ABSTRACT
The analysis of environmental policy is traditionally based on a concept of "problem pressure," interpreting environmental policy as a response to the threat of ecological disaster or growing environmental hazards. The satisfaction of basic material needs, the development of ecological awareness and of institutional facilities encouraging environmentally friendly action are not rigidly coupled to each other. The different combinations will become possible, such as affluence ecology, environmental destruction by superabundance, excessive exploitation or depletion of scarce resources and ecology of scarceness. The scarceness management too may take different forms, such as the combination of recovery, recycling and demand minimization of scarce goods. The ecology of affluence founded on post-materialistic value change, and the ecology of scarceness based on the awareness of economic scarceness, represents functioning forms of ecological adaptation. Environmental policy is aimed at facilitating specific socio-cultural value orientations and institutional patterns of decision-making for the benefit of those affected by a damaged environment or profiting from ecological conservation measures.
