Suchergebnisse

The Nature Conservancy Council has welcomed the implementation of the EC Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment. This paper discusses its implications for nature conservation in fresh waters, particularly with reference to the land‐drainage and flood‐defence work carried out by the National Rivers Authority and its predecessors, to which the regulations SI 1217 apply. Environmental statements have been deemed necessary for only a small proportion of capital schemes initiated by the water industry since the Regulations came into force in 1988. The author has evaluated the nature‐conservation content of 15 of these statements against a combined set of objective and subjective criteria. The statements examined showed a high degree of variability in length, scope, style and presentation. In general, survey and data acquisition were poorly covered. The weakest area was considered to be the evaluation and prediction of potential impacts, and this is discussed in relation to the uncertainty and complexity inherent in biological systems. The need for monitoring the accuracy of predictions after the completion of a scheme received little attention, despite its fundamental importance in improving future project design, and in extending scientific understanding.

Nature plays a significant role in the discussion for and against modernism, which got under way from the late eighteenth century onwards. The rationalists of the Enlightenment considered not only human nature, but also the whole uncultivated realm of nature beyond, that of the animals and plants, as wild and dangerous. It should, according to them, be tamed for the benefit of mankind and put to use. Thus they laid the ideological foundations that made possible the unrestrained exploitation of natural resources for the free development of the market and specifically for industrialisation, ie for material and ideological modernisation processes. The Romantics, on the other hand, emphasised the importance of non-material values. In their view the inherent and irretrievable beauty of nature should not be sacrificed on the altar of utilitarianism. A century later the critics of unrestrained economic modernisation expanded on the Romantics' view. They criticised the 'tumours' of industrialisation, urbanisation and materialism, advocating greater preservation of the wilderness and, indeed, of agrarian land and the rural way of life. For them, such things were not just symbols of originality, beauty and health, but were also part of the 'national character'. They were unique treasures, unlike replaceable material interests. Nature, as a source of raw materials, became a multifunctional cultural heritage. 'Materialism' and the idea of progress, the central characteristics of modernisation, were challenged by criticism of civilisation and by historicism. Thus the basic cultural and political camps were established, but also the decisive ideological preconditions for the emergence of a nature conservation movement.

International nature conservation programs were originally driven by field biologists. As environment has assumed increasing prominence on the international political agenda, the role of biologists has been marginalised. International programs now have ambitious targets set by politicians and aspire to save the world.There is a need to balance these global environmental initiatives with a set of shorter-term practical actions to maximise biodiversity conservation. Biological scientists can cooperate with other natural resource specialists and social scientists in defining more targeted cost-effective nature conservation programs. A case is made for the Prince Bernhard Chair at the University of UTRECHT to focus on this interface between science and conservation practices.

Multinational corporations are not merely the problem in environmental concerns, but could also be part of the solution. The oil industry and climate change provide the clearest example of how the two are linked; what is less well-known is how the industry is responding to these concerns. This volume presents a detailed study of the climate strategies of ExxonMobil, Shell and Statoil. With an innovative analytical approach, the authors explain variations at three decision-making levels: within the companies themselves, in the national home-bases of the companies, and at an international level. The analysis generates policy-relevant knowledge about whether and how corporate resistance to a viable climate policy can be overcome. The analytical approach developed by the authors is also applicable to other areas of environmental degradation where multinational corporations play a central role. The book is invaluable to students, researchers and practitioners interested in national and international environmental politics and business environmental management.