Eco-economic approach - the premise of sustainability

Abstract

Recent decades have brought to the attention of public opinion and decision makers a new dimension - the environmental dimension. For a long while this was considered a stand alone problem, but nowadays the environmental protection enjoys a general recognition, leading to the integration of this new issue in the management of any human activity in order to prevent situations of imbalance that led to dramatic effects, with high economic costs. The aim of the paper is to explain the conceptual framework for the emergence of the eco-economy concept and the implications of integrating ecological restrains in the economic thinking in order to pursue the goal of sustainability. The first section explores the drivers of human behavior from different perspectives, analyzing the implications of biological, intellectual and spiritual interactions. The second section analyzes the clashing timescales that induce lags between the rhythm of nature and the rhythm of human activities. The last section highlights how the eco-economic approach would contribute to the achievement of sustainable development’s goals.