Mismanagement of environmental demand

Sectoralism and separation of conservation and development undermine attempts to manage demands on the environment. Most efforts to develop resources, maintain the resource base, and protect the environment, are pursued separately in uncoordinated and narrowly sectoral ways.

Pollution control and environmental protection rely heavily on regulation of outputs, rather than on incentives to manage inputs better. As populations and economies grow, governmental micro-management of pollution and other harmful impacts of resource development is becoming increasingly expensive, cumbersome and impractical.