인간생태계 연구에서 생태적 효율의 효용성과 한계

초록

The purpose of this paper is to explain the concept of ecological efficiency and to evaluate its usefulness in the study of the relationships between humans and the environment, and in the solving of modern environmental problems. Ecological efficiency has been adopted as a useful tool in various disciplines concerned with environments, such as Ecological Anthropology, Human Ecology, and Industrial Economics. By and large, the concept appears to be useful in delineating the comprehensive relationship between humans and specific environmental factors. However, the concept has some weaknesses, partly attributable to the difficulty of quantifying it. Another problem comes from confusion about the concept, occurring as every one of the disciplines applies it to its respective concerns. It is thus necessary to delimit the concept, which can be defined as the inter-specific energy transfer rate, originally established by ecologists. From this perspective it turns out that anthropologists and industrial economists have often failed to distinguish ecological efficiency from energetic efficiency and economic efficiency. In particular, the concept of eco-efficiency coined by Industrial Economists to accomplish sustainable production is a result of confounding the three different concepts. The alternative concept of eco-effectiveness seems to reveal that natural environments have some limits against the energy extraction by humans, but more importantly reveals that nature does not pursue the maximization of ecological efficiency. Despite its confounding uses and weaknesses, ecological efficiency proves to be a useful tool for comprehending environmental problems and to a limited extent for seeking their solutions.

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