Implications of Ecocentric Ethics for Environmental Resource Management

Abstract

The inspiration and application of Ecocentric Ethics to the management of natural environmental resources include: (1) Nature should not be viewed as a machine from a conservationist point of view, because it seriously underestimates the “interconnectedness” of nature. (2) In order to maintain the stability and balance of the overall ecological environment, human beings should manage and control the natural environment. However, this does not mean human-centered thinking and arbitrary use and management. Human beings are only members of the living community, not conquerors of nature. Human beings should use and manage resources with “ecological conscience”. (3) The holistic nature of Ecocentric Ethics holds that resources, whether animate or inanimate, are part of the ecological whole and cannot be divided into separate entities. The use and management of resources by human beings will defi nitely aff ect the stability of the ecological whole. Therefore, human beings must be humble and self-controlled in their interference with nature.