8. INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY IN TRANSITION COUNTRIES: HISTORICAL PRECEDENT AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

摘要

Industrial ecology uses the structure and processes of natural ecosystems as a model for organizing industrial activities, seeking to integrate wastes and by-products into the production process thus reducing the need for material extraction and waste disposal. In this paper we discuss the theory and practice of industrial ecology as developed in the former centrally planned economies, and make observations on the suitability of industrial ecology in current transition countries. We describe the Soviet concepts of "combined production" and "waste-free technology", and show that Soviet scientists were familiar with many fundamental elements of modern industrial ecology. Although the potential environmental benefits of industrial ecology were recognized by central planners, industrial ecology was pursued primarily as a means to increase production. We then discuss issues specific to the (re) implementation of industrial ecology in transition countries, such as appropriate policy instruments, the relation between economic growth and environmental impacts, the question of central planning versus spontaneous organization of industrial interactions, the valuation of resources and environmental externalities, and the underlying goals of industry and society in the context of changing material aspirations among the populations of transition countries.