[{"key":"dc.contributor.author","value":"Jutlah, Russell Sean","language":null},{"key":"dc.date.accessioned","value":"2009-06-26T00:00:00","language":null},{"key":"dc.date.available","value":"2009-06-26T00:00:00","language":null},{"key":"dc.date.issued","value":"1999","language":null},{"key":"dc.identifier.uri","value":"http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2429\/9701","language":null},{"key":"dc.description.abstract","value":"This thesis is concerned with the conceptual foundations of environmental law and\r\npolicy in the Great Lakes basin, the world's largest freshwater ecosystem. The Great Lakes\r\nregime is now widely recognized as one of the most advanced international environmental\r\nmanagement regimes in existence. Over the past two decades, toxic contamination has\r\nemerged as a highly pressing ecological issue in the Great Lakes basin. In Canada and the\r\nUnited States, the ecosystem approach, a comprehensive and integrated approach to\r\nenvironmental management, has been adopted both bilaterally and domestically in the Great\r\nLakes' complex environmental policy framework to guide the protection of ecological\r\nintegrity. There has been extensive discussion of the ecosystem approach, particularly from\r\nscientific and managerial perspectives; however, the economic content of the concept has\r\nbeen largely neglected, despite the importance of considering all relevant perspectives in the\r\ndevelopment of law and policy.\r\nThis thesis is divided into five chapters. After discussing in Chapter 1 the ecological\r\nand institutional contexts and methodological issues of the analysis, this thesis defends, in\r\nChapter 2, the view that economic theory has relevance to issues of environmental law and\r\npolicy. In addition to highlighting the main contours of welfare and environmental\r\neconomic theory, a main conclusion, and an essential premise upon which the analysis\r\nproceeds, is that economics remains a useful analytical approach to environmental issues,\r\ndespite some important criticisms.\r\nSubsequently, in Chapter 3, the analysis shifts to an examination of four bilateral and\r\ndomestic Great Lakes instruments that form the core of Great Lakes toxic pollution policy: (i) the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; (ii) the Great Lakes Binational Toxics\r\nStrategy; (iii) the Canada-Ontario Agreement; and (iv) the Final Water Quality Guidance\r\nfor the Great Lakes System. After outlining key principles underpinning each instrument,\r\nthe thesis underscores common themes running through the collective policy framework.\r\nThe ecosystem approach constitutes a unifying concept in this framework.\r\nThe ecosystem approach is examined from an economic perspective in Chapter 4.\r\nAfter identifying key elements of the ecosystem approach, this chapter highlights important\r\nparallels between fundamental welfare and environmental economic notions. One main\r\nconclusion is that economic concepts and approaches, such as environmental valuation,\r\nexternalities, and self-interest, form an integral part of the ecosystem approach.\r\nFinally, Chapter 5 identifies some directions for further research. Given that, as the\r\nthesis seeks to establish, economic theory constitutes an important, albeit not sole,\r\nperspective on the ecosystem approach, a key challenge will be to facilitate interdisciplinary\r\nanalysis and cooperation leading to effective operationalization of the concept.","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.format.extent","value":"8029007 bytes","language":null},{"key":"dc.format.mimetype","value":"application\/pdf","language":null},{"key":"dc.language.iso","value":"eng","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.publisher","value":"University of British Columbia","language":null},{"key":"dc.rights","value":"For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/terms_of_use.","language":null},{"key":"dc.title","value":"Great Lakes environmental policy : the ecosystem approach and an economic perspective","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.type","value":"Text","language":null},{"key":"dc.degree.name","value":"Master of Laws - LLM","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.degree.discipline","value":"Law","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.degree.grantor","value":"University of British Columbia","language":null},{"key":"dc.date.graduation","value":"1999-11","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.type.text","value":"Thesis\/Dissertation","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.description.affiliation","value":"Law, Faculty of","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.degree.campus","value":"UBCV","language":"en"},{"key":"dc.description.scholarlevel","value":"Graduate","language":"en"}]