The environmental knowledge and advocacy network for Yorkshire & the Humber
Environmental Limits in Yorkshire & Humber
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy includes the principle of ‘living within environmental limits’ and subsequently this principle has fed into key national documents, such as Planning Policy Statement (PPS) No.1, and regional documents – most notably the emerging Integrated Regional Framework (IRF).
In June 2007 YHREF was commissioned by Yorkshire and Humber Assembly to produce a discussion paper. Our brief was to examine the extent to which the region could, in reality, quantify its environmental limits and apply them to regional policy and monitoring.
Drawing on recent work by DEFRA and others, we have defined an environmental limit as ‘the point beyond which an environmental asset ceases to function effectively in its own right, and/or to provide the benefits to society that society considers valuable’.
This definition emphasises that identifying an environmental limit is very often a political choice, rather than a scientific observation. That choice is made by asking the questions, ‘How much do we value this environmental asset?’ and ‘How confident are we that our policies and aspirations are not going to compromise the value of this asset?’
It is therefore vitally important not to view environmental limits as absolutes – as fixed ceilings up to which we can push environmental impacts ‘to the limit’, and beyond which the consequences are rapid and catastrophic. In policy terms there is clearly no point in pushing impacts to the limit, because the risks of overshooting that limit would become much greater. Instead the important issue is identifying the necessary direction of travel to minimise the risks.
Related Documents
Environmental Limits in Yorkshire & Humber: A Guide for Decision-Makers
For over two years, YHREF has been examining two very difficult questions:
- What are the ‘environmental limits’ that matter in Yorkshire & Humber?
- How should strategy and decision-making change to take account of those limits?
This guide provides the findings of this work in as short and usable a way as possible, and is particular designed to help regional and sub-regional strategists and decision-makers to understand and apply these complex issues.
Environmental Limits in Yorkshire & Humber
A Discussion Paper by YHREF for Yorkshire & Humber Assembly (November 2007)
Environmental Limits in Yorkshire & Humber - Executive Summary
A Discussion Paper by YHREF for Yorkshire & Humber Assembly (November 2007).
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