The Relevance of Environmental Ethical Theories for Policy Making

Stenmark, Mikael

doi:10.5840/enviroethics200224227

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

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“…The organic, or holistic, paradigm guiding an ecocentric approach to environmental ethics sees humans as living in, and being a part of, the wider biophysical environment (Fennell, 2006) or members of a 'biotic community' (Callicott, 2006, p. 128). Ecocentrism encapsulates a 'nature-centred systems of values' (Fennell & Nowaczek, 2010, p. 242), and both strong and weak versions of ecocentrism have been identified (Stenmark, 2002) -in much the same way as they have been identified in ecotourism. These issues are discussed by Macbeth (2005) but more specifically by tourism and non-tourism scholars such as Collins (1998), Duffy (2002), Holden (2003), Hunter (1997), Merchant (1992), Shrader-Frechette (1981) and Tully (2001).…”

Section: Environmental Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This is not simple to bring about. Documents expressing policies of anthropocentrism are much easier to find than those expressing non-anthropocentrism (Stenmark, 2002) -clearly a legacy of our western philosophical engagement with nature that has celebrated a conquering and separating mentality (Adams, 2003b;Burns, 2010;Plumwood, 2003;Suchet, 1999). This legacy needs to be challenged, especially in our interactions with wildlife.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But, a key difference between them is that biocentrism focuses on biological individuals while ecocentrism is a more encompassing term including biological wholes (Stenmark, 2002), such as ecosystems. The organic, or holistic, paradigm guiding an ecocentric approach to environmental ethics sees humans as living in, and being a part of, the wider biophysical environment (Fennell, 2006) or members of a 'biotic community' (Callicott, 2006, p. 128).…”

Section: Environmental Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These positions range from traditional and intergenerational anthropocentrism at one end, to biocentrism and ecocentrism at the other (Stenmark, 2002). They include, for example, ethical stances based on technocentrism (Pepper 1996), biospheric values (Stern and Dietz 1994) and spirituality (Seligman 1989).…”

Section: Environmental Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We are using these principles because an objective is to provide guidelines for management strategies that are fair to species other than humans, to ensure that humans in their treatment of other species do not violate the rights of all to flourish (Stenmark, 2002). We are seeking change that will foster a deeper appreciation of the intrinsic valuation of nature.…”

Section: What Does An Ecocentric Approach Look Like?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Should dingoes die? Principles for engaging ecocentric ethics in wildlife tourism management

Burns

Macbeth

Moore

2011

Journal of Ecotourism

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Ethics underlie all our decisions and actions. The aim of this paper is to, first, highlight the sorts of ethical positions that inform wildlife management and, second, to propose a different set of ecocentric ethical principles that not only provide for a more authentic visitor experience of nature but also enhance the long-term survival of wildlife. An ecocentric approach involves locating people in, rather than separate from, nature and so is not possible in locations such as zoos where barriers are physically constructed and maintained between people and wildlife, but should be more compatible with wildlife tourism that is based in rather than on nature. Focusing on wildlife tourism based in nature, seven principles derived from the literature are applied to a case study of dingo management on Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia. The case study demonstrates that recognising the intrinsic value of wildlife and developing a sense of moral obligation and moral reasoning toward the wildlife tourism experience can have positive outcomes for both people and wildlife. If management strategies work within a precautionary principle, acknowledge the interconnectedness between people and nature, and accept that wildlife belongs in nature, then a more ecocentric ethic is possible. This requires managers to engage in a reflexive process with regard to their own ethical position to facilitate the practical application of an ecocentric approach.

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