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The ‘precautionary principle’is becoming an increasingly prominent theme in the debate over technological risk. Many questions are raised over the implications for policy making. In particular, concerns have been expressed over the relationship between ‘precautionary’and more traditional ‘science-based’approaches to decision making such as cost–benefit and risk analysis. Fears are sometimes raised that–unlike risk assessment–a ‘precautionary approach’is too ambiguous and impractical to serve as a basis for real decision making, that it is somehow antagonistic to science and even that it threatens to stifle technological innovation and economic growth.

The first part of this chapter takes a close look at some of the key practical and theoretical issues bearing on the relationship between ‘science’and ‘precaution’in the management of technological risk. It is found that–far from being in tension–these two concepts might actually be seen as entirely consistent and even mutually reinforcing. The real distinction is found to lie between a narrow ‘risk-based’concept of regulatory appraisal and broader precautionary approaches. A series of eight criteria are developed against which appraisal techniques might be evaluated in terms of both their scientific and precautionary validity. The second part of the chapter then reports on a recent pilot exercise that seeks to apply these criteria to the specific case of the regulatory appraisal of a genetically modified crop. The main features of a novel ‘multi-criteria mapping’methodology are outlined. Key findings are reported, with particular attention paid to the extent to which the method conforms to the scientific and …