Ecological Economics 34 2000 9 – 17
SU R VEY
State governments, ecosystem management, and the enlibra doctrine in the U S
Charles R . M alone
N uclear W aste Project Office , Capitol Complex , Carson City, N V
89701
, US A R eceived 1 N ovember 1999; received in revised form 31 January 2000; accepted 1 F ebruary 2000
Abstract
Some state governments in the U S are beginning to adopt ecosystem management policies and practices for conserving natural resources. F or the most part, the policies are consistent with the concept of sustaining both
economies and the environment. In the western U S, state-level ecosystem management programs are meant to increase the influence that states have on the F ederal Ecosystem M anagement Initiative that applies to public lands.
This is the intent of the emerging Enlibra doctrine of the Western G overnors’ Association for managing the environment on federal lands. This paper discusses the ecosystem management policies that exist or are being
developed throughout the 50 states of the U S, and compares principles of the ecosystem management concept in the federal government, state governments, and the Enlibra doctrine. Basically, the programs contain similar components
and objectives, and they all lack sufficient representation of the tenets of ecological economics. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords
:
Ecosystem management; State programs; Enlibra doctrine www.elsevier.comlocateecolecon
1. Introduction
F or managing renewable natural resources, ecosystem approaches are recognized as being
suited for sustaining both economies and environ- ments. Traditional multiple-use resources man-
agement, on the other hand, is commodity oriented, favors economic development, fails to
integrate humans as parts of ecosystems, and is based on regulatory approaches D avis, 1997;
Cortner and M oote, 1999. U nder the traditional schemes, resource harvesting is not balanced by
an increase in resource stewardship, while ecosys- tem management
is meant to
sustain both
economies and natural resources across human generations M alone, 1998a,b; Szaro et al., 1998.
The environmentally aware government generally appreciates the benefits offered by ecosystem-
based management in the pursuit of sustainable
Tel.: + 1-775-6873744; fax: + 1-775-6875277. E
-mail address
:
cmalonegovmail.state.nv.us C.R . M al- one
0921-800900 - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 2 1 - 8 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 1 5 4 - 3
development. This is why ecosystem management has been adopted as the means by which the U S
government hopes to achieve sustainable develop- ment G ore, 1993; IEM TF , 1995; OEP, 1995;
PCSD , 1999. F ollowing from the federal initia- tive, some state governments also are moving
toward ecosystem-based resources management. The survey reported here addressed adoption of
ecosystem management within the nation’s 50 states.
Table 1 lists the principles and characteristics of the F ederal Ecosystem M anagement Initiative,
part of the significance of which is reflected by the fact that together, the U S F orest Service U SF S
and the U S D epartment of the Interior U SD OI manage 700 million acres of public land, more
than one-quarter of the U S. This is especially important in the western U S where the majority
of public lands are located. An impact of the federal initiative has been that some private com-
mercial activities in the west have been reduced on public lands by land management agencies such as
the U SF S and the agencies under the U SD OI. Consequently, under economic pressure from fed-
eral constraints, western and southwestern states in the contiguous U S have acted through the
Western G overnors’ Association in late 1998 to adopt the Enlibra doctrine WG A, 1999; M alone,
2000. Enlibra is an initiative aimed at giving various interests within the 19-member states of
the WG A greater influence in federal ecosystem management activities.
R egarding application of the concept of ecosys- tem management, the Enlibra doctrine is interest-
ing, potentially promising, and of concern at the same time Table 2. Concern about the doctrine
arises because of the cautions reflected in the last four entries listed in Table 2. N o full application
of the doctrine has yet been made, and it merits scrutiny as it develops. In part, outside analysis of
the doctrine is needed because the 14 contiguous interior western and southwestern U S states are
politically conservative whereas ecosystem man- agement is usually viewed as a liberal policy
D avis, 1997; Cortner and M oote, 1999; M alone, 2000. The three progressive Pacific coastal states
had some aspects of Enlibra-type ecosystem man- agement underway before the doctrine was devel-
Table 1 G eneral principles and characteristics of ecosystem manage-
ment contained in the F ederal Ecosystem M anagement Initia- tive IEM TF , 1995
– Science and other disciplines are integrated into holistic and interdisciplinary approach to managing natural
resources. – Ecosystems and biodiversity are managed in the context
of natural spatial boundaries as well as temporal horizons across which ecosystems constantly change.
– Ecosystem management recognizes that ecosystem components are interconnected, that they include
humans, and that altering one component may have effects on others.
– F or policy making, sound scientific information is used instead of subjective judgement.
– M anagement strategies and techniques are adapted as new information becomes available.
– U ncertainty is acknowledged in measuring and evaluating ecosystem characteristics.
– Institutions must become adaptable to new approaches and to cooperation.
– Partnerships based on resource stewardship are formed among stakeholders for collaborative democratic decision
making and sharing resource costs and benefits. – Conflict management is used to resolve differences
among stakeholders. – Ecosystem management seeks to achieve balanced
socioeconomic and the environmental sustainability through environmental ethics and resource stewardship.
Table 2 Principles and characteristics of the Enlibra doctrine WG A,
1999 – Seeks to combine resources management and
environmental protection and environmental stewardship. – Would reflect interdisciplinary and holistic resources
management. – Would manage resources according to natural
boundaries, not political or administrative ones. – Seeks to use science instead of subjectivity for policy
making and recognizes the need for good science and training.
– Would use cost-effective means for achieving benefits. – Prefers local solutions for meeting national standards for
managing natural resources on public lands. – Seeks greater participation in natural resources decision
making by citizens and private stakeholders who believe that resources can be protected while still using them.
– Prefers non-regulatory tools to protect and improve natural resources and ecosystems.
– Prefers to focus on results rather than programs in pursuing sustainable development.
Table 3 Criteria used to judge the merits of states’ programs relative to
supporting the conceptual practice of ecosystem management
a
1. Interdisciplinary approach based on sound science, socioeconomics, and institutional arrangement.
2. Adaptable institutions capable of cooperative and coordinated actions.
3. R ealistic appreciation of the two aspects of sustainable development.
4. Capable of forming partnerships with interested stakeholders and the public and carrying out democratic
decision making. 5. Combined administration for managing renewable
natural resources and protecting other components of the environment.
6. Appreciation of the role of environmental education, ethics, and biodiversity stewardship in ecosystem
management. 7. Academic support from in-state universities capable of
advising and training within the interdisciplinary context of ecosystem management.
a
The criteria are based on the most important principles and characteristics of the ecosystem management concept as
reflected by existing programs.
ecosystem management being the policy of the federal land management agencies, it is natural
that state governments are turning attention to ecosystem management.
2. Ecosystem management and state programs
