Ecological Engineering - Design Guidelines

Design Guidelines

Ecological engineering design will follow a cycle similar to engineering design - problem formulation (goal), problem analysis (constraints), alternative solutions search, decision among alternatives, and specification of a complete solution. Elements that distinguish ecological engineering design are elaborated by many authors, however a singular approach is still absent. Typically, the design goal involves protecting an at-risk ecosystem, restoring a degraded ecosystem, or creating a new sustainable ecosystem to satisfy needs of nature and society.

A temporal framework is provided by Matlock et al., stating the design solutions are considered in ecological time. In selecting between alternatives, the design should incorporate ecological economics in design evaluation and acknowledge a guiding value system which promotes biological conservation.

• applying to all types of ecosystems,
• adapting engineering design methods, and
• Design steps should be based on utilizing ecological science and theory,
• the self-designing capacity of ecosystems;
• accept the adaptive management theory of learning from mistakes as the design will field test ecological theory;
• utilize integrated system approaches; and
• conserve non-renewable energy.