ABSTRACT
On average, modern humans have nine times more income per capita than their ancestors had in AD 1500, and four times as much as people obtained in 1900. Despite gross inequalities in the distribution of this income growth and considerable poverty in many countries economic development must count as an achievement. The last 20 years or so have seen environmental management shift to accept public accountability and consultation, and often abandonment of coercion in favour of reward and education. Modern environmental management also tends toward less compartmentalisation, more encouragement and support than enforcement, and often a 'bottom–up' approach. The political economy and practical concerns of environmental management in developing countries are quite different from those in richer nations, and initially environmental protection was seen to delay and hinder development. An environmental management framework provides guidelines for planning the 'flightpath' to sustainability.
