Conceptualization of Ecological Management: Practice, Frameworks and Philosophy

This paper investigates practice, frameworks and philosophy in the field of ecological management, a novel integrative approach to closing the gap between ecological and economic theoretical models and ecological and economic behavior. First, I will present the current status in this emerging field...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of agricultural & environmental ethics Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 431 - 446
Main Author Stojanovic, Milutin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2019
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Agricultural Economics
Agroecology
Anthropocene
Ecological monitoring
Ecology
Economic models
Education
Environmental ethics
Environmental impact
Ethics
Evolutionary Biology
Industrial ecology
Management
Philosophy
Plant Sciences
Science
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Theory of Medicine/Bioethics
Viability
Sustainability science
Ecological management
Exploratory ethics
Ethics as design
Model-centered philosophy of science
Ecological economics
Practical philosophy
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Summary:This paper investigates practice, frameworks and philosophy in the field of ecological management, a novel integrative approach to closing the gap between ecological and economic theoretical models and ecological and economic behavior. First, I will present the current status in this emerging field and discuss management in relation to various sub-disciplines, including agroecology, circular economy, industrial ecology, and urban sustainability. This provides a basis to analyze the theoretical frameworks found in profitable, ecologically-based businesses and identify key general features that characterize this approach, notably the relationships between: an enterprise’s diversity and its economic resiliency; zero waste policies and societal and environmental impacts; and affordances of the local environment and business’ long-term economic viability. Finally, the philosophical issues looming behind are discussed, notably problems regarding interdisciplinarity and the relation of ethical frameworks with management. Through use of the model-centered philosophy of science to disentangle some of these conceptual problems, I argue that ecological management has a unique place in sustainable development as an independent exploratory tool for constructing and testing economic and ethical models in the Anthropocene.
ISSN:1187-7863
1573-322X
DOI:10.1007/s10806-019-09783-2