ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST-CENTURY - SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE

Ecotoxicology in the 21 st century will be part of the larger field of integrated environmental science and resource management. This already established trend has some main impetuses: (a) A definite shift is occurring from only protecting against toxic damage to ensuring robust ecosystem health or condition; (b) the modus operandi of the information age is integrative science, not fragmented science; (c) the most ''citing discoveries are occurring at the interfaces of the classical disciplines; (d) the preoccupation with 'end-of-the-pipe'' waste discharges is rapidly shifting to a system-level or landscape-level perspective; and (e) the professional societies that miss the beginnings of major trends can partially offset this loss by establishing close relationships with the new societies that are riding the crest of the ''waves.'' It will be extremely important for both individual professionals and professional societies to respond to these rapid changes. Otherwise, individuals will be left in the professional backwaters, and professional societies will be replaced by more agile young societies in the same way that SETAC had its genesis.