The Ecosystem Approach between Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism

30 Pages Posted: 9 Nov 2014 Last revised: 24 Nov 2014

See all articles by Vito De Lucia

Vito De Lucia

Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT Arctic University of Norway

Date Written: January 7, 2014

Abstract

The question I address in this article is whether and to which extent the ecosystem approach is a manifestation of an ecocentric turn in international environmental law; or whether the new language of ecosystems remains contained within a legal ordering still expression of more outdated ontologies of humanity and nature. I first explore the structural ambiguities implicated by both ecology and the concept of ecosystem; then I explore ecocentric and anthropocentric articulations of the ecosystem approach; and finally, I try to assess which articulation prevails in selected areas of international environmental law.

Keywords: ecosystem approach, ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, international environmental law

Suggested Citation

De Lucia, Vito, The Ecosystem Approach between Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism (January 7, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2520649 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2520649

Vito De Lucia (Contact Author)

Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT Arctic University of Norway ( email )

Tromsø, 9037
Norway

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
379
Abstract Views
2,333
Rank
143,646
PlumX Metrics