Ecosystems and the law: toward an integrated approach

TLDR: In this article, the authors examine how the law promotes and hinders the movement toward an ecological management and ownership regime, and suggest that recent ecosystem management initiatives should provide useful lessons about how ecological principles can be further incorporated into the law.

Abstract: American law, with its emphasis on boundary lines and property rights, does not reflect an advanced understanding of ecology. Nonetheless, on the federal public domain, the concept of ecosystem management has now been endorsed by all of the federal land-management agencies. Despite few explicit references to ecosystems or biodiversity, laws like the Endangered Species Act of 1973, National Forest Management Act of 1976, and National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 can and are being interpreted to support recent ecosystem-management initiatives. It is less clear that ecosystem-management principles can be readily transferred to private property. This shortcoming means that the law has not fully absorbed the lessons of ecology. I examine how the law promotes and hinders the movement toward an ecological management and ownership regime. I also suggest that recent ecosystem-management initiatives should provide useful lessons about how ecological principles can be further incorporated into the law.