ENV201 W 1 - 12

Environmental management

Focuses on decision-making about human interactions with the environment.

Socio-ecological systems

Systems where human and ecological components are interconnected.

Sustainability

Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable development

Integrates environmental protection, social well-being, and economic development.

Three-legged stool model

Treats environment, society, and economy as equally important.

Weak sustainability

Assumes natural capital can be substituted with human or manufactured capital.

Strong sustainability

Assumes some natural capital is irreplaceable and must be protected.

Wicked problems

Problems with no single definition or solution that involve uncertainty, complexity, change, and conflict.

Ecosystem services

Benefits that humans receive from ecosystems.

Provisioning services

Include food, water, timber, and raw materials.

Regulating services

Include climate regulation, flood control, and water purification.

Cultural services

Include recreation, aesthetic value, and spiritual benefits.

Supporting services

Include soil formation, nutrient cycling, and habitat provision.

Adaptive management

Treats policies as experiments, emphasizing learning by doing.

Adaptive management cycle

Involves setting goals, implementing policy, monitoring outcomes, evaluating results, and adjusting management.

Resilience

Ability of a system to absorb disturbance and recover.

Governance

How decisions are made and implemented, including governments and institutions.

Co-management

Involves shared authority between governments and non-government actors.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

A decision-making process used before project approval to evaluate environmental impacts.

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

Compares monetary costs and benefits of policies.

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Evaluates environmental impacts of products from cradle to grave.

Accounting tools

Measure overall environmental impacts and support monitoring and evaluation.

Ecological footprint

Measures land and water required to support consumption.

Discounting

Converts future values into present values, reducing the importance of future impacts.