Building Instrumental Environmental Control Institutions

Four principles are advanced for application to extant frameworks of instrumental environmental policy. Foster's (1981) principles of institutional adjustment are 3 of them: 1. technological determination, 2. recognized interdependence, and 3. minimal dislocation. To these is added a 4th, coevolutionary sustainability. This principle calls for avoiding paths that pose serious threats to the continued compatibility of sociosystem and ecosystem evolution. Applying these principles means standards must become more complex to reflect reality. Concurrently, they must become more fluid and responsive to accommodate new knowledge of health effects and ecosystem threats. Individuals, businesses, and interest groups must be educated to permit smooth institutional adjustments, especially in evolving human rights and property claims. Environmental problems must be researched to identify forthcoming problems as well as solutions. The challenges require a more comprehensive and less rigid structure.