Even though most people share many environmental values in the abstract, individuals always differ in how they balance competing goals. Or a community might contract with private landowners to protect more habitat through ecomanagement. The individuals and the community gain new amenities in the form of denser and possibly older-growth forests and richer wildlife habitats. Sometimes, however, private or personal solutions are difficult because one person's choices affect the environmental quality enjoyed by others. In these circumstances, collective action may be required.
All values are individual values.
Role of the Individual. All values are individual and so are all actions, though individuals daily join together to solve problems. Yet with respect to many environmental issues, the role of the individual is very different than it is in most other aspects of life. This is because individuals sometimes cannot make separate personal trade-offs between environmental goods and other goods. Instead, they must accept the results of collective action.