Review article
OUTLOOKS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AT THE END OF THE 20th CENTURY
Velimir Pravdić
; Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb
Abstract
This paper examines the observation that the end of the 20th century has been characterized by a number of politically conditioned syntagmas reflecting neither the paradigmas of scientific insights nor the needs for rational managing of environment and natural resources. Three cases are taken into consideration: the international convention on prevention of climatic changes, the issue of sustainable development and the belief that science is one of the pivots of environmental ethics.
In international conventions, i. e. legal instruments concerning economic development, there is only a small number of realistic conceptions. This has been shown by an analysis of neglected scientific data in the convention on prevention of climatic changes.
The second example is the relationship between the economic globalisation and environmental protection. The issues of sustainability, sustainable development and sustainable exploitation of natural resources have been overloaded with vagueness, unrealistic approaches, and neglecting of world's versatility. The author comments upon recent trends in economy (environmental economy and economy of ecology) as different outlooks on the natural and man–made cultural capital.
The third example is the emerging of environmental ethics which is considered crucial for the comprehesion of human interactions and the attitudes towards the living and unliving parts of environment. There are three pivots of environmental ethics: science, democracy and religion. Discussed are perspectives, shortcomings and the range of science in the period to come.
Keywords
climatic changes; environmental ethics; sustainable development; sustainability
Hrčak ID:
141660
URI
Publication date:
15.9.1998.
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