ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

At the heart of integral ecology is an ethic of respect and care for the community of life in all its diversity. Integral ecology recognizes our interdependence of the greater web of life on Earth and affirms our moral responsibility to care for the larger living world. All life depends for survival and well-being on the ecological integrity of natural systems.

The concept of ecological integrity "connotes a valuable whole, the state of being whole or undiminished, unimpaired, or in perfect condition. Among the most important aspects of integrity are the autopoietic (self-creative) capacities of life to organize, regenerate, reproduce, sustain, adapt, develop, and evolve over time at a specific location" (Westra 2005).