The precautionary principle and ecosystem health: a case study
from the jarrah forest, south-western Australia Calver, M.C.
(1999) The precautionary principle and ecosystem health: a case
study from the jarrah forest, south-western Australia. In:
International Congress on Ecosystem Health, 15 - 20 August,
Sacramento, USA. Maintaining a healthy ecosystem does not
preclude economic use of ecosystem components and such use may
be an essential part of maintaining healthy human communities
within the ecosystem. The precautionary principle is one
mechanism for assessing which economic uses or developments are
least likely to degrade ecosystem health. It argues that: “Where
there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of
full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for
postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation. In the
application of the precautionary principle, public and private
decisions should be guided by: (i) careful evaluation to avoid,
wherever practicable, serious or i