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Defining and Explaining Integrated Environmental Management
BLOG post by MichelleRuske
Hi to all those who have found this blog on Integrated Environmental Management!
This is my first experience blogging so I am hoping that as I write more blogs the format and style improves, the readership increases, and the topics covered are of interest to you, the reader. I will attempt to write in a manner that is easy to understand to increase the wider public’s understanding of integrated environmental management and not simply focus on the academic world.
Firstly, I thought it would be best if I give you some background information on me and how I got to this point of setting up a blog dedicated to Integrated Environmental Management (it is not the most common life ambition!). My name is Michelle Ruske and I am a student at Lincoln University, New Zealand. I completed an undergraduate degree in planning and environmental management and am now working towards my Masters in Environmental Policy. I have a particular interest in the areas of freshwater management, energy, and natural hazards management. In all three of these areas, integrated environmental management is a relevant concept and approach to consider, especially given the political nature, the large array of opinions involved, and the multidisciplinary nature of the issues which arise in each area. The ‘about this blog’ page has more information about the goals and intentions of this blog for the next few months.
The infamous shot of the library ‘Ivey Hall’ at Lincoln University New Zealand. Image sourced from: http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p10264enz.jpg
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The nature of this post is an attempt to offer some explanation and definition for what the term ‘Integrated Environmental Management’ entails. Importantly, like the overwhelmingly and sometimes overused concept of sustainable development, Integrated Environmental Management or IEM, has no one definition. This makes understanding the concept a challenge but by no means weakens its importance as a potential approach for managing the environment. In today’s blog I will run through what I believe Integrated Environmental Management means and I will look at some of the various different definitions put forward in the literature. It is important that I acknowledge from the outset that my interpretation of IEM today may further develop in the next few months as I consider the approach more critically and my information base expands. If this occurs I will state why in subsequent posts.
My interpretation of IEM is that it is an approach for managing the environment which tries to take a holistic and inclusive approach to help manage environmental issues. This approach has been suggested as many environmental issues are known as wicked problems, in which no easy solution exists. Complex issues also involve a number of different people, from different walks of life, as well as a range of different disciplines and goals. There are often goals which appear to contradict each other and this makes finding suitable solutions to environmental problems appear impossible, or at the very least, close to impossible. An Integrated Environmental Management Approach has been developed in contrast to more traditional environmental management approaches which have been critiqued as “…narrow, compartmentalised, uncoordinated, reactionary…” (Cairns., & Crawford, 1991) and incapable of appropriately dealing with complex environmental issues.
Dairy Farming in Canterbury is an example of an environmental ‘wicked problem’. Image sourced from: http://ecan.govt.nz/advice/your-water/pages/default.aspx
In Canterbury, New Zealand, one highly debated environmental issue is dairy farming and this is an example of the sort of environmental issue which may benefit from an IEM approach. Economic growth from the recent dairying boom on the Canterbury plains and a highly regarded and advertised, “clean and pure” environment are in contrast with each other. Further contributing to this, tourism (the second major industry in New Zealand) relies on the nations environmental image; ‘kiwi’s’ are known for their outdoors and active lifestyle – such as enjoying recreational activities in local rivers; residents wish to continue to enjoy the benefits of some of the cleanest drinking water in the world, and simultaneously, the same population desires the benefits of cheap milk. All of these goals are an example of an environmental problem where conflicting goals seem to create unsolvable problems. IEM is an approach which is designed to help deal with complex, multifaceted environmental problems.
One way of presenting Integrated Environmental Management is to look at it as a flow chart (this image was courtesy of fellow IEM blogger ‘Captain Planetiem’ – http://captainplanetiem.blogspot.co.nz/):
Integrated Environmental Management is an approach to dealing with an environmental problem that has a list of steps which are designed to be followed in a logical order to achieve the best outcome. Importantly, defining the problem in IEM is a crucial step which is often not given enough consideration in other environmental approaches. Without the correct framing and definition of a problem at hand, the best possible solutions may not be chosen, yet alone thought of. Integrated Environmental Management stresses that time spent understanding an environmental issue and figuring out what the specific problem is, is not time wasted. This will be further discussed, along with the other steps in the frameworks in subsequent blogs.
Some IEM Definitions:
There are a range of Integrated Environmental Management definitions which can be considered to assist one in understanding what exactly an IEM approach is.
- “an approach to the management of the environment that takes into account its complex, multi-faceted, and interconnected nature”
(Buhrs, T. (1995). Integrated Environmental Management: Towards a Framework for Application. Unpublished paper, Environmental Management and Design Division, Lincoln University.
Buhr’s definition is useful in that offers a simple and concise sentence on the purpose of Integrated Environmental Management. It is relatively easy to remember and is broad and all-encompassing, which is useful in highlighting that integrated environmental management occurs in a wide range of different forms and contexts. Unfortunately, this definition does little to build on my knowledge in understanding what it is that sets IEM apart from other methods of environmental management. It also doesn’t help with understanding how IEM is best achieved, or in what particular settings it may be most useful or appropriate. That said, this definition provides a useful starting point for considering what IEM is designed to consider.
- 2. “A process of formulating & implementing a course of action involving natural & human resources in an ecosystem, taking into account the social, political, economic and institutional factors operating within the ecosystems in order to achieve specific societal objectives”
(modified after Dixon & Easter 1986: cited in Margerum, R.D., Born, S.M. (1995).Integrated Environmental Management: Moving from Theory to Practice. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 38: 371-390)
I personally prefer this definition which appeared in Margerum& Born in 1995 as it is much more specific and illustrates more precisely that IEM is about effectively managing a range of different resources and contributing factors in complex environmental issues to achieve the best possible outcome. It highlights that the reason IEM is desired as an approach is that it is one way of approaching all the different components and variables which make up an environmental issue. This definition is arguably still broad, and there is no example given to help illustrate what is meant by term such as “specific societal objectives” which means it can apply to a range of different issues where the goals may be quite different – i.e. economic growth, improving air quality, improving resource equity etc.
- 3. “Coordinated control, direction or influence of all human activities in a defined environmental system to achieve and balance the broadest possible range of short-& long-term objectives”
Cairns, J. Jr & Crawford, T. V. (1991). Integrated Environmental Management. Chelsea, Michigan: Lewis Publishers.
This third definition provides, yet another definition to Integrated Environmental Management. This definition suggests that IEM occurs as a ‘top-down’, approach, hinted by the term “control”. I question whether top-down, ‘coordinated control’ is the best way to carry out IEM. It may produce solutions to environmental issues which were already preconceived and may discourage the general public’s process in defining the problem and in helping become a part of the solution. I hope that through investigating a range of different issues and case studies in the next few months it will become clearer whether IEM is an approach which needs to be taken from the top-down or whether it is equally useful when a greater emphasis is given on ‘bottom-up’. I dislike the use of the word balance in this definition, primarily because it is currently overused in the current political landscape of New Zealand and does not automatically mean an equitable balance. Balance is a matter of perspective and unless one is objective in their use of IEM, providing balance will be incredibly challenging. However, I acknowledge that in this context the use of ‘balance’ makes sense.
- “An approach to environmental management which requires recognition of the linkages between different parts of the environment, and adopts a range of tools to identify and manage environmental effects across the different parts, and to ensure co-ordination across institutional barriers such as agency barriers”
Frieder, Julie. (1997). Approaching Sustainability: Integrated Environmental Management and New Zealand’s Resource Management Act, p.20. Accessed 12 July 2013, from: http://www.fulbright.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/axford1997_frieder.pdf
This fourth definition was found in a report published on Fulbright’s website which originated from an unpublished Ministry for the Environment draft paper titled ‘Integrated Environmental Management’, Draft, KPMG, 6 December, 1996. I like the way this definition includes an acknowledgement of the interconnected nature of environmental issues and emphasises that IEM involves considering and dealing with these linkages when managing environmental issues. Again this definition is broad, highlighting that a ‘range of tools’ may be used to manage environmental issues and that different tools and solutions will be required in response to different problems. Co-ordination across institutional barriers is an appropriate inclusion into the definition as it recognises that there are historical seperations between different agencies, community groups etc. Continuing with freshwater in New Zealand – one generalised example is dairy farmers vs. conservationists. Likewise DOC (Department of Conservation) and Forest and Bird vs developers.
Overall, I conclude that all four definitions are useful in furthering one’s understanding of Integrated Environmental Management. Each needs to be taken with a grain of salt and appropriately critiqued, but combined they can help to explain what this alternative approach is trying to achieve.