ABSTRACT
The terms 'methods and techniques' are frequently used but seldom clearly defined. This chapter suggests that a method is a general manner of approaching something, and a technique is a specific application of a tool or approach. Methodology is like a 'battle plan' and techniques the 'type of weapon' used. A tool is something used to collect, analyse or present data or achieve some outcome. Before the 1970s, few addressed environmental problems until after they had become manifest and problematic. Although it is common to take no anticipatory measures, the trend is toward a proactive approach. Environmental managers have developed some of these, but many are borrowed from other disciplines, governance or business. There have been efforts to make economics more environmentally sensitive; the theory and practice of 'green economics' are evolving. Through green economics, development might be steered; environmental management funded and accounting methods can be developed to track progress.
