Environmental Law and the Ecosystem Approach Maintaining ecological integrity through consistency in law Routledge Research in International Environmental Law Series

The ecosystem approach embodies a concept of the environment which emphasizes the integrated components of nature as complex adaptive systems. This book examines the relationship between the architecture and design of environmental law and the implementation of the ecosystem approach as a means to maintain ecological integrity. The main issue addressed is: in which manner and to what extent does fragmentation and administrative discretion in environmental law impede the implementation of an ecosystem approach?

This is explored through analysis of several questions: what is an ecosystem approach and how could it be implemented; how can economic evaluation of ecosystem services contribute to the debate; to what extent is environmental law fragmented and how does this affect the implementation of the ecosystem approach; to what extent does environmental law contain administrative discretion and how does this affect the implementation of the ecosystem approach; is there a need for greater consistency, coherence and a stronger rule of law in environmental law in light of the ecosystem approach? The main focus is on Europe, with additional international comparisons where appropriate. The book concludes by providing a normative portrayal of future environmental law as protective, systemic and predictable.

1.Introduction 2. The Ecosystem Approach: Its Understanding and Legal Development 3. Ecosystems as Subjects of Environmental Law: Their Complexity and Integrity 4. Ecosystem Services Valuation: Usage and Challenges 5. Fragmentation in Environmental Law 6. Administrative Discretion in Environmental Law 7. An Illustration of the Problem: Offshore Petroleum Exploitation in the North Sea Ecosystem 8. Towards Consistency, Coherence and a Stronger Rule of Law 9. Conclusion

Froukje Maria Platjouw is a Research Scientist in the Section for Water and Society at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, Norway. She was previously a Research Fellow in the Department of Public and International Law at the University of Oslo, Norway.