Ökologische Integrität: Risikovorsorge im nachhaltigen Landschaftsmanagement

Abstract

Sustainable Development stresses the relevance of ecological systems for fulfilling social and economic development objectives. It demands a risk-averse treatment of the global life-support systems in environmental decision-making, e.g., in sustainable landscape management. While specific sustainability guidelines exist for many facets of the human-environment interaction, management guidelines are lacking for a pro-active, prophylactic treatment of unspecific environmental risks. Such guidelines would facilitate an adequate way how to deal with ecological systems in face of fundamental uncertainties associated with the development of the human-environment interaction. These uncertainties prevent the application of risk-protection strategies that are based on impact-oriented risk concepts as well as the implementation of specific measures against – as yet unknown – environmental threats. In this paper, we introduce an interpretation of ecological integrity that aims at pro-active provisions against non-specific ecological risks which could endanger the capacity of ecological systems to provide ecosystem services. In order to cope with these risks, we suggest referring to the most general, particularly thermodynamic properties of ecological systems constitutional for ecological self-organization. These properties serve as a basis for indicators of the capacity for ecological self-organization. Indicator data are presented for two examples, thus sketching possible quantification and monitoring strategies. We finally discuss the relation of this ecosystem-based risk protection strategy to current German environmental regulations, and its application in landscape management.