There is increasing recognition that international political and economic institutions must be seen as subsystems of our planetary ecology and be informed by its limitations and requirements. Specific ecological components from the emerging ecological world view that underlie these principles include the following: (1) The value of biological diversity; (2) Ecological limits on human activity; (3) The intimately intertwined and systemic nature of the planet's abiotic and biotic components; (4) The thermodynamic irreversibility of natural processes; and (5) The recognition of the dynamic, constantly evolving, and often unpredictable properties of natural systems.