Just Ecological Integrity: The Ethics of Maintaining Planetary Life

Just Ecological Integrity presents a collection of revised and expanded essays originating from the international conference Connecting Environmental Ethics, Ecological Integrity, and Health in the New Millennium held in San Jose, Costa Rica in June 2000. It is a cooperative venture of the Global Ecological Integrity Project and the Earth Charter Initiative. Beginning with an in depth look at the history and meaning of the Earth Charter itself, Just Ecological Integrity moves to consider the systems of measurement necessary to indicate progress in achieving the Earth Charter’s goals. Contributors to the volume explore such issues as the reciprocal impacts between humans and nature; human destructiveness; and the various ways in which the revaluation of nature in terms of intrinsic qualities affects broader notions of justice. A rich collection of case studies enhances the volume and examines such issues as violence, risk, and the preservation of nature in local circumstances.