Ecological Integrity: A Relevant Concept for International Environmental Law in the Anthropocene?

Abstract

The concept of ecological integrity has been used repeatedly in various national and international legal texts over several decades. Its use has been to promote the conservation of the natural environment from human activities or the wise management of the natural environment by people. However, the meaning of ecological integrity is still insufficiently defined for its effective use in legal texts. The concept is replete with connotations of naturalness, wholeness, and changelessness and so not immediately compatible with the idea of the human-dominated Anthropocene, characterized by rapid and non-linear change. The 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially As Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) has two notions related to ecological integrity—wise use and ecological character—which have evolved considerably in the last decade.1 A new definition for ecological integrity, building on the work of the Ramsar Convention, suggests it should be understood as the combination of the biodiversity and ecosystem processes that characterize an area at a given point in time. This redefinition for international environmental law would lead to clearer understanding and less ambiguous use of the term. In turn, use of the refined concept leads to its recognition and use as a global environmental constitutional norm.