The Politics of Ecosystem Management [Paperback]

Hanna J. Cortner (Author), Margaret Ann Moote (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

Resource management in the United States is undergoing a fundamental change. Traditional sustained-yield approaches that focus on commodity production and human resource use are steadily giving way to ecological approaches, often referred to as ecosystem management, that have long-term ecological sustainability as their primary goal. To achieve that goal, ecosystem management emphasizes socially defined goals and objectives, integrated and holistic science, collaborative decision making, and adaptable institutions. Political considerations are an essential component of ecosystem management, yet its socio-political context has been largely ignored by those studying and writing on the subject."The Politics of Ecosystem Management" is the first book to focus entirely on the political challenges facing ecosystem management as it moves from theory to practice.The authors examine: the history of natural resource management in the United States the theory behind ecosystem management potential inconsistencies and contradictions in the themes of ecosystem management political philosophies that undergird traditional resource management alternative political principles inherent in ecosystem management opportunities and barriers for achieving collaborative ecosystem management"The Politics of Ecosystem Management" considers the sweeping and profound changes that will be required of the American governance system -- its political philosophy, institutions, notions of citizenship, and politics, as well its resource management practices -- if the shift to ecosystem management is to be realized. It is a lucid and accessible volume that represents a vital contribution to the literature for students, researchers, and professionals involved with any aspect of developing and implementing ecosystem-based approaches to resource management.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559636726
• ISBN-13: 978-1559636728
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,062,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Politics of Ecosystem Management, November 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Politics of Ecosystem Management (Paperback)

This book provides a lot of information for a person not familar with politics and natural resources. Unfortunately, I do not think that this was the authors' intent. For a person familar with this subject, the book just repeats ideas you probably are currently familiar with in a choppy fashion. On top of this, the book seems biased with statements such as "traditional resource managemetn is pragmatic, seeing in nature a collection of resources that can be manipulated and harvested, with humans in control" while ecosystem management "views nature with some reverence and respect for the awsome complexity with which its components are interwoven." Overall, the book is an easy read, but does not provide the reader with much thought or new ideas.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, accessible and covers a lot, December 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Politics of Ecosystem Management (Paperback)

I found this book to pretty well cover the issues without being overwhelming. It is intended to be an overview and the authors provide plenty of cited material for those wishing to delve deeper. I was not familiar with ecosystem management and the book gives a good presentation of the basic tenets, challenges, and suggested prescriptives in a well-organized fashion. I do not believe the authors meant the book to be anything more than a introductory text--it fills this purpose well.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some social platitudes with your ecosystem management, February 21, 2009

By 

Arthur Digbee (Indianapolis, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Politics of Ecosystem Management (Paperback)

This book, by two former Forest Service employees, provides an introduction to political questions of ecosystem management. The authors don't have a social science background, so they think about politics from the standpoint of practitioners who have learned as they go along.

They begin with chapters on the history of US natural resource management, the theory of ecosystem management, and an alternative approach to ecosystem management that emphasizes community participation and collaboration. They conclude with lots of ideas about reforming ecosystem management. They don't subject these ideas to an analysis of political feasibility, much less economic or social feasibility. As a result, many of these ideas come across as a pie-in-the-sky wish list as opposed to serious ideas for policy reform.

Many of their weaknesses stem from mistaken definitions or poor analytical distinctions, it seems to me. When they say "ecosystem management," they really mean "sustainable ecosystem management" - - an understandable lack of precision but I can live with it. More troublesome is that their ecosystem management entails "socially defined goals" and "collaborative decision-making," among other things. This would rule out an informed, benign manager. Knowing the history of resource management, I understand why they do this - - but it seems analytically messy not to keep "ecosystem management" separate from the *process* of "collaborative decision-making."

Phrased differently, there's a Leftist social agenda in the midst of their environmental policy. I don't wish to argue the social agenda but simply point out that these two agendas do not *logically* go together.

Their collaborative approach could also be criticized. They yield ecosystem management to self-interested groups in the region. Many of those groups wish to exploit the ecosystem economically in some way, from logging to tourism. I don't see how this kind of process leads to ecologically sustainable outcomes, though obviously a participatory process might lead to socially or politically stable outcomes. Cortner and Moote could make this argument, but doing so would require more careful analytical distinctions than they seem to want.

Overall, then, they value community collaboration and have an optimistic view that communities want to preserve ecosystems. I'm skeptical.