environmental sustainability]] must coexist for economic sustainability, then the overall system must [permit] identification of an equilibrium between the environment and the economy."<ref>{{harvnb|Thampapillai|2002|p=21}}</ref> As such, economic policy makers began to incorporate the functions of the natural environment – or [[natural capital]] – particularly as a sink for wastes and for the provision of raw materials and amenities.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Allen V. |author2-link=Robert Ayres (scientist) |last1=Kneese |first2=Robert U. |last2=Ayres |first3=Ralph C. |last3=D'Arge |title=Economics and the environment: a materials balance approach |url=https://archive.org/details/economicsenviron0000knee |url-access=registration |year=1970 |publisher=Resources for the Future; distributed by the Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-1215-6|author1-link=Allen V. Kneese }}</ref>

Debate continues among economists as to how to account for natural capital, specifically whether resources can be replaced through knowledge and technology, or whether the environment is a closed system that cannot be replenished and is finite.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Herman E. |last1=Daly |last2=Cobb |first2=John B. Jr |title=For The Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZAIU1yqyRkC |year=1994 |publisher=Beacon Press |isbn=978-0-8070-4705-7}}</ref> Economic models influence environmental resource management, in that management policies reflect beliefs about natural capital scarcity. For someone who believes natural capital is infinite and easily substituted, environmental management is irrelevant to the economy.<ref name=Colby1991 /> For example, economic paradigms based on neoclassical models of closed economic systems are primarily concerned with resource scarcity and thus prescribe legalizing the environment as an economic externality for an environmental resource management strategy.<ref name=Colby1991 /> This approach has often been termed 'Command-and-control'.<ref name=Colby1991 /> Colby has identified trends in the development of economic paradigms, among them, a shift towards more [[ecological economics]] since the 1990s.<ref name=Colby1991 />

===Ecology===
[[File:Juvenile fish bypass.jpg|thumb|A diagram showing the juvenile fish bypass system, which allows young salmon and steelhead to safely pass the [[Rocky Reach Dam|Rocky Reach Hydro Project]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]]]
[[File:Cloture grande faune A73A.jpg|thumb|Fencing separates big game from vehicles along the [[Quebec Autoroute 73]] in Canada.]]
There are many definitions of the field of science commonly called [[ecology]].  A typical one is "the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms."<ref>{{cite web |title=Ecology |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ecology |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref>  "The pairing of significant uncertainty about the behaviour and response of ecological systems with urgent calls for near-term action constitutes a difficult reality, and a common lament" for many [[Environmental Manager|environmental resource managers]].<ref>{{harvnb|Arvai|Gregory|Ohlson|2006|p=2413}}</ref> Scientific analysis of the environment deals with several dimensions of ecological uncertainty.<ref name=Arvai2006>{{cite journal |last1=Arvai |first1=J. |last2=Gregory |first2=R. |last3=Ohlson |first3=D. |title=Deconstructing Adaptive Management: Criteria for Applications to Environmental Management |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=2411–25 |date=December 2006 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2006)016[2411:DAMCFA]2.0.CO;2 |pmid=17205914|hdl=1794/22080 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> These include: ''structural uncertainty'' resulting from the misidentification, or lack of information pertaining to the relationships between ecological variables; ''parameter uncertainty'' referring to "uncertainty associated with parameter values that are not known precisely but can be assessed and reported in terms of the likelihood…of experiencing a defined range of outcomes";<ref>{{harvnb|Arvai|Gregory|Ohlson|2006|p=2417}}</ref> and ''stochastic uncertainty'' stemming from chance or unrelated factors.<ref name=Arvai2006 /> [[Adaptive management]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Carl J. |last=Walters |title=Adaptive management of renewable resources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMwYAQAAIAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-947970-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-first=C.S. |editor-last=Holling |author=United Nations Environment Programme |title=Adaptive environmental assessment and management |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRFSAAAAMAAJ |year=1978 |publisher=International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis |isbn=978-0-471-99632-3}}</ref> is considered a useful framework for dealing with situations of high levels of uncertainty<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Lance H. |editor1-last=Gunderson |editor2-first=C.S. |editor2-last=Holling |title=Panarchy Synopsis: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRnr9uAWo0EC |year=2002 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1-55963-330-7}}</ref> though it is not without its detractors.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Walters C, Holling CS |s2cid=41971470 |title=Large-scale management experiments and learning by doing |journal=Ecology |volume=71 |issue=6 |pages=2060–8 |date=December 1990 |doi=10.2307/1938620 |jstor=1938620 |bibcode=1990Ecol...71.2060W }}</ref>

A common scientific concept and impetus behind environmental resource management is [[carrying capacity]]. Simply put, carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms a particular resource can sustain. The concept of carrying capacity, whilst understood by many cultures over history, has its roots in [[Malthusianism|Malthusian]] theory. An example is visible in the EU [[Water Framework Directive]]. However, "it is argued that Western scientific knowledge ... is often insufficient to deal with the full complexity of the interplay of variables in environmental resource management.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Johannes RE |title=The case for data-less marine resource management: examples from tropical nearshore finfisheries |journal=Trends Ecol. Evol. |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=243–6 |date=June 1998 |pmid=21238285 |doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(98)01384-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ludwig, D. |author2=Mangel, M. |author3=Haddad, B. |title=Ecology, conservation, and public policy |journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics |volume=32 |pages=481–571 |date=November 2001 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114116 }}</ref> These concerns have been recently addressed by a shift in environmental resource management approaches to incorporate different knowledge systems including [[traditional knowledge]],<ref name=Raymond2010>{{cite journal |vauthors=Raymond CM, Fazey I, Reed MS, Stringer LC, Robinson GM, Evely AC |title=Integrating local and scientific knowledge for environmental management |journal=J. Environ. Manage. |volume=91 |issue=8 |pages=1766–77 |date=August 2010 |pmid=20413210 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.03.023 }}</ref> reflected in approaches such as adaptive co-management<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Folke, C. |author2=Hahn, T. |author3=Olsson, P. |author4=Nordberg, J. |title=Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |volume=30 |pages=441–473 |date=November 2005 |doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511 |citeseerx=10.1.1.464.445 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=D.R. |last1=Armitage |last2=Berkes |first2=F. |last3=Doubleday |first3=N. |title=Adaptive Co-Management: Collaboration, Learning, and Multi-Level Governance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AA6IfQRKwIYC&pg=PA58 |year=2007 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-1383-9 |location=Vancouver}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Berkes F |title=Evolution of co-management: role of knowledge generation, bridging organizations and social learning |journal=J. Environ. Manage. |volume=90 |issue=5 |pages=1692–702 |date=April 2009 |pmid=19110363 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.12.001 }}</ref> community-based natural resource management<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kellert, S.R. |author2=Mehta, J.N. |author3=Ebbin, S.A. |author4=Lichtenfeld, L.L. |title=Community natural resource management: promise, rhetoric and reality |journal=Society and Natural Resources |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=705–715 |year=2000 |doi=10.1080/089419200750035575 |s2cid=219696057 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Blaikie, P. |title=Is small really beautiful? Community-based natural resource management in Malawi and Botswana |journal=World Development |volume=34 |issue=11 |pages=1942–57 |date=November 2006 |doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.11.023 }}</ref> and transitions management<ref>{{cite journal |author=Geels, F.W. |title=Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study |journal=Research Policy |volume=31 |issue=8–9 |pages=1257–74 |date=December 2002 |doi=10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00062-8 |url=https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/technological-transitions-as-evolutionary-configuration-processes-a-multilevel-perspective-and-a-casestudy(fc824989-3c8c-4719-84ab-470eb633a245).html }}</ref> among others.<ref name=Raymond2010 />

==Sustainability==
{{Main|Sustainability and environmental management}}
Sustainability in environmental resource management involves managing economic, social, and ecological systems both within and outside an organizational entity so it can sustain itself and the system it exists in.<ref name=Avery2010>{{cite book |first1=Gayle C. |last1=Avery |first2=Harald |last2=Bergsteiner |title=Honeybees and Locusts: The Business Case for Sustainable Leadership |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOqC9YnA4HkC |year=2010 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-74237-393-5}}</ref><ref name=Dunphy2007>{{cite book |first1=Dexter Colboyd |last1=Dunphy |first2=Andrew |last2=Griffiths |first3=Suzanne |last3=Ben |title=Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PK5oYAigfjQC |year=2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |edition=2nd|isbn=9780415287401 }}</ref> In context, sustainability implies that rather than competing for endless growth on a finite planet, development improves quality of life without necessarily consuming more resources.<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Costanza |title=Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RbIjc3LyYOIC |year=1991 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-07563-3}}</ref> Sustainably managing environmental resources requires organizational change that instills sustainability values that portrays these values outwardly from all levels and reinforces them to surrounding stakeholders.<ref name=Avery2010 /><ref name=Dunphy2007 /> The result should be a symbiotic relationship between the sustaining organization, community, and environment.

Many drivers compel environmental resource management to take sustainability issues into account. Today's economic paradigms do not protect the natural environment, yet they deepen human dependency on biodiversity and ecosystem services.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Guo Z, Zhang L, Li Y |title=Increased dependence of humans on ecosystem services and biodiversity |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=5 |issue=10 |year=2010 |pmid=20957042 |pmc=2948508 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0013113 |page=e13113|bibcode=2010PLoSO...513113G |doi-access=free }}</ref> Ecologically, massive [[environmental degradation]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Costanza |first2=Bryan G. |last2=Norton |first3=Benjamin D. |last3=Haskell |title=Ecosystem Health: New Goals for Environmental Management |url=https://archive.org/details/ecosystemhealthn00cost |url-access=registration |year=1992 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1-55963-140-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Environment Management Group: Biodiversity |date=10 August 2011 |work=UNEP 1 2010 |publisher=UNEP |url=http://www.unemg.org/MeetingsDocuments/IssueManagementGroups/Biodiversity/tabid/6278/Default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915121337/http://www.unemg.org/MeetingsDocuments/IssueManagementGroups/Biodiversity/tabid/6278/Default.aspx |archive-date=15 September 2011 }}</ref> and [[climate change]]<ref name=IPCC>{{cite book | year = 2007 | author = IPCC AR4 SYR | author-link = IPCC | title = Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report | series = Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | editor = Core Writing Team |editor2=Pachauri, R.K |editor3=Reisinger, A. | publisher = IPCC | url = http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/contents.html | isbn = 978-92-9169-122-7 |pages=1–22}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Oreskes N |author-link=Naomi Oreskes |title=Beyond the ivory tower. The scientific consensus on climate change |journal=Science |volume=306 |issue=5702 |page=1686 |date=December 2004 |pmid=15576594 |doi=10.1126/science.1103618 |doi-access=free }}</ref> threaten the stability of ecological systems that humanity depends on.<ref name=Dunphy2007 /><ref name=UNEP2002>UNEP United Nations Environmental Program, 2002, "Integrating Environment and Development: 1972 – 2002", United Nations.</ref> Socially, an increasing gap between rich and poor and the global [[North–South divide in the World|North–South divide]] denies many access to basic human needs, rights, and education, leading to further environmental destruction.<ref name=Dunphy2007 /><ref name=UNEP2002 /><ref>{{cite web |author=Barkin, D. |title=Riqueza, Pobreza y Desarrollo Sustentable |year=1998 |location=Mexico |publisher=Editorial Jus y Centro de Ecologia y Desarrollo |url=http://anea.org.mx/publicaciones.htm |access-date=24 September 2012 |archive-date=20 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720073343/http://anea.org.mx/publicaciones.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Poverty Reduction and Equity |date=10 September 2011 |publisher=The World Bank |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,contentMDK:23003457~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336992,00.html}}</ref> The planet's unstable condition is caused by many [[Human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] sources.<ref name=IPCC /> As an exceptionally powerful contributing factor to social and environmental change, the modern organisation has the potential to apply environmental resource management with sustainability principles to achieve highly effective outcomes.<ref name=Avery2010 /><ref name=Dunphy2007 /> To achieve [[sustainable development]] with environmental resource management an organisation should work within sustainability principles, including social and environmental [[accountability]], long-term planning; a strong, shared vision; a holistic focus; devolved and consensus decision making; broad stakeholder engagement and justice; transparency measures; trust; and flexibility.<ref name=Avery2010 /><ref name=Dunphy2007 /><ref name=GP>[[United Nations Global Compact|UN Global Compact]] 2010, 'Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership', "UN Global Compact", UN Global Compact Office, Pp 2 – 12.</ref>

===Current paradigm shifts===
To adjust to today's environment of quick social and ecological changes, some organizations have begun to experiment with new tools and concepts.<ref name=Selin>{{cite journal |author1=Selin. S. |author2=Chavez. D. |title=Developing a Collaborative Model for Environmental Planning and Management |journal=Environmental Management |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=189–195 |date=March–April 1995 |doi=10.1007/BF02471990 |bibcode=1995EnMan..19..189S |s2cid=154919241 }}</ref><ref name=Daily>{{cite journal |author1=Daily, B.F. |author2=Huang, S. |title=Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management |journal=International Journal of Operations & Production Management |volume=21 |issue=12 |pages=1539–52 |year=2001 |doi=10.1108/01443570110410892 }}</ref> Those that are more traditional and stick to hierarchical decision making have difficulty dealing with the demand for lateral decision making that supports effective participation.<ref name=Selin /> Whether it be a matter of ethics or just strategic advantage organizations are internalizing sustainability principles.<ref name=Daily /><ref name=BGG>{{cite web |author1=Bern, M. |author2=Townend, A. |author3=Khayyam, Z. |author4=Galapagos, B. |author5=Reeves, M. |author6=Hopkins, M. |author7=Auschwitz, N. |title=The Business of Sustainability: Imperatives, Advantages, and Actions |year=2009 |pages=4–32 |publisher=Boston Consulting Group Report |url=http://www.bcg.com/documents/file29480.pdf |access-date=25 September 2011 |archive-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830054807/https://www.bcg.com/documents/file29480.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of the world's largest and most profitable corporations are shifting to sustainable environmental resource management: Ford, Toyota, BMW, Honda, Shell, Du Port, Sta toil,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emisoft.com/emisoft-customer-statoil-ranked-no-1-cdp/|title=Statoil Ranked No.1 Most Sustainable Oil & Gas producer|date=2016-11-28|website=emisoft.com|publisher=Emisoft|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=29 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129210054/https://www.emisoft.com/emisoft-customer-statoil-ranked-no-1-cdp/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Swiss Re, Hewlett-Packard, and Unilever, among others.<ref name=Avery2010 /><ref name=Dunphy2007 /> An extensive study by the [[Boston Consulting Group]] reaching 1,560 business leaders from diverse regions, job positions, expertise in sustainability, industries, and sizes of organizations, revealed the many benefits of sustainable practice as well as its viability.<ref name=BGG />

Although the sustainability of environmental resource management has improved,<ref name=Avery2010 /><ref name=Dunphy2007 /> [[corporate sustainability]], for one, has yet to reach the majority of global companies operating in the markets.<ref name=GP /> The three major barriers to preventing organizations from shifting towards sustainable practice with environmental resource management are not understanding what sustainability is; having difficulty modeling an economically viable case for the switch; and having a flawed execution plan, or a lack thereof.<ref name=BGG /> Therefore, the most important part of shifting an organization to adopt sustainability in environmental resource management would be to create a shared vision and understanding of what sustainability is for that particular organization and to clarify the business case.<ref name=BGG />

==Stakeholders==

===Public sector===
[[File:Southern Appalachian bog May 2010.jpg|thumb|A conservation project in [[North Carolina]] involving the search for [[bog turtle]]s was conducted by [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] and the [[North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission]] and its volunteers.]]
The [[public sector]] comprises the general government sector plus all public corporations including the [[central bank]].<ref>Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2006, Glossary of Statistical Terms: Public Sector. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> In environmental resource management the public sector is responsible for administering [[natural resource management]] and implementing [[environmental protection]] legislation.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=DERM>The State of Queensland: Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), 2011, What we do. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> The traditional role of the public sector in environmental resource management is to provide professional judgement through skilled technicians on behalf of the public.<ref name=Selin/> With the increase of intractable environmental problems, the public sector has been led to examine alternative paradigms for managing environmental resources.<ref name=Selin /> This has resulted in the public sector working collaboratively with other sectors (including other governments, private and civil) to encourage sustainable natural resource management behaviours.<ref name=DERM />

===Private sector===
The [[private sector]] comprises private corporations and non-profit institutions serving households.<ref>Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2001, Glossary of Statistical Terms: Private Sector, Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> The private sector's traditional role in environmental resource management is that of the recovery of [[natural resources]].<ref name=Smith>{{cite journal |author=Smith, V.L. |title=Economics of Production from Natural Resources |journal=American Economic Review |volume=58 |issue=3 Part 1 |pages=409–413 |date=June 1968 |jstor=1813767}}</ref> Such private sector recovery groups include mining (minerals and petroleum), forestry and fishery organisations.<ref name=Smith /> Environmental resource management undertaken by the private sectors varies dependent upon the resource type, that being renewable or non-renewable and private and common resources (also see [[Tragedy of the Commons]]).<ref name=Smith /> [[Environmental Manager|Environmental managers]] from the private sector also need skills to manage collaboration within a dynamic social and political environment.<ref name=Selin />

===Civil society===
[[Civil society]] comprises associations in which societies voluntarily organise themselves and which represent a wide range of interests and ties.<ref name=oecd07>Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2007, Glossary of Statistical Terms: Civil Society Organisations. Retrieved 23 September 2011.</ref> These can include community-based organisations, indigenous peoples' organisations and [[Non-governmental organization|non-government organisations]] (NGOs).<ref name=oecd07 /> Functioning through strong public pressure, civil society can exercise their legal rights against the implementation of resource management plans, particularly land management plans.<ref name=Selin /> The aim of civil society in environmental resource management is to be included in the decision-making process by means of [[public participation]].<ref name=Selin /> Public participation can be an effective strategy to invoke a sense of social responsibility of natural resources.<ref name=Selin />

== Tools ==
As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards, and systems are required. An environmental management standard or system or [[Protocol (natural sciences)|protocol]] attempts to reduce [[Environmental degradation|environmental impact]] as measured by some objective criteria. The [[ISO 14001]] standard is the most widely used standard for environmental [[risk management]] and is closely aligned to the European [[Eco-Management and Audit Scheme]] (EMAS). As a common auditing standard, the [[ISO 19011]] standard explains how to combine this with [[quality management]].

Other [[Environmental management system|environmental management systems]] (EMS) tend to be based on the ISO 14001 standard and many extend it in various ways:
* The Green Dragon Environmental Management Standard is a five-level EMS designed for smaller organisations for whom ISO 14001 may be too onerous and for larger organisations who wish to implement ISO 14001 in a more manageable step-by-step approach,<ref name=greendrag>{{cite web |url=http://www.wales.groundwork.org.uk/what-we-do/green-dragon-ems.aspx |title=Green Dragon Environmental Standard |publisher=Groundwork UK |access-date=24 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927061812/http://www.wales.groundwork.org.uk/what-we-do/green-dragon-ems.aspx |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>
* BS 8555 is a phased standard that can help smaller companies move to ISO 14001 in six manageable steps,
* [[The Natural Step]] focuses on basic [[sustainability]] criteria and helps focus [[engineering]] on reducing use of materials or energy use that is unsustainable in the long term,
* ''[[Natural Capitalism]]'' advises using [[accounting reform]] and a general [[biomimicry]] and [[industrial ecology]] approach to do the same thing,
* [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|US Environmental Protection Agency]] has many further terms and standards that it defines as appropriate to large-scale EMS,{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}
* The [[UN]] and [[World Bank]] has encouraged adopting a "[[natural capital]]" measurement and management framework.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}

Other strategies exist that rely on making simple distinctions rather than building top-down management "systems" using [[performance audit]]s and [[full cost accounting]]. For instance, Ecological Intelligent Design divides products into [[consumable]]s, [[service product]]s or durables and [[unsaleable]]s – toxic products that no one should buy, or in many cases, do not realize they are buying. By eliminating the unsaleables from the [[comprehensive outcome]] of any purchase, better environmental resource management is achieved without ''systems''.

Another example that diverges from top-down management is the implementation of community based co-management systems of governance. An example of this is community based subsistence fishing areas, such as is implemented in Ha'ena, Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.huimakaainanaomakana.org/fisheries | title=Fisheries }}</ref> Community based systems of governance allow for the communities who most directly interact with the resource and who are most deeply impacted by the [[overexploitation]] of said resource to make the decisions regarding its management, thus empowering local communities and more effectively managing resources. 

Recent successful cases have put forward the notion of ''integrated management''. It shares a wider approach and stresses out the importance of interdisciplinary assessment. It is an interesting notion that might not be adaptable to all cases.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Billé, R. |title=Integrated Coastal Zone Management: four entrenched illusions |journal=S.A.P.I.EN.S |volume=1 |issue=2 |year=2008 |url=http://sapiens.revues.org/index198.html}}</ref>

=== Case Study: Kissidougou, Guinea (Fairhead, Leach) ===
Kissidougou, Guinea’s dry season brings about fires in the open grass fires which defoliate the few trees in the savanna. There are villages within this savanna surrounded by “islands” of forests, allowing for forts, hiding, rituals, protection from wind and fire, and shade for crops. According to scholars and researchers in the region during the late-19th and 20th centuries,<ref>Chevalier, “Rapport sur les nouvelles recherches sur les plantes a caouchouc de la Guinee Francaise,” 1G276 (Dakar: Archives du Senegal, 1909)</ref> there was a steady decline in tree cover. This led to colonial Guinea’s implementation of policies, including the switch of upland to swamp farming; bush-fire control; protection of certain species and land; and tree planting in villages. These policies were carried out in the form of permits, fines, and military repression. 

But, Kissidougou villagers claim their ancestors’ established these islands. Many maps and letters evidence France’s occupation of Guinea, as well as Kissidougou’s past landscape. During the 1780s to 1860s “the whole country [was] prairie.” James Fairhead and Melissa Leach, both environmental anthropologists at the University of Sussex, claim the state’s environmental analyses “casts into question the relationships between society, demography, and environment.” With this, they reformed the state’s narratives: Local land use can be both vegetation enriching and degrading; combined effect on resource management is greater than the sum of their parts; there is evidence of increased population correlating to an increase in forest cover. Fairhead and Leach support the enabling of policy and socioeconomic conditions in which local resource management conglomerates can act effectively. In Kissidougou, there is evidence that local powers and community efforts shaped the island forests that shape the savanna’s landscape.  <ref>Fairhead, J. and Leach, M., 1996. ''Misreading the African landscape: society and ecology in a forest-savanna mosaic''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Environment}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Citizen science#Plastics and pollution|Citizen science]], cleanup projects that people can take part in.
* [[Cleaner production]]
* [[Environmental impact assessment]]
* [[Environmental management scheme]]
* [[Environmental manager]]
* [[Integrated landscape management]]
* [[ISO 14000]]
* [[Natural resource management]]
* [[Planetary management]]
* [[Political ecology]]
* [[Resource justice]]
* [[Stakeholder analysis]]
* [[Sustainable management]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |first1=Stefan |last1=Schaltegger |first2=Roger |last2=Burritt |first3=Holger |last3=Petersen |title=An Introduction to Corporate Environmental Management: Striving for Sustainability |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sea4e_Z4vekC&pg=PA4 |year=2003 |publisher=Greenleaf |isbn=978-1-874719-65-6}}
* {{cite journal |author=Low Hock Heng |title=Globalisation, Business and Environmental Management: to Correct the Broken Compass?  |journal=Jurnal Kemanusiaan |issn=1675-1930 |year=2003 |url=http://www.fppsm.utm.my/download/doc_download/122-globalisation-business-and-environmental-management-to-correct-the-broken-compass.html |access-date=31 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124024747/http://www.fppsm.utm.my/download/doc_download/122-globalisation-business-and-environmental-management-to-correct-the-broken-compass.html |archive-date=24 January 2010 |url-status=dead }}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100325190416/http://www.economics.noaa.gov/?goal=ecosystems Economic Costs & Benefits of Environmental Management] NOAA Economics
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090125011058/http://business.gov/guides/environment/ business.gov] – provides businesses with environmental management tips, as well as tips for green business owners (United States)
* [http://www.issuelab.org/issues/profile/energy_and_environment Nonprofit research on managing the environment]

{{Management}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Resource economics]]
[[Category:Natural resource management]]
[[Category:Systems ecology]]
[[Category:Human–environment interaction]]