1 Fish Farm Wastes in the Ecosystem
21
Hence, humans have souls as well as sentience and so are qualitatively different
from other living things, and indeed may be seen as inhabiting Earth only briefly
whilst on their way to heaven or hell; they are distinct from the rest of Nature as
well as entitled, perhaps even required, to look after it as well as use it. As I wrote
above, managing ecosystem processes is clearly within our ability: humans have
been doing it for millennia. The problem is that we have often done it badly and
unintentionally. Thus, although we might look at present-day environmental problems in China and wonder what has happened to the Daoist ideal, I prefer the idea
that we are embedded in the ecosystem, and will sink or swim with the rest of
Nature, rather than the idea that a better world awaits us somewhere else.
I should not claim that there are clear-cut distinctions between the religious traditions. The relationship between Daoism and science is complex (Ronan and
Needham 1978). The Christian tradition has included St Francis of Assisi and the
romantic poet, Coleridge, who write the Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1798.
These lines, taken from near the end, sum up his philosophy, which seems to place
humans on the same plane as the rest of creation:
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us
He made and loveth all.
I like to think that if St Francis had had a microscope, he would have loved nematode worms as much as birds, and, indeed, the whole of the magnificent “tree of
life” that is being revealed by nucleic acid sequencing studies. Whether or not one
accepts the theologies of Coleridge or the saint, the idea that we humans are made
of the same stuff as the rest of creation is one to cherish, I believe, both for its own
sake and because it may help prevent Homo sapiens from going extinct.
And that is as much of a sermon as I wish to offer in this chapter. Now to return
to more mundane considerations of how such an ethic can be turned into regulatory
and management practices.
1.10 The Water Framework Directive
As already mentioned, there are hints of an integrated approach to ecosystems in
earlier laws, but it is in the “Water Framework Directive”, or WFD that the
approach begins to be clearly visible. The WFD is formally entitled DIRECTIVE
2000/60/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, of 23
October 2000, establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water
policy, and Article 1 states that:
The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which:
(a) prevents further deterioration and protects and enhances the status of aquatic
ecosystems …
21
Hence, humans have souls as well as sentience and so are qualitatively different
from other living things, and indeed may be seen as inhabiting Earth only briefly
whilst on their way to heaven or hell; they are distinct from the rest of Nature as
well as entitled, perhaps even required, to look after it as well as use it. As I wrote
above, managing ecosystem processes is clearly within our ability: humans have
been doing it for millennia. The problem is that we have often done it badly and
unintentionally. Thus, although we might look at present-day environmental problems in China and wonder what has happened to the Daoist ideal, I prefer the idea
that we are embedded in the ecosystem, and will sink or swim with the rest of
Nature, rather than the idea that a better world awaits us somewhere else.
I should not claim that there are clear-cut distinctions between the religious traditions. The relationship between Daoism and science is complex (Ronan and
Needham 1978). The Christian tradition has included St Francis of Assisi and the
romantic poet, Coleridge, who write the Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1798.
These lines, taken from near the end, sum up his philosophy, which seems to place
humans on the same plane as the rest of creation:
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us
He made and loveth all.
I like to think that if St Francis had had a microscope, he would have loved nematode worms as much as birds, and, indeed, the whole of the magnificent “tree of
life” that is being revealed by nucleic acid sequencing studies. Whether or not one
accepts the theologies of Coleridge or the saint, the idea that we humans are made
of the same stuff as the rest of creation is one to cherish, I believe, both for its own
sake and because it may help prevent Homo sapiens from going extinct.
And that is as much of a sermon as I wish to offer in this chapter. Now to return
to more mundane considerations of how such an ethic can be turned into regulatory
and management practices.
1.10 The Water Framework Directive
As already mentioned, there are hints of an integrated approach to ecosystems in
earlier laws, but it is in the “Water Framework Directive”, or WFD that the
approach begins to be clearly visible. The WFD is formally entitled DIRECTIVE
2000/60/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, of 23
October 2000, establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water
policy, and Article 1 states that:
The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which:
(a) prevents further deterioration and protects and enhances the status of aquatic
ecosystems …