Managing Land as Ecosystem and Economy

Environmentalists and resource users have banded together behind the common goal, or at least the common slogan, of “sustainable development.” What are the economic, political, and social costs of existing systems for conserving endangered species and wetlands? How would reform proposals for broad-scale habitat planning and mitigation reduce these costs? The report examines the fundamental questions of fairness and property rights, the “value” or relative benefits of natural systems and economic development, and balancing public participation with science to set policy priorities.