Managing the Environment: Who's in Charge?

Environmental management in a democratic society must take into consideration the diverse views of all persons who may be affected by management decisions if it is to be successful. Although it is widely assumed that environmental management is an objective process, the view is presented that there are different rationales from which management can be approached, all of which are based on subjective value judgments by the individual. Thus there is no a priori reason why any one management rationale should be preferable to another; this depends on an individual value judgment. The major problem of environmental management is the dilemma posed by the need to protect the environment and the difficulty in reconciling the various rationales so a consensus can be reached.