ABSTRACT
Before discussing the nature of environmental problems, it may be rewarding to consider just what we mean when we talk of a ‘problem’. I suggest that perception of a problem refers to a perceived difference between an existing state of affairs and a desired one, relative to the particular actor, and taking into account his or her knowledge, experience, values and position in a social, institutional and physical context. In an alternative, more dynamic version of the definition of a problem, an actor negatively values the ‘development path’ and future outcomes of some ongoing activity, compared with the outcomes of an alternative development path.
