WHEN DOUBT IS TO BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT - LOCAL-AUTHORITIES CONFRONTED WITH THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

Environmental politics is challenged by uncertainty - often we do not know the consequences of an action. The ''precautionary principle'' is intended to be a guiding line in these situations - doubt is to benef it the environment. The precautionary principle does not, however, sol ve the fundamental problem - that is, how to deal with uncertainty. Al l scientific data are encumbered with uncertainty. Therefore, if the p recautionary principle is not to cause inability to act, its applicati on must be restricted. Interviews with local authorities in two Norweg ian municipalities are used to illustrate problems encumbering applica tion of the precautionary principle. There is a widely held wish for u nambiguous information on environmental hazards, a wish that cannot be fulfilled. Moreover, if the authorities ave aware of the principle at all, the precautionary principle appears to have limited value as a g uideline for making decisions. It rather seems to have become a new na me for art old idea: traditional risk aversion.