Ecological Economics

The challenge of ecological economics is to design systems of resource harvesting and management that are sustainable, so that human society can be supported forever without degrading the essential, ecological base of support.

Ecologically sustainable systems must sustain two clusters of values: (1) the health of economically valuated, renewable resources, such as trees, fish, and agricultural soil capability, and (2) acceptable levels of ecological goods and services that are not conventionally valuated. Therefore, a truly sustainable system must be able to yield natural resources that humans need, and to provide that sustenance forever. However, the system must also provide services related to clean air and water and nutrient cycling, while also sustaining habitat for native species and their natural ecological communities.

To achieve this goal, ecologically sustainable systems will have to be based on two ways of managing ecosystems: (1) as working ecosystems, and (2) as ecological reserves (or protected areas). The "working ecosystems" will be harvested and managed to yield sustainable flows of valuated resources, such as forest products, hunted animals, fish, and agricultural commodities. However, some environmental costs will be associated with these uses of ecosystems. For example, although many species will find habitats available on working lands to be acceptable to their purposes, other native species and most natural communities will be at risk on working landscapes. To sustain the ecological values that cannot be accommodated by working ecosystems, a system of ecological reserves will have to be developed. These reserves must be designed to ensure that all native species are sustained at viable population levels, that there are viable areas of natural ecosystems, and that ecosystems will be able to supply acceptable levels of important services, such as control of erosion, nutrient cycling, and cleansing the environment of pollution.

So far, ecologically sustainable systems of the sort described above are no more than a concept. None exist today. In fact, humans mostly exploit the potentially renewable goods and services of ecosystems in an nonsustainable fashion. Clearly this is a problem, because humans rely on these resources to sustain their economy. Ecological economics provides a framework for the design of better, ecologically sustainable systems of resource use. However, it remains to be seen whether human society will be wise enough to adopt these sustainable methods of organizing their economy and their interactions with ecosystems.