Environmental Management: Principles and practice

particular boost was given by the publication of Blueprint for a Green Economy
(Pearce et al., 1989) and related texts (Pearce et al., 1990; 1991; Pearce, 1995).
From the early 1990s there has been an increasing interest in economics and
environmental management (Marcandya and Richardson, 1992; Redclift, 1992;
Turner et al., 1994; Barbier, 1993; Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1994; Mikesell, 1995;
McGillivray, 1996). Increasingly the focus is on sustainable development (Pearce et
FIGURE 5.1 The elements of total economic value
Source: Hodge (1995:7, Fig. 1.2)

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CHAPTER FIVE
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al., 1990; Tisdell, 1993), on pollution control economics (e.g. Forsund and Strom,
1988), on economic development and environmental management (Schramm and
Warford, 1990), and on environmental taxes. Some economists adopt the concept of
sustainable development without acknowledging that the Earth and its resources are
finite, then talk of ‘sustained growth’ and explore ways of achieving it. There is
debate about the likelihood of real, sustainable growth.
There is no single unified market, and large sections of the world’s
population are not directly affected by economics. The reality is that many of
those suffering from environmental problems are ‘marginal’—economically
and socially deprived, perhaps living in remote situations. Also, one must not
assume universal co-operation between nations to protect the environment: some
countries or power groups may try to gain from global challenges, and exploit
situations.
Today, two widely stated goals of environmental economics are: (1) to
cut extravagant resource exploitation; (2) to seek sustainable development. Some
economists argue that environmental care should stimulate economic growth
by improving the health of the workforce, making it more productive and
creating employment in the green sector (pollution control and environmental
remediation, etc.).