Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Environmental planning, ecosystem science, and ecosystem approaches for integrating environment and development

  • Forum
  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Currently popular concepts such as sustainable development and sustainability seek the integration of environment and development planning. However, there is little evidence that this integration is occurring in either mainstream development planning or environmental planning. This is a function of the history, philosophies, and evolved roles of both. A brief review of the experience and results of mainstream planning, environmental planning, and ecosystem science suggests there is much in past scientific and professional practice that is relevant to the goal of integrated planning for environment and development, but still such commonly recommended reforms as systems and multidisciplinary approaches, institutional integration, and participatory, goal-oriented processes are rarely achieved. “Ecosystem approaches,” as developed and applied in ecology, human ecology, environmental planning, anthropology, psychology, and other disciplines, may provide a more transdisciplinary route to successful integration of environment and development. Experience with ecosystem approaches is reviewed, their advantages and disadvantages are discussed, and they are compared to traditional urban and regional planning, environmental planning, and ecosystem science approaches. Ultimately a synthesis of desirable characteristics for a framework to integrate environment and development planning is presented as a guide for future work and a criterion for evaluating existing programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Alger, D. 1982. Areawide environmental planning and management: Another perspective on the regional approach.Environmental Professional 4:388–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. E. 1991. A conceptual framework for evaluating and quantifying naturalness.Conservation Biology 5(3):347–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, J. W. 1969. Northern plainsmen: Adaptive strategy and agrarian life. Aldine, Chicago, 352 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlinski, D. 1976. ON systems analysis. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 186 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann, F. H., and G. E. Likens. 1979. Pattern and process in a forested ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York, 253 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyden, S. 1987. Appendix—conceptual schemes. Pages 323–339in Western civilization in biological perspective: Patterns in biohistory. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyden, S., S. Millar, K. Newcombe, and B. O’Neill. 1981. The ecology of a city and its people: The case of Hong Kong. Australian National University Press, Canberra, ACT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briassoulis, H. 1986. Integrated economic-environmental-policy modeling at the regional and multiregional level: Methodological characteristics and issues.Growth and Change 17:22–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briassoulis, H. 1989. Theoretical orientations in environmental planning: An inquiry into alternative approaches.Environmental Management 13(4):381–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. 1979. The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 330 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butzer, K. W. 1980. Civilizations: Organisms or systems?American Scientist 68:517–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, L. K. 1982. Science and the National Environmental Policy Act: Redirecting policy through procedural reform. University of Alabama Press, Montgomery, Alabama.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, L. K. (ed.). 1988. Perspectives on ecosystem management for the Great Lakes: A reader. State University of New York Press, Albany, 365 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowfoot, J. E., and J. M. Wondolleck (eds.). 1990. Environmental disputes: Community involvement in conflict resolution. Island Press, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlberg, K. A., and J. W. Bennet (eds.). 1986. Natural resources and people: Conceptual issues in interdisciplinary research. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 394 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling, F. F., and R. F. Dasmann. 1969. The ecosystem view of human society.Impact of Science on Society 19(2):109–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deknatel, C. Y. 1986. Regionalism and environment: The search for planning strategy and organization in the Great Plains.Environmental Review 10(2):107–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorney, R. S. 1973. Role of ecologists as consultants in urban planning and design.Human Ecology 1:183–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorney, R. S. 1989. The professional practice of environmental management. Springer Verlag, New York, 228 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorney, R. S., and P. W. McLellan. 1984. The urban ecosystem: Its spatial structure, its scale relationships, and its subsystem attributes.Environments 16(1):9–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dryzek, J. S. 1987. Rational ecology: Environment and political economy. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 270 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, O. D. 1964. Social organization and the ecosystem, Pages 36–82in R. E. L. Faris (ed.), Handbook of modern sociology. Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, O. D., and L. F. Schnore. 1959. Cultural, behavioral, and ecological perspectives in the study of social organization.American Journal of Sociology 65:132–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, C. J., and H. A. Regier (eds.). 1990. An ecosystem approach to the integrity of the Great Lakes in turbulent times. Great Lakes Fishery Commission Special Publication 90-4, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 299 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellen, R. 1982. Introduction.In P. C. Burnham and R. F. Ellen (eds.), Social and ecological systems. Academic Press, London, 314 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, J. E., and D. M. Swift. 1988. Stability of African pastoral ecosystems: Alternate paradigms and implications for development.Journal of Range Management 41:450–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faludi, A. 1985. A decision-centred view of environmental planning.Landscape Planning 12(3):239–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forde, C. D. 1934. Habitat, economy and society: A geographical introduction to ethnology. Dutton, New York, 500 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forester, J. 1989. Planning in the face of power. University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman, R. T. T. (ed.). 1979. Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and landscape. Academic Press, New York, 601 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman, R. T. T., and M. Godron. 1986. Landscape ecology. Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, J. 1987. Planning in the public domain: From knowledge to action. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 501 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, J. E. 1989. Decision-making for sustainable development: Selected approaches to environmental assessment and management.EIA Review, 9:337–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. H., B. T. Milne, M. G. Turner, and R. V. O’Neill. 1987. Neutral models for the analysis of broadscale landscape pattern.Landscape Ecology 1:19–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geddes, P. 1915. Cities in evolution: An introduction to the town planning movement and to the study of civics. Williams & Norgate, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • GEMS Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre. 1989. Environmental data report, 2nd ed., Basil Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilpin, A. 1986. Environmental planning: A condensed encyclopedia. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, R. L., C. T. Hunsaker, R. V. O’Neill, and B. L. Jackson. 1991. Ecological risk assessment at the regional scale.Ecological Applications 1(2):196–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haines, V. A. 1985. From organicist to relational human ecology.Sociological Theory 3(1):65–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L., and P. Angelstam. 1991. Landscape ecology as a theoretical basis for nature conservation.Landscape Ecology 5(4):191–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardesty, D. L. 1980. The ecological perspective in anthropology.Behavioral Scientist 24(1):107–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartig, J. H., and J. R. Vallentyne. 1989. Use of an ecosystem approach to restore degraded areas of the Great Lakes.Ambio 18(8):423–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C. W. (ed.). 1978. Adaptive environmental assessment and management. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, E. 1946 [1902]. Garden cities of tomorrow. Faber and Faber, London, 168 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, B. M. 1979. Comparison of current planning theories: Counterparts and contradictions.Journal of the American Planning Association 45(4):387–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isard, W. 1972. Ecologic-economic analysis for regional development. The Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN/UNEP/WWF. 1991. Caring for the earth: A strategy for sustainable living. Gland, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, W. R., III, M. E. Gilpin, and J. D. Aber (eds.). 1987. Restoration ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. R. 1991. Biological integrity: A long-neglected aspect of water resource management.Ecological Applications 1(1):66–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, J. J. 1991. A non-equilibrium thermodynamic framework for discussing ecological integrity.Environmental Management 15(4):483–495.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kothbauer, M. 1992. National and provincial park management responses to external threats in Ontario. MA thesis. Department of Geography, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreiger, M. H. 1977. Review of Linville and Davis 1976.Town Planning Review 48(3):308–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krutilla, J. V., and J. A. Haigh. 1978. An integrated approach to national forest management.Environmental Law 8:373–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, R. (ed.). 1986. Integrated approaches to resource planning and management. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, Alberta, 302 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, B. J., H. A. Regier, and D. J. Rapport. 1982. Ten ecosystem approaches to the planning and management of the Great Lakes.Journal of Great Lakes Research 8(3):505–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E. (ed.). 1985. An ecosystem approach to aquatic ecology: Mirror Lake and its environment. Springer-Verlag, New York, 516 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linville, J., Jr., and R. Davis. 1976. The political environment: An ecosystems approach to urban management. American Institute of Planners, Washington, DC, 151 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, M. A. 1982. The development of ideas about human ecology and adaptation. Pages 405–433in F. Spencer (ed.), A history of American physical anthropology, 1930–80. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubchenco, J., and others 1991. The sustainable biosphere initiative: An ecological research agenda.Ecology 72(2):371–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lusterman, D.-D. 1985. An ecosystematic approach to family-school problems.American Journal of Family Therapy 13(1):22–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKaye, B. 1928. The new exploration: A philosophy of regional planning. Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York, 243 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCay, B. J. 1978. Systems ecology, people ecology, and the anthropology of fishing communities.Human Ecology 6(4):397–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHarg, I. L. 1969. Design with nature. Doubleday/Natural History Press, New York, 197 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, R. P. 1985. The background of ecology: Concept and theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 383 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLoughlin, J. 1969. Urban and regional planning: A systems approach. Faber & Faber, London, 331 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, M. L., R. P. Gale, and P. J. Brown (eds.). 1987. Social science in natural resource management systems. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 265 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, E. F. (ed.). 1984. The ecosystem concept in anthropology. AAAS, Washington, DC, 320 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, E. F. (ed.). 1990. The ecosystem approach in anthropology: From concept to practice. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 476 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naveh, Z. 1991. Some remarks on recent developments in landscape ecology as a transdisciplinary ecological and geographical science.Landscape Ecology 5(2):65–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Netting, R. McC. 1981. Balancing on an Alp: Ecological change and continuity in a Swiss mountain community. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newmark, W. D. 1987. A land-bridge island perspective on mammalian extinctions in western North American parks.Nature 325:430–432.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, G. A., J. M. Caprio, P. A. McDaniel, R. D. Snyder, and C. Montagne. 1990. MAPS: A GIS for land resource management in Montana.Journal of Soil & Water Conservation 45(4):450–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijkamp, P. 1980. Environmental policy analysis. John Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, E. P. 1969. The strategy of ecosystem development.Science 164:262–269.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Odum, H. T. 1983. Systems ecology: An introduction. Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, R. V., R. H. Gardner, L. W. Barnthouse, G. W. Suter, S. G. Hildebrand, and C. W. Gehrs. 1982. Ecosystem risk analysis.Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 1:167–177.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, R. V., D. L. DeAngelis, J. B. Waide, and T. F. H. Allen. 1986. A hierarchical concept of ecosystems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 253 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlove, B. S. 1980. Ecological anthropology.Annual Review of Anthropology 9:235–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paolucci, B., O. A. Hall, and N. W. Axinn. 1977. Family decision making—an ecosystem approach. Wiley, New York, 190 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardeck, J. T. 1988. Social treatment through an ecological approach.Clinical Social Work Journal 16(1):92–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, R. E., E. W. Burgess, and R. W. McKenzie (eds.). 1925. The city. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petak, W. J. 1980. Environmental planning and management: the need for an integrative perspective.Environmental Management 4(4):287–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petak, W. J. 1981. Environmental management: A system approach.Environmental Management 5(3):213–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapport, D. J., H. A. Regier, and T. C. Hutchinson. 1985. Ecosystem behavior under stress.American Naturalist 125(5):617–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risser, P. G. 1985. Toward a holistic management perspective.BioScience 35(7):414–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R. D., and T. M. Roberts (eds.). 1984. Planning and ecology. Chapman and Hall, London, 464 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sale, K. 1985. Dwellers in the land: The bioregional vision. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 217 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulze, E. D., and H. Zwolfer (eds.). 1987. Potentials and limitations of ecosystem analysis. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 435 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slocombe, D. S. 1990. Assessing transformation and sustainability in the Great Lakes Basin.GeoJournal 21(3):251–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slocombe, D. S. 1991. An annotated, multidisciplinary bibliography of ecosystem approaches. Cold Regions Research Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University & Commission on Environmental Strategy & Planning, IUCN, Sacramento, California. 58 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slocombe, D. S. 1992a. Implementing ecosystem-based management: theory, practice and research (submitted).

  • Slocombe, D. S. 1992b. Integrating park and regional planning through an ecosystem approach. Presented at New Regional Planning Workshop, IV World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Caracas (to be published).

  • Slocombe, D. S. 1992c. Environmental monitoring for protected areas: Review and prospect.Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 21:49–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S., and E. Reeves (eds.). 1989. Human systems ecology. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 233 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soule, M. E. (ed.). 1986. Conservation biology: The science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, P. C., O. R. Young, and D. Druckman (eds.). 1992. Global environmental change: Understanding the human dimensions. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 307 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steward, J. H. 1977. Evolution and ecology: Essays on social transformation. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 406 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suter, G. W., III, L. W. Barnthouse, and R. V. O’Neill. 1987. Treatment of risk in environmental impact assessment.Environmental Management 11(3):295–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tainter, J. A. 1988. The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 250 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi, K., and D.-K. Lee. 1989. A framework for environmental management planning—a landscape-ecological approach.Landscape Ecology 3(1):53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tansley, A. G. 1935. The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms.Ecology 16:284–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, I. D. 1987. The myth of integrated wildlife/forestry management.Queen’s Quarterly 94(3):609–621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G. 1989. Landscape ecology: The effect of pattern on process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20:171–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNEP. 1981. In defence of the earth: The basic texts on environment: Founex, Stockholm, Cocoyoc. UN Environment Programme, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • US National Research Council and Royal Society of Canada. 1985. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: An evolving instrument for ecosystem management. Washington/Ottawa, 224 pp.

  • Vallentyne, J. R., and A. L. Hamilton. 1987. Managing human uses and abuses of aquatic resources in the Canadian ecosystem. Pages 513–533in M. C. Healey and R. R. Wallace (eds.), Canadian aquatic resources. Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Rawson Academy of Aquatic Sciences, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyne, G. M. (ed.). 1969. The ecosystem concept in natural resource management. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walters, C. 1986. Adaptive management of renewable resources. Macmillan, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watt, K. E. F. 1968. Ecology and resource management: A quantitative approach. McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, C. 1984. Regional development and the local community: Planning, politics and social context. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winterhalder, B. 1984. Reconsidering the ecosystem concept.Reviews in Anthropology 11(4):301–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. 1991. Human development report 1991. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. L. 1987. Integration in land research for Third World development planning.Landscape Ecology 2:107–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zonneveld, I. S., and R. T. T. Forman (eds.). 1990. Changing landscapes: An ecological perspective. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, and Cold Regions Research Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University, N2L 3C5, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    D. Scott Slocombe

Authors
  1. D. Scott Slocombe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Slocombe, D.S. Environmental planning, ecosystem science, and ecosystem approaches for integrating environment and development. Environmental Management 17, 289–303 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02394672

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02394672

Key Words

Search

Navigation