In dubio pro natura

This book brings fundamental ethical questions of risk to a new framework. What is a risk? Who should bear the burden of proof? How should we respond to scientific uncertainty and expert disagreement? What is the right role of scientific knowledge in societal risk decision-making? How much precaution should be taken?We face today a new "world order" in regard to risk imposition. Undesirable repercussions of modern scientific and industrial developments have become more complex and difficult to predict, less limited spatially (i.e. they cross national borders) and temporally (they affect the future generations and are sometimes irreversible). A new category of delayed, global and long-term environmental dangers has emerged. This has prompted a regulatory shift towards an anticipatory and deliberative approach.In the centre of the new regulatory approach is the so-called precautionary principle which calls for early measures to avoid and mitigate environmental damage and health hazards in the face of uncertainty. The principle has recently come to the fore in environmental law and policy both at the national and international levels. Yet at the same time, it has evoked much political, academic and public controversy.The author reveals historical and ethical underpinnings of the precautionary principle and defends it against the common criticisms of ambiguity, incoherence and extremism. An excessive focus solely on the threat threshold (as a prerequisite for applying the principle) is found misplaced and counterproductive, and an analysis of the nature of scientific uncertainties and expert disagreement is suggested to overcome the controversy. The principle is argued to be relevant in the current debates on genetically engineered foods and climate change.The study critically assesses practices invoked in the name of the precautionary principle and public/stakeholder participation, and seeks to build bridges between precaution, engagement and ethics. The real picture