An IEM Matrix

The Matrix. Source: Warner Bros. Entertainment

Ton Buhrs (1995) poses ideas and ideals for an IEM approach, to integrate various principles developed through a range of philosophies and sciences, to arrive at a ‘meta-theory’ that can broaden perspectives to inform analysis of the problems and incorporate multi-institutional, legislative and policy approaches for environmental problems. The diagram I made and shown below illustrates how an IEM needs to begin with research and analysis. It's important to select the boundaries for analysis. Nate Hagens (2022) suggests that narrow boundaries of analysis will reduce the scope of how an environmental problem can be accounted for and managed. Alternatively, wider boundaries seek to include broad-scale and compounding long term effects. 

A strategic aspect of an IEM plan might be to educate a local community and involve schools as an approach. The tactics and tools are devices that enable the plan, for example, using an experienced neutral facilitator could provide a non-biased perspective and assist the IEM process. Another planned approach might be to involve a range of government institutes and use the media to gain traction and highlight the 'good work' being done which reflects positively on the institutes. 

Assessing and refining the plan is a crucial part of any complex process. As things unfold, changes occur in unintended ways. This part of an IEM allows the management team and stakeholders to determine what has worked and what needs to done differently to achieve the strategic IEM aims. Buhrs (1995) puts forth an IEM Matrix to assist analysis and planning. Seen below, it includes management silos, where the top section shows how the problem is interpreted, various institutions and rules, policies, and the IEM measures that bind them. The side panel of the IEM Matrix displays the various physical components such as land, water, air, plants, animals, resources and people, with an addition of techniques to consider for each interconnected section of the Matrix.

Buhrs (1995) points out that we are not godlike creatures that try to understand and control everything, however, there seems to be underlying psychological drivers that motivate human behaviours, especially for men to seek to have power and control over planetary forces and others. Ernest Becker explains this kind of behaviour well in his book Escape from Evil. Becker was a cultural anthropologist and psychoanalyst and was an ardent supporter of interdisciplinary analysis to understand human ideals, institutions and cultural behaviours. 

It's essential to consider that many environmental problems are resultant of our cultural strivings. From our culture arises various political-economic tensions and conflicts to contend with, and these intertwine with and exacerbate environmental destruction. Climate change is a super-wicked problem that involves all cultures. What can we do as a nation of around 5 million people? Even if New Zealand were on track to become greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral by 2030, would this inspire other nations to do the same? How would nations that seek more energy to feed their economic and military abilities respond? 

It's unlikely that USA, Russia, India and China would want to use less energy and reduce their godlike powers of destruction. With this perspective, it seems that international political-economic tensions and conflicts are worthwhile considerations for an IEM analysis to a super-wicked problem such as climate change. Buhrs (1995) points out that it’s impossible to have a completely integrated management solution because it’s impossible to know everything there is to know about complex largescale environmental problems that are constantly changing. Not only do the ecological and pollutants components change, so do the ethical, economic and political components through which we view the problems. Technology changes as well, so, what about relying on ever growing techno-advancements to provide solutions to the problems we have difficulty confronting?  Insightfully, Buhrs (1995) suggests that governmental policies must also integrate to achieve outcomes. 

For instance, to reduce CO2 emissions, the NZ government promotes the expansion of renewable energy and electric vehicles through a business-as-usual economic growth approach. Somehow, the emissions from such changes are not accounted for and the GHGs from agriculture are not included in the climate change emissions reduction target policies. Energy production via technology cannot be magically decoupled from biophysical limits such as minerals required for their production and replacement when their life cycles expire. Wind turbines and other power generation technologies require copper. Regarding this, Simon Michaux says that to replace fossil fuels would require 4,575,523,674 tonnes of copper, yet the reported global reserves are 880,000,000 tonnes. This means that only 19% of the required amount of copper exists. Apparently, copper production in 2019 was 24,200,000 tonnes and at this rate it would take 189 years to produce the required amount. The copper ore concentrations are declining and for every 1000 deposits discovered only 2 or 3 become working mines and can take 10 to15 years to develop. These are compounding adverse factors that are blatantly not being addressed. Will an IEM process really aid our predicament given that governments globally including New Zealand are hell bent on continual economic growth?

 

Buhrs (1995) asserts that for an IEM to be effective, using a reductionist and lateral style of analysis and thinking politically and strategically will strengthen the approach to environmental problem solving. Cairns and Crawford (1991) suggest that reductionist approaches help to define a specific problem in alignment with the scientific method, and this method does not lend itself to an integrated approach to broad-scale compounding problems. Using a combination of knowledge disciplines seems logical for IEM and this takes coordinative skill to knit the knowledge and processes together. Doing this provides an analytical vantage point to devise strategies and plans to approach complex environmental problems. Integrating the idea of Hagens (2022) can increase the complexity of an analysis, yet, at the same time, broadening the scope of an IEM analysis can provide a more accurate view of the targeted outcomes that an IEM plan seeks to achieve through its approach. 

Do you know of other approaches or consider alternatives for solving problems that are integrated or not integrated? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Reference

 

Buhrs, T. (1995). Integrated Environmental Management: Towards a framework for application. Environmental Management and Design Division, Lincoln University. 

Cairns, J. Jr., & Crawford, T. V. (1991). Integrated Environmental Management. Lewis Publishers, Michigan, United States.